DIY - Kitchen Herb Planter

It's been a year since I tackled this kitchen herb planter and I'm happy to report that it served me well during Summer and Fall last year.

It's so good to have fresh herbs at your fingertips when cooking. I planted basil, parsley, thyme, cilantro, mint and oregano. Some of them did really, they were abundant, others, not so much.

I just got the planter box a new look and I only planted the herbs I think we're going to use the most.

The box per say was built to fit on the ledge in my kitchen window which is only 5" deep,  I couldn't find a long planter to fit in there.  Having fresh herbs was something I really wanted to have in my kitchen.

Let me show  you how you can build a planter to keep there on your kitchen window sill:

The materials:

It all depends on how big or small you want your planter.

• I used  1 x 4 for the bottom and the two rounded end panels. Cut at 15° angle.
• ¼" x 6" for the front and back side panels (I  use ¼" material to save more space for the plants). Cut at desired size and both ends at a 15° angle

• Wood glue
• Sand paper / sander
• Plastic material
• Decorative paint

You can build it with a simple hand saw, hammer and nails but it would be less labor intense if you have:

• Pneumatic nail gun
• Jigsaw
• Miter saw
• Hot glue gun

Instructions:
-Glue and nail the side panels to the the bottom panel.

-Cut the end pieces, remember that the bottom edge of those panels have to be cut at a 15° angle. The rounded top part is done using a jigsaw.

Both ends can now be attached by applying some wood glue and driving some nails.

Fill the gaps and nail holes with caulk. Sand it pretty well.
The decorative possibilities are endless, you can leave it like that, you can add a quote or stencil a design. This year I decided to paint it white and add a chalkboard.

The heavy plastic material to waterproof it was still in perfect condition. It was done when the planter was built by hot gluing it to the inside.  Set your hot glue gun at a medium heat setting.
-Cut the plastic material to the inside dimensions.  Add two inches to that dimension and cut it.
-Hot glue 1" strips of cardboard to the long sides of the plastic material.

-Fit the plastic material inside the planter and hot glued it in place.
-Your planter is now ready to be filled.

Just as last year, a layer of rocks was first laid to help with drainage.

The herbs that thrived last year were basil, parsley and thyme. Mint and oregano did OK, but by the end of Summer they were gone. Cilantro was the worst, a couple of weeks after it was planted, it died. :(

This year I'm only planting dill, rosemary, basil and parsley.

Lately, I've been using lots of rosemary, I'm hoping for it to do well, maybe I can move it to a new container by Christmas time. ;)

Look how cute it looks on the window sill! Although it was hard to photograph. :/

Well, maybe next year I'll be back here reporting how this batch did.

Happy planting!

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