potted herbs in the house dying

Hi, I've had plants before indoors and they did fine, albeit in a warm sunny area (Arizona). I also had a lovely outdoor garden in Ghana. Now I am here in London and my herbs are dying!

I'm fairly new to potted herbs so maybe I am doing them wrong. I suspect however that the light is just not bright enough. Since it is so overcast here all the time, I don't see enough morning sun getting to my plants.

My basil and sage are wilting, as is my chili. The parsley and thyme are fine but they are new. The bay leaf is not thriving but not dying.

Are there perhaps some cardinal rules to herb gardening indoors that I am missing? Is it simply impossible to have good healthy plants indoors all year long because of the lack of sun here in London? My flat has huge open windows with lots of light, but its not that precious morning light.

What about grow lights for the indoors?

Any help or suggestions, please!

 

normally herbs dying indoor is due to watering maybe you have given them too much you need to be careful because they all have different watering needs good luck indoor herbs can be tricky

 

shiaimei, welcome to GC!
Lack of light is usually indicated by pale leaves rather than wilting. As brazil says, it more often indicates faulty watering.

Push your finger into the compost and see how it feels. For just the right watering, your finger should come out with a small quantity of the compost sticking to it. The compost should feel moist only. If your finger is clean and dry, they're not getting enough. If the finger is wet and covered in compost, then the opposite.

Put the post on a tray lined with horticultural matting which absorbs the water and holds it till the plants want it. When that is dry, add water. Don't put all the water in the top - I put just a few mls to keep it moist - but the main watering should be done into the tray. And feed them every one or two weeks.

 

I know this isn't much help to you. However, I had a project student some years ago and he grew tomotoes hydroponically in a laboratory. It was quite a success even with artificial lighting.

 

Did you buy your herbs in pots from a supermarket?
I saw a television program (City Gardener?) that said that supermarkets cram too many seedlings for sustainable growth into the pots. They suggested you divide each supermarket pot into several small pots, with fresh compost and feed.
I've tried this with parsley, which i can usually only keep for a week and its still going well after a month.

 

I buy the supermarket herbs and have learned a wee trick. Put a couple of milk bottle tops in the bottom of a pot holder. It keeps the plant from sitting in water. The roots tend to come down through the holes and dibble in the water thats there. I don't know why it works but it does. Mine sit on a North west facing window sill and do very well.