PSA: My indoor herb garden was dying for 2 months until I switched to a south window.

I planted basil, mint, and chives in my kitchen last February, right on the north-facing counter. They got okay light I thought, but after 6 weeks they were all leggy and sad looking. The basil leaves were tiny and pale, not like the lush stuff at the store. I kept buying grow lights and trying different schedules, but nothing helped. Then my neighbor came over last week and pointed out my window faces north, so they barely get direct sun at all. I moved everything to the south window in my living room, and in just 10 days the new growth is dark green and way bigger. Has anyone else dealt with a stupid simple fix like this after overthinking everything else?

2 comments

2 Comments

umac714d agoTop Commenter

Same thing happened to me last year. I had mint and basil on my kitchen island under a nice lamp thought it was enough. Three months of pale sad leaves. Moved them to the patio where they get morning sun and they exploded in two weeks. Sometimes you just gotta ignore all the fancy gadgets and put them in actual sunlight.

sageallen4d ago

I actually read that some plants can get "light shocked" if you move them too fast from low light to full sun. @umac71 probably did it right by finding a spot with just morning sun rather than blasting them all day at once. Your mint and basil probably just needed that real UV light and air movement that no lamp can really copy.