Starting a Home Herb Garden

As someone who really enjoys cooking, I have always loved the idea of having fresh herbs. The flavor of fresh herbs is supposed to be stronger and more potent than dried herbs, and when I have bought and cooked with fresh basil, the difference has definitely been noticeable. However, buying fresh herbs can really add up, as they are much more expensive than their dried counterparts. Additionally, growing food ourselves at home reduces their food miles, the distance that our food needs to travel before it reaches our plate. Lower food miles means lower environmental impact. Therefore, I decided to start a little herb garden on my balcony!

The seeds were a birthday present from my parents, and I am growing arugula, basil, oregano, mustard, garlic chives, thyme, sage, cilantro, dill, and parsley. I bought an individual pot for each herb in the smallest size that the plant nursery had. The plant nursery I went to is called Garden Gate Nursery in Gainesville, FL, and it was wonderful! They had a ton of plants to choose from (I ended up picking up a lamb’s ear plant), and the worker that talked to me gave advice and answered all of my questions. Once I got home, I decided that it would be fun to paint the pots, so I painted each one a different color of cow print, which turned out pretty cute!

Then, all that was left was to pot them! I’m no expert but based my next steps on what I’ve heard from the plant nursery worker, friends, and a quick google search. I filled up each pot up to around ½ inch from the top of the pot and thoroughly watered the soil. Then, I used my finger to push a small hole in the top of the soil, dropped in a pinch of seeds, and covered them with a thin layer of soil. I’m super excited for them to grow, and I will be posting updates on their progress that you can check out @mothernaturesdaughterr on Instagram!