Question
Hi there.  Thank you for being available!  I had a small, indoor herb garden with basil, thyme, rosemary, cilantro, parsely, oregano, and catnip.  I started them from seeds and then transplanted them into large pots and they were growing terrificly until I noticed tiny little flies housed almost invisibly until I would water or move the leaves, then they'd come flying up, dozens of them on each plant, and my plants started to look eaten.  I purchased "Safer" brand 3-in-1 garden spray for organic gardening and it says you can use it on edible foods, so I thought it would be safe.  It killed my herbs and the flies lived.  I have since regrown a smaller herb garden of sage, rosemary, basil and parsley in my kitchen, and those little flies are back.  What should I do? I hope you can help, they are eating the basil up and I see them all over my kitchen now. Thank you!!

Answer
Roxanne:
Indoor herb growing is a challenge.They all hate indoor growing if they don't have full sun,wind and little water. The thyme,oregano & catnip must be outdoors to return again next year. They must go dormant for the winter to return next year. You can do the same for rosemary if it is a hardy variety such as "Arp" or "hardy Hill". They will take 10 degrees below 0. Plant on the south side or protect from north winds. Parsley,cilantro will go until the frost kills them. basil will die indoors unless place in a southern or eastern window and they need 70 degree or more and 16 hours of daylight. The insects are whiteflies and they attack indoor plants.  The plants are weaker and the whiteflies know that.I have not studied the whitefly, but I know it always show up on indoor growing. Go to web site "gardens alive.com" for more organic products for the whitefly. I believe they have better products