I would like to dig up my basil and mint?

Question

It is kind of rainy so the ground will be soft. Do I need to know anything before I go and try to transplant these herbs into inside pots? Is it even possible?

Thanks for your answers. This is my first garden and so I am just in love with these particular basil and mint plants. I know it is silly. Also, how do I harvest and dry them - and then how would I keep them? Thanks - from a garden dunce.

Answer 1

It's very possible. Just try to disturb the roots as little as possible. Get a nice size rootball, and it's good to have the soil damp when you do it. Use a container bigger than the rootball so the roots have some room to expand into new soil. Be sure you plant them at the same level they were growing at. After potting, some fish and kelp emulsion will keep them well fed and assist their recovery from transplanting. Mint is VERY hardy, as you have probably seen in your garden. Basil is more of an annual, it is easy to grow indoors from seed anytime. You'll need fluorescent light tubes of at least 40 watts to keep the plants growing inside. The tubes should be very close over the plants, even touching is ok, they don't get very warm. Cool light tubes are fine, since you want leaves and not flowers. Good luck!

Answer 2

It is possible, but whether they will survive inside is another question. Make sure you use a good potting soil in a container with good drainage. I have found that transplanting them and then trying to grow them inside isn't always successful. They really need a very sunny window to thrive and we just sometimes have too many cloudy days in a row where they don't get enough sun (tinted windows don't help either). The only thing you can do is try it or harvest and dry what you have on the plant.

Answer 3

One problem with transplanting from outdoor gardens to a pot is that the root structure on outdoor plants is relatively large, since there's no pot wall to obstruct their growth. So, you will damage the roots when you dig them up and that will shock the plant, possibly killing it.

Basil and mint plants are very common and inexpensive. Why don't you just go get new plants for indoors and harvest what you have outside?

Answer 4

You can try, but woody growth on each of these plants prevent them from being transplanted and becoming the lovely plant you see outside. It never hurts to try, however. I have mint planted around the trunk of my dwarf lemon tree ( It is very invasive, so I always plant mint in a pot). When I bring it in for the winter, it does moderately well in bright morning sun with ample water. Even with the shade of the lemon tree, I still have enough to use in cooking.