BY DEBORAH NIEMANN

If you live in a condo, you might think that you are stuck with only indoor gardening and a tomato plant on your balcony. But there are plenty of us with big gardens in the yard who also grow herbs indoors. Growing herbs in the garden is great if you want to freeze pounds and pounds of pesto or make enough spearmint tea to last a year, but once the plants reach maturity and start to flower, many people no longer like the flavor as much. And if you want fresh parsley or cilantro in the middle of winter, especially for those living in the colder climates,  there is only one way to do it—by growing it in a pot inside the house.

If you think that fresh herbs are cheap enough in the store, consider the fact that you are paying as much as sixteen to fifty dollars a pound for many of them because they are sold by the ounce. Herb seeds, on the other hand, cost pennies. To begin, drop two or three on top of seed-starting mix in a small pot on your windowsill, water, and in a few weeks, you have fresh herbs. As long as you always leave a few leaves on the plant when you harvest, it will continue to grow for months. If you believe that a penny saved is a penny earned, your salary for growing herbs could be more than thirty dollars an hour. It only takes a couple of minutes here and there to grow herbs in containers, and the delicious result is priceless.

In her book, Homegrown and Handmade, author Deborah Niemann discusses the benefits of growing herbs indoors as well as many DIYs and tips for gardening. The above is an adapted excerpt from her book and reprinted with the permission of the author. For more information visit  antiquityoaks.blogspot.com