How do I help my kitchen window herb garden thrive?

Question

For the last couple of years, I've been nursing along a sort of kitchen window herb garden consisting of cilantro, parsley, basil and chives. What I've done is bought live herb plants at our local grocery store and re-potted them in individual pots to make it easier to move around and so on. The window is west-facing and gets very good light in the afternoon and our kitchen is obviously warm and relatively humid. It seemed to me an ideal location for herbs, but except for the chives have not really prospered.

But recently, aphids attacked my basil, which I moved to the front porch on the east side of the house. After that, the aphids attacked the parsley and the cilantro, which tells me that: a) the source of the aphids is somewhere close to the kitchen window, and b) aphids prefer basil over cilantro and parsley. The chives are growing like champions and seem to resist the aphid onslaught.

More importantly, the herbs I moved outside look better and healthier than they have in months. In particular, the basil has suddenly burst forth in leaf and I could imagine myself harvesting some without stripping it bare. It's a bit of a mystery to me.

Given that I'd rather have herbs growing in the kitchen where they might get used than on the porch, what could I do to improve the growing conditions inside?

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Update: Based on winwead's answer, I observed the approximate time that direct sun ended in the kitchen and yesterday it was sometime before 6pm. Since full sun could not start before 1pm, that window has less than 5 hours of direct sun. (It's counter-intuitive since the kitchen seems so bright all day long. Most of that light, however, is indirect and reflected from the light stucco on the building across the alley.) Sun starts on the porch around 8am and gets good direct light until at least 1pm, if not longer. So that's a solid 5+ hours.

The lesson for me: it's better to measure than to guess. Also, I need to search for herbs and plants that thrive in less direct sun for my kitchen window.

Answer 1

They are probably getting more light outside. That Sun does wonders! Is it possible to arrange them so they get more sun in the window, or a different window? If they grow better in the porch than the kitchen, then I think I would put them in the porch. It could be worse: You don't need to put your wellies on to go and pick some herbs!

For the aphids, they were probably on the other herbs when you moved the basil, and they weren't noticed. Once one plant has them inside, they seem to spread quickly. So I would treat the plants. Some recommend soap solutions. I use pyretheum which is effective and is meant to be safe for food and delicate plants (made from chrysanthenum extract). You still want to wash the herbs before use, of course.

Answer 2

A second option would be to set up supplemental lighting in your kitchen.

I currently have a Aerogarden on my kitchen counter with my herbs. I use it in the winter, and switch to my outdoor garden in the summer. The Aerogarden works great, looks reasonably nice, and is easy to move to a different room if we are having company over and don't want it taking up counter space. It is also a terribly expensive option (but can be made cheaper by making your own pods, buying an adapter so you don't have to use the proprietary bulbs, etc.), so I wouldn't recommend jumping into it without checking into the costs first. It is also quite loud (I have an older model - this may not be a factor with newer ones).

A much cheaper option would be to add a grow light over your existing plants. Depending on your window, you might be able to mount the light above the spot the herbs are currently in, or under a kitchen cabinet. I'd just make sure to find a grow light that stays cool, is quiet (some have a noticeable humm that could become annoying in time), and doesn't flicker, since you'll be around it a lot in the kitchen.