10 Herbs You Can Grow Indoors In Jars of WATER All Year Round
Everyone has a few favorite herbs and many families are growing them in water and keeping them close at hand on the kitchen window. Water-grown herbs have the same flavor as those that grow in the garden.
The herbs can be grown in water, especially those propagated from cuttings, which can easier start in the water.
Materials Needed to Grow Herbs in Water
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a) Water
Plant cuttings can be rooted in glass bottles in plain water, but the use of chlorinated water should be avoided as this chemical is not acceptable for plant tissues. So if you use tap water, leave it to ventilate overnight is fine. Stored rainwater, spring water, or well water are the best options because it contains a certain amount of dissolved minerals that can be beneficial to plants.
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b) Containers
You can use mason jars or any other glass bottles (even plastic). As roots generally grow away from light, colored bottles, especially amber colored ones are best for this purpose, or the container should be wrapped by paper or the root zone kept in the dark.
Choose the narrow-mouthed containers as they can support the cuttings and keep them nearly upright, but they shouldn’t be too narrow or tight-fitting around the cutting. The breathing of roots is necessary, so the mouth of the container should allow free movement of air.
In case of using a wide-mouthed container, cover the top with nylon or wire netting.
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c) Plant Cuttings
For soft cuttings that are pretty quick to root in water, it is not necessary to use any rooting hormones. Get some 6-inch sections from herbs growing in the garden and put them in the water-filled containers. You can also use cuttings purchased from the supermarket, which just need to be washed in plain water and cut off the bottom.
The lower leaves should be removed from the cuttings and the lower tips near the nodes pruned. There should be no leaves in the bottles that touch the water because the leaves rot quickly and can spoil the water. Woody cuttings (like rosemary) take longer to take root, so be patient.
It is recommended to change the water once a week without disturbing the cuttings, but when the roots start to grow (between 2-6 weeks) water changes may not be necessary.
You can use willow branches that you need to leave overnight soaked in warm water to get a natural mixture of root hormones, and if you don’t have that then alternatively rooting hormone powder can be used.
10 Best Herbs You Can Grow In Water
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