Kitchen Garden
8:44 AM
Your Very
Own Kitchen Garden
Grow herbs, flowers or small vegetables all
year round!
Cold nights, spurts of snow and wintery conditions have definitely made their way to Maine. The long days of sunshine and warmth are behind us and with that, so are our beautiful summer gardens. My poor outdoor plants are holding on for dear life but as they start to wilt and fade, I'm looking for other ways to continuing my gardening spirit.
Here in Maine I take full advantage of the summer months—growing
as many flowers and vegetables as possible. If you've ever grown your own
veggies (or received them from a neighbor), you know that store bought items
can’t compare. I find growing my own garden to be a rewarding experience, and
another great way to get out in the sun!
But once fall fades and the winter season rolls around, I
regretfully put my green thumb away until spring. However, this year I’ve
decided to keep my garden skills going by starting my very own “kitchen
garden.” In this blog post I will go through the 5 Steps necessary
to create your own kitchen garden. Not only will this project liven up your home but it will
also provide you with a bountiful supply of fresh herbs for the winter season!
The expression “kitchen garden” comes from the term
“potager” which is French for an ornamental vegetable garden that is smaller
than your traditional residential garden but contains a small source of herbs,
vegetables and/or fruits. Also, for our
purposes, this type of kitchen garden is going to live inside and, in my case,
will live in my kitchen.
For this project you will need:
* Mason Jars - Pint Sized (Regular or Wide Mouth)
* Gravel
* Potting Soil (with Moisture Control)
* Organic Seed Packets
* Chalkboard Stickers (optional)
* Chalk or Chalkboard Markers (optional)
1. For this garden, instead of growing your herbs in
traditional pots, we’re going to use Ball Mason Jars instead. Mason jars make your garden look like it
naturally belongs in the kitchen and also gives off a homemade, country
vibe. The number of mason jars you’ll
need for this project is contingent on how many herbs you plan on growing. For my personal garden, I bought twelve packets
of herbs (including sage, rosemary, cilantro, parsley, thyme, etc…)
2. You’ll find differing opinions on whether or not
adding a base layer of gravel (or the equivalent of) is beneficial so it’s up
to you whether or not you choose to add in this layer. For my garden, I added a base layer of gravel
to the jars.
Gardening Theory: is that if you add a layer of gravel to
the bottom of a pot before adding in soil that the gravel will help with the
soil’s drainage.
Unlike traditional pots, mason jars don’t have any holes
on the bottom of them to allow any drainage. If you choose to do this, you can
either collect rocks or gravel from outside or buy gravel from a gardening
supplies store or you can do what I did which was hit up a pet supply store and
buy aquarium rocks (you can even buy some fun colors if you wanted to!)
3. Once you have placed your gravel at the bottom of your
mason jars, you’ll need a bit of soil to fill the rest of the empty space. I like to use a potting mix soil that has
moisture control since the jars don’t have any holes on the bottom of them for
excess water to escape. You can choose
whatever kind of soil to use as you prefer but just remember that the type of
soil that you use can have a very big effect on the success of your plants.
4. Once you have your soil filled to about ¾ of the way
to the top of the jar, it’s time to add in your seeds. An easy way to keep track of which Mason jar
contains which seeds is to use chalkboard stickers (or something similar) and
write the contents of the container with chalk or a chalk marker on the
stickers. The stickers easily adhere to
the mason jars and compliment the home-style, country kitchen feel that we’re
going for. You won’t need to use all of
the seeds that come in each packet, just a selection from each. Place the seeds
on top of the soil, spacing them out a little bit. With your seeds in place, go ahead and fill
the rest of your jar.
Hint: For good measure
(and to compact the soil a little bit) go ahead with your first watering, which
should just be a small
amount of water, just enough to moisten the soil.
Since there no drainage on the bottom of your jars. overwatering your plants may cause mold to grow on the top of the soil (which is usually completely harmless but it's unslightly).
Hint: It can be hard this time of year (especially
in Maine) to find a store that is still selling seed packets on site. I went ahead and bought a variety of organic
seed packets off of Amazon. I received
twelve packets of seeds for about $10, not too shabby.
5. You’re going to want to place your kitchen garden in
an area that gets a good deal of sunlight throughout the day, as most herbs
thrive on sunlight. If you’re kitchen is
on the darker side, choose another spot in your home where sunlight is
prevalent. Since my kitchen is quite
small and space is limited, I’m opting to put my mason jars directly onto my
empty wall space. This space-saving idea
will also liven up your walls! There are
many different options one can choose to get their mason jars onto their wall
space. I am taking direction from ideas I’ve seen on Pinterest by creating a
sturdy wooden unit out of reclaimed wood.
Hint:
For an added look, you can screw the metal binding from the Mason jar back to
the top of the container, leaving the cover out, which will still create an
opening but will give your jar an added dimension.
Here’s a great website with link to sites pages with
different ways you how to decorate your home with your kitchen garden. There’s even more ideas on items to use as
pots if you are not keen to using mason jars: http://www.myhomerocks.com/2012/03/indoor-herb-gardens-and-salad-walls/
Happy Gardening!!
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