1.03.2012

DIY Herb Garden

I just have to jump right in and say I'm totally in love with this project. Old crates + pretty plants = completely charming.



Tim and I have had this Pepsi crate for about a year now. First it just sat in our old apartment. Then we used it for recycling in our current apartment... Neither of those realized its full potential. Now? Now, it's really shining!

We started by taking out all of the bottle dividers and cleaning out the dust.


Then we patched up a few holes with wood putty and prepped the crate to be sealed. Since we wanted to put plants (with soil) in the crate, we didn't want all of that moisture rotting the wood away. TIP: This plastic bag might look random, but using a garbage bag as a paint tarp is a super easy solution for small painting projects.


We sprayed the inside with two coats of Spectracide Pruning Seal. It's basically a thick tar that will block moisture damage.

Once everything was dry, we put a layer of gravel in the bottom of the planter (about a half inch thick), put 3 of the original dividers back (so there would be only 6 cubbies instead of 24), and planted our herbs.


Voila! A little garden for our little porch.

We planted sage, oregano, thyme, spearmint, basil, and parsley. Hopefully I'll be able to keep them alive, they're definitely not as hardy as succulents...

Anyone have herb growing tips for a newbie green thumb?

UPDATE: Due to some warnings (from Emma D and others) that Spearmint and Mint do not play well with others, we've moved the spearmint into it's own pot. Apparently it will just grow like crazy and kill the other herbs!! Thanks for the heads up!

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4 comments:

  1. ooh i LOVE it! i would love to have an herb garden, fresh is always better, but my thumb is not even close to green and we don't get the required amount of sunshine in my place for plants to do well :(

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  2. Back in action after the holidays! so cute!

    Just a warning - you might want to switch the spearmint out for rosemary or something. Anything in the mint family will take over the entire container - I made the mistake once and it killed all the other herbs in the planter!

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  3. @Emma oh thanks! I'll keep an eye on it and grab a separate mint pot asap.

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  4. Yes, my mint takes over the world. However, it is winter, so I am just planning for next spring. Fresh herbs are wonderful...next, move onto a few pots of mixed lettuce. You will be hooked.

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