In order to get a picture of the difference between soluble fertilizers and organic fertilizers, imagine cell membranes as the fabric chain link fences are made of. Soluble fertilizers moving through cell walls might be considered something like you pushing ping pong balls through the holes in the fence, while organic molecules are more like trying to push basketballs through. The basketballs would have to be broken down into smaller pieces before they would fit. If there is no one standing by to break the basketballs down (if there are reduced populations of soil biota to break down the large organic molecules) no basketball parts get through. MG houseplant fertilizer is probably not a good choice. I believe the % of NPK is 8-7-6, or very close to that. Plants actually use about 6x more N than P and about 1.5x more N than K. If you choose a soluble fertilizer, you would be better served with something in a 3:1:2 ratio. 24-8-16, 12-4-8, and 9-3-6 are all very popular 3:1:2 ratio soluble fertilizers. Dyna-Gro makes 9-3-6 Foliage-Pro soluble. It's not easy to find, but it's the best I've seen because it also includes Ca and Mg (usually lacking in commonly found soluble blends like MG, Peters, Schultz .....), and it contains all the essential elements in the ratio plants need for normal growth and in a very favorable ratio to each other, also an important consideration. Al

Congratulations on your herb garden. I've been growing several varieties of basil in a bay window in my kitchen for a little over a year now. It actually does well for me in terra cotta pots though they need daily watering in the summer heat. I now have some chives growing there as well but most of the window is taken over by plastic pots with various seedlings since things sprout good for me there. The basil has been manageable for me there cause I use a lot of it so am always pinching to keep the plant short and the variety of basils in terra cotta pots make the window look very nice. I found that plastic pots stay wet too long there and some plants don't like that. I do tend to overwater though and have to watch myself. Herbs are really fun to grow and your cooking will taste so much better than using dried herbs from the store. I'm still pretty new at this myself but growing herbs has been very rewarding for me. Ania

I live in Holland where darkness seems to get the upper hand in winter time. I need extra lighting to get the plants grown. First i bought some 6500k 23 watt lamps. but they dont do the trick. stems are to long and they grow to slow. I dont know if light is the problem where you live, but if you have light you can grow almost anything. im growing (but poorly): mint, parsley, turnip tops (only stems :( ), and spinach (this one needs a bit of cold to sprout so this one goes the best for me indoor strange enough.? Im still wandering if i should buy higher wattage lamps. If i use a lamp off 70 watt for 6 hours a day, it will cost me 35euro a year energy cost. dont know if thats worth it :P

Help with planting, soil, placement, lighting.