Katie Rushworth brand identity
Katie Rushworth brand identity

My Journal

Creating a windowsill salad and herb garden

Katie Rushworth image of herb garden

A misconception I often hear from my friends who want to get into growing veg is that they ‘don’t have enough space’. The good news is, you don’t need loads of space to grow your own fresh salad and herbs. An indoor windowsill herb garden is a great way to utilise often wasted space, bring some much-needed green to the winter kitchen and bring some fresh crispness to your meals.

Don’t get me wrong, you likely won’t achieve a bumper crop – but I love the feeling of satisfaction when I’m able to reach for a snip of fresh basil for my pasta, or a sprinkle of fresh parsley for the finishing touch to any meal. Herbs can be picked up so cheaply from your local supermarket, and with a bit of savvy care they’ll last you all the way through winter. Most leaves will do well on a bright windowsill even if there’s not actually that much direct sunlight – just keep them watered and use regularly with a light trim.

Kale and radicchio seedlings growing

Image from Flickr

I love to grow a selection of salad leaves and herbs in a long, narrow planter. Check out your local garden centre for the perfect size – windowsill-ready planters are fairly popular. Make sure your chosen container is between 15 and 20 centimetres deep so there’s plenty of space for good, strong root to develop, and make sure there are drainage holes in the bottom of the container and a drip tray underneath. This will prevent your plants from getting waterlogged. Fill the planter with good quality potting compost.

Herbs for your windowsill

  • Chives and mint can be dug up by the roots from the garden, and rooted out in your windowsill planter. The warmth fools them into growing again!
  • From seed, herbs like marjoram, chervil, dill and coriander all grow well. Just scatter the seeds across the surface of the compost, water regularly and thin out the seedlings as they start to grow if needed. Keep them trimmed and they’ll keep on growing back, and don’t let them produce flowers as leaf production will grind to a halt.
  • Fresh herbs can be bought from your local supermarket all year round, and these can be planted out in the compost and given plenty of water.
  • If you don’t have space for a planter, nurture the individual plants on your windowsill. Place the plastic pot provided on a saucer so it can drain properly, and make sure you’re cutting little and often to get the most life out of it. Basil, coriander, parsley and mint are all good choices. This is a great method as you can just replace once they wear out!

    Herb garden on the windowsill

    Image from Flickr

  • If you find you’re not using up the herbs as quickly as you’d have thought, don’t let them die off – cut them back and preserve them by drying, freezing or making them into a sauce like pesto. Read my article on preserving fresh herbs at home here.

Salad leaves for your windowsill

  • Winter salad seed mixtures are available at garden centres and online – saladini, misticanza and Oriental saladini are good mixtures of tasty, productive plants. Sow your seed in the planter and water sparingly, starting to snip them back when the seedlings are about 2.5cm high. Thin them out if they become too overcrowded.
  • Rocket, pea shoots and land cress are tasty, fiery leaves that can be grown from seed. Start to cut off what you want as the plants look big enough, and re-sow with extra seeds if it starts to look thinned out. Children often love this bit – it’s really rewarding to see the plants grow before we enjoy them.

    Basil growing in the sunlight

    Image from Flickr

Sprouting seeds is another great way to enjoy fresh, healthy produce year-round. Sprouts are packed with nutrients and this can be done with hardly any space, no soil – it barely even needs any light! You can often find seeds for sprouting in gardening catalogues and at the garden centre – just make sure you do get a specific sprouting mix as these won’t have been treated with fungicide. Mung beans (recognisable as Chinese bean sprouts) are popular and easy – just soak a handful of mung bean seeds overnight, then rinse them and place them in a big glass jar. Use a rubber band to fix a circle of breathable, clean white fabric over the top. Stand them in a warm, dark place (an airing cupboard is perfect), taking them out to rinse in water twice a day. After about four days they should be sprouted and ready to eat – excellent in stir fries and salads.

Happy planting! Katie x

 

 

Katie's expertise is transforming clients' gardens with their video calls and garden visits...

