How to Grow Herbs Indoors

An indoor herb garden can easily provide garnishes, spices, and fresh sprigs to elevate your cooking—always within reach, right in your kitchen. These plants are ideal for indoor gardening: they’re compact, easy to care for, and require only moderate amounts of light and nutrients. From a gardening standpoint, herbs fall into two categories based on their soil preference (drier or wetter soil), so by mastering just a couple of techniques, you’ll be able to grow them all. In this introduction, we’ll cover the different types of herbs suitable for indoor gardening, their ideal growing conditions, and the skills you’ll need to keep your garden productive and tidy.

Indoor Herb Plants: What Can You Grow Indoors?

You can grow virtually all herbs indoors! The key is to think about each plant’s native habitat and replicate it in a small container. Fortunately, herbs fall into two main groups: those that thrive in rocky, dry soil and those that prefer rich, moist soil.

Herbs That Grow in Dry & Rocky Soil

It’s surprising how many of our favorite herbs prefer dry, rocky soil rather than the rich, moist soil you might imagine in a traditional garden. Many of these herbs originate from the Mediterranean, where they evolved to thrive on dry, rocky cliffs and mountaintops. These hardy herbs are typically added at the beginning of cooking to slowly release their flavors. You can identify them by their woody stems, smaller leaves, or silvery-green color. This group includes:

Herbs That Grow in Moist & Rich Soil

These herbs are best enjoyed fresh—they grow quickly but wilt soon after being picked. Originating from riverbanks and low-lying areas, these herbs have been cultivated to thrive in classic garden soil, which is rich in water and nutrients. They typically have tender stems and are added fresh to finish off a dish. This group includes:

How to Start an Indoor Herb Garden: Supplies & Setup

Setting up an herb garden is simple, and with a little upfront investment, you can have a low-maintenance kitchen garden that pays for itself after just a few harvests—not to mention the significant boost in flavor and quality.

How Much Light Do You Need?

To grow herbs, you’ll need about 6 hours of direct sunlight daily, though some, especially Mediterranean herbs, prefer even more. While many homes have a bright windowsill that will work just fine, some may not get enough sunshine for herbs to thrive. If you’re in the latter group or want faster, year-round growth, grow lights can provide ideal conditions. Not sure about your lighting situation? Check out our lighting for herbs guide to get all set up.

What Type of Planters & Soil Should You Use?

The ideal setup includes a ceramic self-watering planter, high-nutrient soil, and a bonsai mix for Mediterranean herbs or a potting mix for softer herbs. We recommend ceramic self-watering planters for their value, ease of use, and the health benefits they offer for virtually any plant. Once filled (just once a week), they automatically maintain the soil moisture at an optimal level, preventing under- or over-watering. For more details, check out our setup guides for rocky, dry conditions and rich, moist soil, where we cover recommended potting mixes, watering instructions, and how often to add fertilizer for each herb.

Growing & Harvesting Your Indoor Herbs

Pruning Your Herbs to Be Productive & Tidy

With just a few well-timed snips, you can keep your small garden producing all the herbs you need. We’ll cover which herbs to start from seed, live plant, or cutting, and teach you how to thin your seedlings, maximize your plant through pruning, and harvest the best-tasting leaves.

Cooking with Fresh Herbs: Hard Herbs vs Soft Herbs

Herbs are incredibly versatile and can brighten up any dish—even something as simple as adding fresh basil to canned tomato soup. Understanding the difference between hard and soft herbs will help you cook intuitively, but if you need some inspiration, we’ve got an extensive recipe section coming soon!

Hard Herbs

These are typically added at the beginning of cooking to slowly release their flavors, such as rosemary, oregano, and thyme. These plants have woody stems, prefer drier soil, and grow a bit slower. For storage, wrap them in a paper towel and keep them in a sealed container.

Soft Herbs

These herbs have tender stems and are usually added fresh to finish a dish. This large category includes herbs that prefer drier soil (like cilantro, dill, and scallions) and those that thrive in moist soil (like mint, parsley, and basil). Fresh herbs are best stored like fresh flowers—cut and placed in a glass of water.