Make Your Own Herb Box

Continuously buying small packets of herbs from the supermarket is a bit of a drag, no? You never use the whole packet, the rest withers and dies before you can use it again and it’s expensive. This spring I have made my own Herb Box for my apartment window ledge, so that I will have a lovely selection of fresh herbs to turn to with minimal effort and no extra cost.

Not only is it terribly easy to put together, it brightens up your window sill, especially if you have a small garden, or like me, no garden at all. For those with a patio, I imagine this working well in a nice big round terracotta pot.

Choosing your herbs:

Most herbs work for this, they are very adaptable to different environments, but for this time of year, think of what you use most in your cooking and pick three. I chose mint (lovely with lamb, new potatoes, pea and ham soup, and yes mojitos!) thyme (perfect with chicken and roast potatoes) and rosemary (great with lamb skewers, roast lamb, fillet of beef). If I started a second, I might choose basil, sage, coriander or chives…

For One Herb Box You will need:

Around 20l compost/soil | three healthy looking herb plants from a garden center | a solid and heavy box that will fit on your window ledge or desired space |

How to

-Prepare a good layer, perhaps 2-3 inches, of soil in your box.
– Ideally you would sit your plants, (plastic pot free) in water for 15 minutes, before planting. I missed this step as it had been raining in the garden center, but if they feel dry I would advise at least running the roots under water for five minutes
-Position your three plants, and begin to fill up the compost around them with your hands, taking care not to tip straight on top.
-When you have a nice even layer of soil, and you cant see the original roots of the plant poking out on top, you’re pretty much done!
-The herb plants should come with instructions concerning and sun and watering, I think a little a day unless they are in direct sunlight.

-I was a little worried about my mint, as it began to grow like crazy, the stalks were really thin; but my mum said once you start using and stripping away the leaves and some stalks, they grow back a lot thicker and bushier.