Before I started working on this page, I made a blog post about planting a herb garden. I joked with #The_Wookie at the time that people were going to think “herbs” was a euphemism for something else. I didn’t realize how many people would comment on me growing “herbs” thinking/joking that I meant something more nefarious. SO FOR THE RECORD: THESE ARE HERBS, I.E. BASIL OREGANO, THYME, AND PARSLEY.
Planting
April 4th, 2016 – I purchase seeds for each of the herbs that I wanted from the local big box home improvement store, along with some potting soil and a couple of small pots. I didn’t really do any research into the timing of when to plant, but at the time of planting, it was early spring here, which means no chance of freezes. When planting the seeds, I realized that the 3 pots that I purchased were not going to be enough, so I scrounged up some other containers (Mason Jars and old mike containers) so that I ended up with 8 different containers. I followed the directions on the back of the seed packets regarding planting depths and planted each type of herb in 2 different containers. At this point, I made sure to label them so that I would know what they were in the future. I placed the containers in a sunny spot in my apartment, and let them grow.
Growing
April 23rd, 2016 – Yippy Skippy! Things are growing! I have no idea if they are the right things, but I see green! I let the plants grow in my apartment for a couple of weeks under a window. I then moved them just outside of my apartment door to let them get more light, but I am a little worried that a dog (or cat) is going to relieve themselves on the plants. A probably, more legit concern are my containers that do not have holes in the bottom. It seems like the soil is staying very wet in these pots and I am worried about root rot or fungus. I might have to address this in the near future.
April 30th, 2016 – Alright, I decided to re-pot all of the plants that were not in proper pots. I did not water the plants in the mason jars for 2 weeks before I re-potted them and the soil in the bottom of the pots was still pretty much mud. I am pretty sure this means that you should not grow herbs in mason jars, and therefore Pinterest is full of lies… Every indoor “herb garden” is planted in mason jars.
A Minor Setback!
July 19th, 2016 – First, a quick apology for the long delay in the updates! We recently moved and have been really busy trying to unpack various boxes and such. Anyway… Back to the minor setback. Evidently, basil and other herbs can drink lots of water and dry out small pots very quickly. As the plants got larger, I was having to water them more and more in the 4-inch pots that I had them in. After a single weekend of not watering them, I walked out and they look really bad, with wilted leaves and all. I happened to be heading to Home Depot for some other house related stuff and decided to get some larger pots for the herbs and transplant them. The pots that we purchased did not have any drainage holes in the bottom, so #The_Wookie used a 1/4″ drill bit and a cordless drill to add drainage holes. We also added pea gravel (left over from another project) to the bottom of the pots to help with drainage. After moving the plants, it looks like I lost one oregano and one thyme plant, but it seems like everything else survived. There was also something else that was growing in the pots with some of the herbs, I am assuming it was a weed of some sort.
A Homecooked Meal
Sept. 23rd, 2017 – After everything recovered from the lack watering in the larger pots, #The_Wookie and I made dinner using the surviving herbs. We cooked bone-in chicken thighs on the grill that were covered in the various herbs. Of course, I forgot to take pictures of the meal so you will have to take my word for it!
