Herb Garden

Another one of the things on my spring to-do list was to plant my own herb garden. Other than it bringing some life and color to my porch, I also wanted it for practical reasons. I am always guilty of buying a batch of basil only to use two leaves. So much goes to waste, and it happens entirely too often. I don’t have much of a green thumb, so as long as I can maintain my garden, it will be a great investment for me, and was a fun project to complete this past weekend. Here’s some tips to making your own herb garden at home.

Things you’ll need:

Herbs of choice

Planter or large pot

Soil

Wooden stakes

Black chalkboard paint + foam brush, and chalk

Determine what types of plants you’d like (I went with what I cook with most, but you can choose based on scent, appearance, maintenance, etc). I selected basil, oregano, and parsley for all of my Italian cooking, and finished off with mint for fresh mojitos in the summer.

Choose a planter that is deep enough to have plenty of room for the plants to grow. You’ll want to have lots of extra space in the soil for the roots to expand over time.

Fill planter with soil. Divide into sections based on how many plants you have, and plan where each herb is going to go. Make a cavity one quadrant at a time (push the soil up and out, instead of compacting it to make the hole).

Remove one plant at a time from its container, and pull apart its roots until they are dangling below. Place into prepped hole, and gently recover base of herb with soil. Repeat this process until all herbs are planted.

Press soil down gently, and give  plants an abundance of water. It’s good to research what your specific plant needs, but herbs generally are best somewhere mostly shaded that receives afternoon sun.

To make garden markers, paint two coats of chalkboard paint onto planter sticks, and label. If you’d like to make them more permanent, you can opt to use regular black and white paint instead.

Stick markers and other fun things into your herb garden to make it your own. This website is a great resource for do’s and don’ts of maintaining your herb garden – such as giving it more water than you think it needs, and don’t start picking your herbs until they have matured some.