Can you imagine any meal being cooked without spices or rather, herbs? You would probably comment, "It tastes like sawdust!" At the same time, it feels rather tiresome to keep making umpteen trips to the market just because you have run out of some herb or the other! Therefore, the best thing to do is to cultivate your own indoor herb garden.

The advantage to having herbs within your reach is that all your meals get that added spice and color. And if you collect some tips on how to take care of them, you could grow them in containers or pots the whole year round. So they are always within your reach!

Here are some suggestions on getting started with your indoor herb garden:

(1) Ensure that the soil is of very good quality. Since it is to be kept in a pot or container, the soil should have the capacity to retain water. In fact, if the purchased soil has organic matter added to it, so much the better; the herbs will grow faster. If you feel that soil quality does not matter, then you should not worry about the quality of your herbs either!

(2) Your indoor herb garden does not require all that much water - if they are watered once or twice every week without fail, it should do. This keeps the moisture at the correct level - the soil is always damp, but no water is left standing at the bottom. Too much of water will cause the roots to begin rotting.

(3) Indoors or outdoors, no plant can live without sunlight. Most of the herbs need to be under direct sunlight; so placing them near windows is best. Herbs such as chives, rosemary, basil, thyme and oregano require more than six hours of direct sunlight each day. In case it is not possible to provide direct sunlight, grow lamps or specialized natural light bulbs are available.

(4) Though the indoor herb garden requires direct sunlight, it would be wise to keep the plants a few inches away from the window and not in direct contact with the window glass or window sill. The sills become very hot in the summer months and affect the plants. During winter months, the temperature near the window is much cooler than the temperature a little inside the room.

(5) To ensure faster growth, dried or dead leaves should be removed. So also dead blossoms from plants that produce flowers

(6) The biggest leaves are found at the ends of branches or shoots. Pluck them first for the growth stays in control.

(7) The plants in your indoor herb garden need trimming from time to time. Otherwise, they may become too big for the containers or pots. Trimming should be done with a pair of sharp scissors, never with a knife. A knife can damage the plants because a pulling motion is used.

(8) For additional information, you could become a member of a gardening club or organization. Otherwise, turn to the Internet for advice. Experience is of course the best teacher to guide you regarding your indoor herb garden!