This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Miracle-Gro for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Since moving to Minneapolis, we have had to get a little creative when it came to gardening. We literally JUST got spring weather and it’s almost May!
One thing my family has always enjoyed was fresh herbs. Luckily, even though its cold outside, our kitchen gets amazing light for most of the day. I figured this would be a great time to make my own kitchen herb garden! It’s one of those fun garden projects that you can bring indoors and have fresh herbs all year round!
To make sure that your herbs get the nutrients they need, I highly recomment a good Miracle-Gro product. You want to make sure that it’s one that is for use with foods you eat. That way you don’t get yuckies in there that weren’t meant for your family to consume.
Here’s what you need to make your own kitchen herb garden.
- Box for your garden (I used a old orange box I picked up at an estate sale for $1)
- Burlap (make sure the burlap is a finer knit one so dirt won’t get out)
- Moisture Control Potting Mix or Miracle-Gro Organic Potting Mix ( I used the organic potting mix for my herbs)
- Thyme, Rosemary, and Parsley (my favorites for an Italian herb garden)
- Hot Glue and Hot Glue Gun
- Twine
- Paper
- Popsicle sticks
First make sure that your container is clean! Then you want to take your burlap and cut it to the shape of your container. Start larger and then trim it later in the process.
Place your dirt in the box, hold your burlap in place while doing it. Trim any extremely excessive sides of burlap.
When a hot glue gun, tack the burlap around the edges of the boxes to make it secure. Once it’s secure trim the edges so it is straight around your container and forms a neat edge.
Hot glue the twine around the outside of the box, over top of the burlap for a decorative touch.
Place your plants in the dirt, and cover with more dirt.
To help identify your herbs, print out these great free printable herb markers. (Basil, Mint, Thyme, Rosemary, Parsley,and Oregano) Tape or glue to popsicle sticks and place in the dirt!
Now just place your indoor kitchen herb garden in your sunny window and watch them grow! And don’t forget the water 😉
Extra tips (great ideas Mary ;)) if you don’t want the dirt to touch the burlap you can line the inside with a plastic liner. Just make sure that you look for a BPA free plastic.
Want some inspiration for some other garden projects? Make sure to learn more about The Gro Project from Miracle-Gro, and pick up some great tips The Gro Project video here!
Make sure you check out the Miracle-Gro Pinterest page to get even more great ideas, and forum like atmosphere, for gardening tips and inpsiration
Mary S says
I’m not sure I’d grow food in miracle gro. Chemical fertilizers can cause a lot of issues with our food chain, and from all the allergy friendly things I see you post, I thought you would have wanted to stay away from things like that. And, you never know what chemicals have been used to treat the burlap or box you used. I wouldn’t feel safe eating these herbs! Besides, what happens when you water this? Dirt must go all over your counter. Water too!
Ashley Sears says
Mary, the dirt that I used was the organic potting soil. As far as the burlap, it’s been heavily wash and I normally get it from estates that were from eras before they used lots of chemicals on everything. As far as the dirt, nope it has stayed in the container. It’s just really important to use a smaller grained burlap. If you don’t want your herbs to have contact with the burlap you can always add a plastic liner, but you need to make sure it’s BPA free.
Forgot to add the water doesn’t get on the counter either ;). This is tried and tested in my kitchen. Because of the allergies you mentioned, we do have to be really careful about what we put in our food/cook with. So glad you have the same concerns I do about exposure to chemicals and other “goodies”. Thanks for the comment 🙂
Michelle says
Thanks for this! I use a lot of potting soil because I have plants inside and can’t have a compost bin where we live, so it’s nice to have an organic alternative. To help with any watering issues I always just lightly water so it won’t drain, or stick it in the sink if it needs a really good watering so all the excess can drain without a mess. 🙂
allotmentmum says
The box looks great, much better than my collection of yogurt pots etc. I wouldn’t normally use an artificial fertiliser, do you think just compost would be fine?
Ashley Sears says
Becky, Compost would work just as well to :), or any organic potting soil. You just might want to make sure it’s a pretty well cured compost for the stink factor.
Ashley @ Forgetful Momma says
We love in SK, with very fertile soil 🙂 We have our seedlings started for our veggie garden and this weekend picked up seeds for some herbs. We’ve rarely cooked with fresh and can’t wait to start with our own.
Shari G says
That is really cute! I have wanted to make a kitchen herb garden for a while. Gotta convince my hubby 😉
Emily says
What a cute herb garden! I’m a tad jealous and just may have to recreate it!
Kristy Bodle says
I love this. I want to make one. I tried to put my herbs out in my back yard. My dogs dug them up. I have to keep all my plants on my font porch.
David Smith says
We need to do something like this too. I’d really like to be able to use fresh herbs in our cooking instead of dried stuff. We live in S. Oregon and it gets way too cold to grow herbs outside for very long. Planting is about May and 1st frost is in Sept or Oct so not a very long season. Besides, I really like having plants indoors to help keep the air cleaner and provide more oxygen. Thanks for the great idea.
Ashley Sears says
We have the same problem here in Minnesota. Our growing season is SO short. Having herbs in the kitchen definitely helps make it a little bit more bearable.