There is no quicker way to lift a grey January supper than snipping fresh herbs over it. With the garden asleep, a sunny kitchen windowsill becomes the place to keep a small, useful supply going.
Pick the right herbs
Not everything thrives indoors in low winter light. The reliable performers are the ones that do not mind being clipped often.
- Easy: chives, parsley, mint and coriander.
- Worth a go: basil if the sill is warm and bright.
- Tricky: rosemary and thyme, which sulk in centrally heated air.
Rescue the supermarket pot
Those cheap pots of basil are crammed with dozens of weak seedlings fighting for root room. Split the clump into two or three and repot into fresh compost in larger pots, and what was a week's worth of leaves keeps going for months.
Light and water
Give them the brightest sill you have, ideally facing south or west, and turn the pots every few days so they do not lean. Water when the surface feels dry rather than on a schedule; soggy roots are the usual killer indoors.
Harvest little and often
Pinch out the growing tips regularly rather than stripping whole stems. Constant light picking keeps the plants bushy and productive, and stops the basil bolting to flower. Feed once a fortnight with a weak liquid feed once growth picks up in late winter.