Late March, I came home from work with an idea. I wanted to put our gorgeous, and very large, south facing living room window to good, practical use. We are starting our very first attempt at keeping an herb garden alive, and I couldn’t be more excited!
The goal was to implement a design that was targeted towards a gardening novice (read: low maintenance), ideal for indoors, and aesthetically very pleasing. It was settled; mason jars with pebbles.
The potting process was easy and effortless;
- Place small pebbles into the mason jar, about 1/3 of the way
- Add Miracle-Gro potting soil, about 2/3 of the jar, on top of pebbles
- Plant seeds, dig small holes 1″ deep into the soil
Since we started most of our herbs as seeds, as a way to mark and differentiate the jars, I opted to add in Popsicle sticks.
We are growing; rosemary, basil, sunflowers, heriloom carrots, oregano, parsley, sage (Alex’s favorite), mint, basil (my favorite), and thyme.
It’s been two months, and so far, so good! What surprised us the most, was how quickly each little herb began to sprout and pop up. Here are photos of our super stars; the sunflower, heirloom carrots, and basil- just nine days after potting!
It has been incredible watching these little guys bloom over the past eight weeks. The very first thing I do, when I get home from work, is to race across the living room to the windowsill. I stare and marvel at the daily growth rate.
We did lose two along the way; thyme and parsley.
Cause of death; over watering.
But it’s OK! We are learning, rather quickly, the proper amount of water to give and that the direct sunlight doesn’t mesh well with everyone’s desired vitamin D level. It turns out, the mint jars prefer to be kept on the bookshelf near the window- not quite on it. Progress!
It’s been just over two months since we’ve potted our little herbs, and they’ve all grown just in thyme (RIP) to be incorporated in summer recipes!
What are some of your favorite herbs to cook with?