Growing herbs can be a fun and delicious activity. You’ll also have fresh herbs to add to all your cooking and drink recipes. But sometimes, it is not that simple finding space where you want to grow the herbs you want in direct sunlight.
So, can you grow herbs without sunlight indoors?
You can grow herbs without sunlight indoors; plants will need sunlight to survive, just remember that. You will need to give them some by taking the herbs out for sun every day or buying a grow light from a garden supplier. If you keep them in their ideal growing conditions, other than sunlight, they will be fine.
How can you make sure that you grow the healthiest herbs with minimal to no sunlight available to them?
What are the best herbs for growing in low light conditions indoors?
We will find out the answers to these questions and more throughout this article.
Can Herbs Grow Indoors Without Sunlight?
Sure, a few herbs can do well indoors without much sunshine.
But be mindful that all plants need some sunlight to process their cells and thrive, so you will still have to provide your houseplants some light.
Optionally, it doesn’t have to be natural light as you can use a grow light.
How to Grow Herbs Indoors Without Sunlight
Since you can grow herbs indoors effectively without sunlight, how do you do this and keep your plants healthy?
Below are the details and everything you will need to follow to help your herbs grow indoors without sunlight.
Add A Little Light
You gotta provide your herbs with some light while growing them indoors, since all plants need light to exist and complete their life processes.
Your herbs will also depend on light to produce their flavor, but they certainly do not need natural sunlight.
You will be able to buy a grow light to provide your herbs with what they need to live without being in the sun.
You can find these grow lights for sale at virtually all gardening stores these days, but if you don’t want to purchase something, then you can always bring your herbs outside for a couple hours or you can just grow them on your kitchen windowsill.
Keep the Herbs Warm
If your herbs aren’t gonna live the high life in sunlight, you gotta keep ’em warm.
The temperature range of their growing environment must be at least between 65 degrees Fahrenheit and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
If your herbs get too cold, they will die, or lose its leaves, or you may not get a chance to harvest anything from them, before they turn brown and die on you.
Keep a Watering Schedule
If your herbs live in the shade (rather than in direct sunlight), you need to avoid overwatering your herbs and establish a watering schedule so your herbs are watered well, not too much.
Keep in mind, if your herbs are not exposed to sunlight, they do not need to be watered as much and the soil will take longer to dry out.
If you overwater your indoor herbs, the herbs will be subject to root rot, which could kill the plant.
For the first several weeks that you have indoor herbs, you will need to learn how fast the potting soil of your herb takes to dry out under the conditions you have them in.
Then you can establish a watering schedule from that information.
Use Good-quality Fertilizers
Let me tell ya, indoor herbs will grow and thrive with the use of a quality fertilizer, just make sure you use an organic fertilizer as you will be eating the herbs.
Because the herbs are not getting much light you want a fertilizer with a good amount of nitrogen.
You can look into getting a fish emulsion fertilizer as this is also effective for indoor herb growth.
Herbs That Grow Well Indoors Without Sunlight
Since you now know how to grow herbs indoors without sunlight, let’s take a look at which herbs you can grow using this method.
Here are a few good indoor herbs that will grow with little sunlight.
Thyme
Thyme is an herb that is very easy to grow inside, especially without direct sunlight.
This hardy herb is evergreen, it has been utilized for human consumption for hundreds of years, and this fragrant herb, has even been used in bathing rituals since the ancient Greek times.
Thyme is now used all over the world in tons of recipes, to add a great light flavor.
When growing Thyme inside, the most important factors are drainage:
- The plant will need soil that has good drainage, and does not hold a lot of water.
- This herb is more drought tolerant than most herbs, which means that Thyme will suffer from over-watering, and it can simply die.
- This herb only needs watering when the soil is dry to the touch.
Rosemary
Rosemary is Mediterranean, so it’s important to remember that you’ll have to replicate the conditions of its native habitat to have a happy herb.
It is important to note, Rosemary enjoys a lot of light, so if you want to grow this herb inside, and your inside garden does not contain any sunlight, you will need a growing light to help the Rosemary stay healthy and producing.
Don’t forget, you will have to water a lot because Rosemary likes its water and the soil needs to be well-drained.
Chives
Chives are a gourmet landmine for giving flavor to your dishes.
This herb adds a wonderful, grassy bright flavor to just about anything.
Chives are similar to garlic, except with a sweeter flavor and they also look like green onions, but with a brighter colored green.
These herbs are easy to grow, they prefer a wet environment with some light so you will want a growing light for them, but it will only need to be on for a few hours with chives.
It is best to water this herb, at least two times weekly, but more if your in a hot environment.
Mint
If you’re looking for an indoor herb that grows quickly, mint is the best option for you as these little guys will run all over the place and take over any pot you put them in!
For this reason, it is highly advised that you keep mint separate in its own pot with a surface area large enough to allow it to spread, and that you keep this herb away from any other pots because it is a runner.
Other than its smashing ability to take over everything around it, this herb is pretty sweet and refreshing. You’ll see mint added to various foods and drinks to make a tasty summer cocktail.
Plus: There are so many different kinds of mint available, all with a very slightly different taste so there’s plenty of space for experimentation!
Parsley
Parsley is arguably one of the most popular and most commonly used herbs out there, as it adds such a light and delicate flavor to anything you add it to, bringing a whole new life to whatever dish you’re making!
In fact, you could use Parsley in a dessert if you want, that’s how awesome and versatile this herb is!
And there are so many varieties of Parsley out there that you could explore to find your favorite flavor.
It is known as being shade tolerant, so it can even be grown indoors with little sunlight!
Conclusion
Herbs growing inside with no sunlight aren’t too hard if you have the proper equipment.
Many different herbs can grow in these conditions, as long as you monitor them closely to maintain their health.
However, if you are going to be using the herbs that you grow, make sure that you’ve only used organic products while growing it.
Best of luck growing your indoor herbs!