Keeping those little herb plants alive indoors....

I often buy fresh cilantro (coriander, whatevs), basil, parsley etc. in those small planters at the market and EVERY week they die on me.  I know that they only cost about 50 pence, but heck we live in a credit crunch.  Plus, it seems downright wasteful to continually throw them out. 

We don't have a garden as we live in the city centre and I was unwilling to offer my first-born to Rumplestiltskin, so I usually set them on the window ledge above my sink.  The package dictates to take the packaging off (check) and water sporadically (check, check). The leaves end up looking all rumply and sad after a few days.

Would replanting them help?  I don't have much space on either window ledge in my kitchen, but I would be happy to re-pot if that would be helpful. 

Many thanks! 

We never seemed to have much luck with cilantro until Jon replanted it into a bigger pot and put it outside (obviously not during the winter).

Have you got any outdoor space to yourself?

I have a belfast sink in my back garden that I always pop those plants into and they do pretty well! Some better than others, but repotting them always helps!

Also, speaking of penny pinching, I always find that the herbs are MUCH more expensive at the supermarket than they are at my local asian market...

Those pots from the supermarkets are sub-par quality and not grown to last. You're better off getting them from a nursery or growing from seed. Larger pots should help, too.

Thanks for the replies.

Would re-potting help even if they're just going to be sat on a window sill? 

I just realised that I could put them in a bigger pot and set them outside on the front stoop, hmmmm that may be an idea....

Re-potting helps. You probably shouldn't over-water them either. Most herbs are Mediterranean so can tolerate drier conditions.

I always find that whenever I bring them in for the winter they tend to get buggy so I end up having to get new ones the following spring. 

My neighbor's boyfriend brought me some herb cuttings from his garden.  I repotted them and they are  inside in a west facing window and they are doing great.  Depending on which way your kitchen window is facing, maybe they aren't getting enough sun.  I have oregano, marjoram and thyme and they are all thriving.  I try not to water them more than once a week, but if they are looking droopy I do and they've revived.  I've had them for about 6 weeks now.

I'm living in Belfast and have attempted to grow a few herbs myself, some with success and some without a lot.  I started off by sowing seeds for everything to make sure it would work well and the thyme and parsley are doing great, however the basil is looking a little sad.  It could be a number of things: that I have it outside and it's been raining ALL the time with little sun, or the fact that it's not been that warm.  So I may move the healthier basil plants back inside so at least the temperature will be better.  The thyme, on the other hand has been goign crazy.  I sowed a lot in a flat tray and, being the humane person who hates to thrown things out, left the smaller plants in the tray outside while I potted the bigger ones in an east facing window that gets loads of sun.  THey're both doing about the same, so you may have more success with thyme than anything.

From my experience with buying pre-grown plants, re-potting almost always does a world of difference, ESPECIALLY with basil because it tends to get root-bound in the pot.  If you can lift the plant and the soil out of the pot in one fell swoop, then YES you really need to get it into a bigger pot.  Don't be afraid to loosen up the roots and get them stimulated to grow more, you won't kill the plant unless you actually remove big chunks of root.