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Indoor Herb Garden

In early November, I provided an update on my indoor self-wicking tubs where I was trying to grow greens. I had a bit of a gnat and fruit fly infestation so wanted to harvest everything and take a break.

Well, my break didn't last long. I had planted an outdoor herb garden in the summer that was doing quite well but then we had a couple early season deep freezes here in Denver that jeopardized the plants. Instead of fighting mother nature all winter long to preserve the herbs, I decided to just bring them indoors.

So I've replanted one of the self-wicking tubs with six different herbs. I've got thyme and oregano in the front, sage and chives in the middle layer, and basil and rosemary in back. These are my go-to herbs for cooking and now I have them growing right in my kitchen. This makes me use them even more frequently than when they were outdoors.

The experiment is going pretty well so far. I use the Heavy Sixteen hydroponic mix that I mentioned in my post on growing cucumbers to feed from the bottom. I had also been watering from the top but sure enough it led to another gnat infestation. I've been doing some online research and it looks like I should only be feeding from the bottom. By keeping the top of the soil wet, it is creating an ideal environment for the gnats. Instead, if I let the top dry out, that should reduce the gnat issue and the plants should still get the water they need from the soil wicking. 

I'm a week into the new watering strategy and it seems to be working. I am adding about 3 gallons of water a week to the bottom and the top is beginning to dry out. The watering will likely reduce once the tub hits a saturation point and I start to see water come out the hole that is four inches from the bottom.

I'll keep you posted as I go along with this indoor herb garden experiment.

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