Indoor herb garden

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I've been wanting to start an indoor herb pot or two, but I'm concerned about having gnat issues. We seem to battle them all fall when we start to get pears, apples etc in the house. Anyone with an indoor herb garden, can you help me out? I need some tips on getting this garden started off right! How much sunlight does the garden need? Can I use wide mouth jars or do I need pots that drain?
 
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I'll be keeping an eye on this thread as well. No matter what kind of plants I try to grow in the house, we end up with a bunch of gnats. It's really discouraging because I'd love to have plants and like you, an herb garden.

I would think you could use wide mouth jars if you put rocks in the bottom so that the water can drain down into the rocks instead of keeping the bottom of the soil wet, which could cause root rot, I would think. I do know that they say not to use outside soil, but to buy potting soil, but even using potting soil, I get gnats. :(
 
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I use all kinds of cans and jars with holes at the bottom to grow my herbs. Good drainage is a must for herbs or they will rot. Add a few pieces of broken earthen pot pieces at the bottom to allow draining.
I use a leafy mulch with equal parts of soil and grow my herbs in them.
I keep them where they get about 5 hours of direct sunlight, but I also have some plants that grow under grow lights.
I do not know anything about the gnats though we do not have this issues here.
 
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I may give it a try again. I do love fresh herbs and I'll keep reading to see what I can find out about the gnats. I might get lucky and find a solution. I'd especially love basil and cilantro, but I can NEVER keep cilantro growing. :(
 
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Have you tried using insect traps to combat the gnats? Fly ribbons? I have a similar issue, though not sure if they are gnats or weevils. They seem to be attracted to sweet stuff and wine. You could try the bottle trick put a little bait liquid in a bottle with a very narrow opening; they can get in easily, but not out again.
 
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I may give it another try with the bait liquid bottle AND the fly ribbons near the plants the seem to be getting the most of them. Although so far, it's been every plant I've tried, not just vegetables. Even my pothos got them. :( I guess I just have to keep trying to see what happens. :) I do love fresh herbs.

Thank you for the suggestions.
 
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I may give it another try with the bait liquid bottle AND the fly ribbons near the plants the seem to be getting the most of them. Although so far, it's been every plant I've tried, not just vegetables. Even my pothos got them. :( I guess I just have to keep trying to see what happens. :) I do love fresh herbs.

Thank you for the suggestions.
Sunflower, I found this article online. This may help you deal with your gnat issue. It looks like either your soil is not draining well or you are using some compost or rotting substance that is attracting the gnats. I am not sure .. may be reading this will help http://www.wisegeek.com/how-can-i-get-rid-of-gnats.htm#lbimages
 
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Thank you so much maddie. I know it's from the house plants because that's the only time we have them in the house. I am using non draining jars with rocks in the bottom, but maybe I am over watering. I think I'll buy some of the pots with drain holes in the bottom and be careful with watering. I only use the potting soil that I buy with no compost at all, so that's not it. That article helped a lot and I'm ready to try again. :D
 
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Thank you so much maddie. I know it's from the house plants because that's the only time we have them in the house. I am using non draining jars with rocks in the bottom, but maybe I am over watering. I think I'll buy some of the pots with drain holes in the bottom and be careful with watering. I only use the potting soil that I buy with no compost at all, so that's not it. That article helped a lot and I'm ready to try again. :D

Are you starting the plants from seed? Maybe you are bringing the gnats into the house with you when you bring the plants in? Gardener's Supply sells little fruit fly traps that might work also.
 
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thanks for the suggestions everyone! i did have a gnat problem this fall even without plants indoors :( however I found this cool and totally free way to get rid of them. take a piece of paper and roll it into a funnel shape with just a very small opening at the bottom for the flies to crawl through. tape the cone inside a clear glass with a piece of fruit in it. the flies can go in, but then try to climb the glass to get out and get stuck by the funnel! i successfully got rid of all the gnats within two weeks of using the cone contraption and making sure no dirty dishes/wet rags were left out for them to breed on. now I'm ready to start my indoor herb garden!
 
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thanks for the suggestions everyone! i did have a gnat problem this fall even without plants indoors :( however I found this cool and totally free way to get rid of them. take a piece of paper and roll it into a funnel shape with just a very small opening at the bottom for the flies to crawl through. tape the cone inside a clear glass with a piece of fruit in it. the flies can go in, but then try to climb the glass to get out and get stuck by the funnel! i successfully got rid of all the gnats within two weeks of using the cone contraption and making sure no dirty dishes/wet rags were left out for them to breed on. now I'm ready to start my indoor herb garden!

I forgot all about that one, thanks for the reminder! I've done that before with a piece of banana - the fruit all insects seem to love. Some smart little buggers occasionally do get out though.
 
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I missed this thread yesterday when I posted a new post about this topic. When I brought in my herbs this fall, they all died within a few weeks. I have no idea what I did wrong. They were all in pots with drain holes or mason jars with rocks in the bottom. I put them under a grow light and turned it on a few hours a day. I'm wondering if I was maybe using the light too much or too little? Anyone know how long they should stay under the light?
 
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I'll be keeping an eye on this thread as well. No matter what kind of plants I try to grow in the house, we end up with a bunch of gnats. It's really discouraging because I'd love to have plants and like you, an herb garden.

I would think you could use wide mouth jars if you put rocks in the bottom so that the water can drain down into the rocks instead of keeping the bottom of the soil wet, which could cause root rot, I would think. I do know that they say not to use outside soil, but to buy potting soil, but even using potting soil, I get gnats. :(
You know I had a problem awhile back and I read something online that I tried, it really helped a lot. It was a blog I found in an organic greenhouse website, but I forget which one. It said to try putting about 2 inches of sand in the pot on top of the soil. It seems there is a type of fly that has its eggs in the soils, even commercial soil that you buy new, and when you water it starts them growing. They will damage the roots of your plants as well as the lower stem area. The kicker is the larva is very very small and you might not see them. The sand stops the oxygen and light from penetrating down to the soil level, it actually smothers (suffocates) the fly larvae. I tried it and it worked just fine, water in the catch tray is not enough for them to repopulate but will be attractive to any flies that are flying around.
 
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We do a lot of indoor gardening during the winter and gnats are a big annoyance. The easiest way I've found to keep them under control is to pour a little cider vinegar in a mason jar. Put a paper funnel in the jar so the flies can get in the jar (so the funnel bottom is a little bit above the vinegar line). The vinegar lasts longer than a piece of fruit and seems to attract them just as well.
 
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Gnats tend to like shaded, moist areas from my experience. They are attracted to sweet or organic stuff like coffee and fruit. The best way I found to combat them was to make sure that moisture was at a minimum, set up funnel traps, keep areas well lit and be meticulous about keeping food waste sealed up.
 

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