My consultation with Katie was superb! Katie's focused and erudite knowledge really helped me transform my garden into something I would truly be proud to show off. Katie went into great depth and was very patient with my questions, guiding me through the process and enabling me to understand her thinking. I could not praise Katie enough, and would truly recommend her to anyone who is keen to breathe some new life into their garden!  

Shazia

I am absolutely delighted with Katie’s design service and feel that it was money very well spent. Katie came up with something that we would never have thought of but still feel is totally achievable. She completely fulfilled every point on the brief I had written and was so prompt with all of the follow-up information, including a helpful sketch and list of suitable planting. Katie has totally exceeded my expectations of what I thought could be achieved in a 30-minute call!

Claire

It was really great having a consultation with Katie. I really enjoyed it and she is so knowledgeable, advising me some ideas that are going to transform our garden. I'm so grateful. I've never known where to start and now I have a way forward. After I've finished my back garden I'm going to get a second consultation for the front. Thanks so much.

Anonymous

I would not hesitate to recommend Katie's Gardening Consultation via Zoom. Her knowledge of plants & garden design has helped enormously in my deciding what to do with the Garden.
Katie has given great advice & recommendations for making the garden perfect for us. 

Sandra

My zoom consult with Katie far exceeded my expectations!  She clearly took the time to assess my garden before our call and presented a brilliant plan for my garden as well as provided lots of tips for the planting.  I was even able to show her some additional problem areas in my garden during the consult and she offered practical advice that was really helpful and allowed me to envision what my garden can become with a little confidence and willingness to plant and design more boldly! I can’t say enough positive things about the consult. I highly recommend! 

Kyla in Southwest Idaho, USA

We were looking for some fresh ideas to rejuvenate an old garden. Katie has an easy-going and friendly approach which is underpinned by her extensive knowledge. She quickly aligned herself to our thought process and understood what we are trying to achieve. 
She made a number of innovative suggestions that challenged our preconceptions and we feel that we now have a plan to move forward.

N & P Cannon

Katie helped us see our dream garden where we couldn’t, taking time to understand our thoughts and favourite parts of the garden.
Katie was great fun to be around and has provided us with a beautiful plan for our garden which we will enjoy for a long time to come.

Anonymous

Without any exaggeration, the Katie Rushworth Garden Maker is the Best Investment I have ever made. My garden was stuck in the past and I had no idea how to transform it. I never dreamt in my wildest dreams, that I would be lucky enough for Katie Rushworth (personally) to work her magical garden design, with her professionalism and knowledge to transform my garden. She cuts no corners, you get far more than you could ever pay for, she works really hard to deliver the right garden for you and on top of all that she is a very nice person!

Roger in Stourbridge

Katie must be a mindreader because the scheme she created for us was just perfect; great variety, textures and all very much in the Japanese theme we had dreamed of. It was so helpful and also really enjoyable to be able to spend the day planting with her and learn lots of useful tips for maintenance and beyond. We can’t wait to watch it grow and change with the seasons.

Ruth in York

Working with Katie has been fantastic and worth every penny, she has helped me create two beautiful areas in my garden. It now looks fantastic!

Fiona in Holmfirth

Katie has been incredibly helpful as we set about transforming our front & back gardens, and we have learnt so much in a short space of time. We didn’t want someone to just do it all for us – we wanted to be hands-on but with some guidance & encouragement, and Katie’s mentoring has been perfect for that. She is very easy to work with, great fun – and she’s certainly done her share of digging & planting too!

Andrew & Susan in Baildon

Katie really knows her plants, where they are happiest. She understood our needs and wants and simply delivered. Great knowledge, great advice and taught this old dog a few new tricks giving me the confidence to take my own garden planning to the next level.

Tricia & Ian in East Hardwick

Katie Rushworth is a passionate and knowledgeable gardener whose enthusiasm is infectious. She has a great eye for design and is also good at explaining things. Oh, and she’s not at all afraid to get her hands dirty!

Alan Titchmarsh