I would like to be able to grow herb plants on the window sill in the kitchen as I love putting fresh herbs in dishes. Over the past few months I've bought quite a few of the herb plants from Tescos i.e. coriander, basil, thyme etc and they all die really quickly.
What am I doing wrong? They're getting sunlight and I water them often but they just don't seem to be able to survive very long.
Is there a key to growing them?!?
Thanks to anyone who can help.

The sunlight is probably too strong. Move them away from the window. Also water them from the bottom. Don't pour water into the soil.

Thanks for that, ok thats two things I've been doing wrong then!! Will move them and start watering from the dish they're sat in and see how I get on!

Replant them straight away into a bigger pot and add extra soil. Keep well watered and don't cut too short when using the herbs.

Potted herbs from supermarkets are grown so that they have a short life. They want you to go back and buy more!!

Since I started replanting mine, they have been thriving though. I have mint, lemon balm, flatleaf parsley and coriander on my window sill.
When I buy them in the supermarket, they all seem to be grown organicaly too.

Oh great question which i would like answered too. As a kid growing up my parents always had a herb garden on windowsill and that was long before you could buy from supermarket. I know my father planted lemon and orange seeds and ended up with beatiful plants

I agree with the repotting. Supermarkets put large plants in tiny pots - it makes them look impressive and healthy. They can't last like that for any length of time though, as there just isn't enough soil to provide nutrients.

Another vote for repotting here. My last Basil lasted around 8 months until I got a bit slack with the watering.

It also helps to use them a lot, if you just leave them and don't use them very often they don't do quite so well.

Me too.....

I planted some chives and thyme from a supermarket last spring and they are doing really well now thriving even! They have grown and lasted as well as herbs from the garden centre.

oregano is a great one for growing well when you have bought it from a supermarket

i also recommend chives as well,i had loads of fresh herbs from them as soon as i potted them out into the garden

another repot vote. There aren't any nutrients left in soil, and they are pot bound.

Another vote here for re-potting AND ALWAYS stand your herbs in a dish and put the water in that. Apart from parsley, I find that likes water from the top.
I do grow my own in summer though from seed
Waitrose is doing a brilliant small leafed greek basil in a very generous pot.

Thanks for all the advice, seems like I need to repot them and water them from the bottom and not top.
Thanks all.

I have a potted basil from Tescos. Got in Dec and it is still going strong. Always water from the bottom, I wait until it's a bit droopy and then sit it in water, perks up in no time at all.

I have also thought the idea of growing your own herbs was handy. Is there any indoor herb gardens that are pretty decent?