Mason Jar Herb Garden
As the summer is slowly beginning to wind down, I have begun to harvest some of my herbs grown in my garden these last few months. It is so wonderful to add fresh herbs in every meal. Herbs at the grocery store can be expensive and for a similiar investment, you can buy a one time pre-seeded plant of your favorite herbs and have that one plant supply you all summer long!
However when the weather cools down and temperatures are not ideal for herb growing, I usually say goodbye to my fresh herbs for the winter season and eagerly look forward to the enxt growing season.
Not this season! I have decided to continue growing the herbs all year long in my kitchen window, providing me with fresh herbs for every month of the year! (Provided they stay alive)
Now most people, like myself, do not have a lot of room to grow a bunch of herbs indoors. Not wanting to have space stop me, I did some research and decided to create a mason jar herb garden for my window sill. The space is very small however I am growing five great herbs in a space otehrwise usually unused.
So how does one create a mason jar garden? Here are the simple steps to get you started and growing for the whole season long!
What You Will Need:
1) Mason jars - get as many as you would like. They are easily purchased at your local hardware store or stores like Canadian Tire in the canning sections.
2) Stones - can be found on the ground or your local plant nursery / garden store
3) Activated Charcoal - can be found at your local pet store in the fish tank sections
4) Soil
5) HERBS! - pre-planted or seeds
What You Need To Do:
1) Fill the bottom of each jar with about one -two inches of stones. This will act as drainage for your container.
2) On top of that pour a layer of the activated charcoal (a few centimeteres thick). This helps to control mold, pests and overgrowth of unwanted bacteria.
3) Next, fill the rest of the jar with soil. I used potting soil that had fertilizer included.
4) If you are using pre-seeded herb plants, dig out a spot for you to input the plant. Gently place the plant into the jar and fill the sides up with more soil so that the herb is nestled tightly in the jar.
5) If you are growing from seed, follow the package instructions for appropriate depth for growth.
That's it!! Place on your window sill and water every few days and watch your herbs grow!
Herbs have SO many health benefits, so cooking with your fresh herbs everyday is another easy and fun way to include all our necessary nutrients for a healthy diet.
