How to Make Your Own Window Sill Herb Garden Kit

A window sill herb garden is the perfect home gardener project for those who have graduated from home gardening 101 (this is you if you’ve ever managed to keep a house plant alive for more than 6 months!) Herbs are a rewarding, and not terribly challenging, next step.

You’ll enjoy the herbs that you grow in your cooking, or for visual appeal. If you have windows, then you can set up your own window sill herb garden. If you play your cards right, your herbs will thrive year-round. To make all of this work, you will need to put together a kit, of sorts. 

You can find herb garden kits online, but there are quality problems that you may run into. Moreover, doing everything yourself will be far more rewarding and will have more choice in what you choose to plant. 

Getting Started

Getting started is simple. You will need a small number of tools and a little construction know how, depending on how big your windowsills are. There is plenty of room to experiment, so don’t be afraid to do things your way.

First things first, get a long and narrow planter that fits on your windowsill. If your windowsill is old, now is your chance to built new ones. The windowsill planter should be about 6 inches deep to make room for a healthy root systems. You also want it to be as long as your window will allow. But don’t make it too heavy, unless where it attaches is sturdy. Once you add the dirt and water, you don’t want it to sag or fall off.

Alternatively, you place individual circular pots into the planter instead of filling it with dirt, but at the very least you’ll want at least one long rectangular planter shaped, which can be purchased already constructed at almost any hardware or garden store. 

Next, you’ll want some potting soil. It’s easy to find potting soil that’s specially formulated for herbs. This will have extra nitrogenous matters that will dissolve gradually over weeks, providing your herbs with plenty of food for steady and impressive growth. This, combined with regular watering and plenty of sunlight, will give you a great yield in a matter of weeks.

Choosing Plants 

Now it’s time to choose your plants. We recommend going with herbs that you use a little at a time, like sage, rather than herbs that we tend to use in bunches, like cilantro. 

Cilantro and parsley may grow well, but they’re also easily accessible at any grocery store, plus you might need to use an entire bunch in a single recipe. Better to leave those at the grocery store and stick instead to “a little at a time” herbs like rosemary, dill, sage, thyme, chives, mint, etc. 

Now it’s time to decide whether you want to start from seeds or starts. If you choose seeds, you’ll be able to pick from all of the endless exotic herb varieties that exist around the planet. Mint alone has dozens of heirloom varieties that may tickle your fancy, which can be had for around $4 per packet. 

You can buy herb-starts at your local home goods store if you haven’t had much luck growing plants in the past. However, you may be limited to the few varieties they have in stock. Still, these can be quite tasty and rewarding.

Now, plant your herbs. Make sure to water immediately after planting, as transfer from store pot to home soil is stressful on these little herbs. It may be a good idea to keep them out of intense sun for a couple of days as they adjust. Once they’re accustomed to your home environment, move them to a sunny, south-facing window (or the sunniest window you have), and let nature take its course. 

If you want to keep these herbs alive for the long haul, we recommend buying some simple herb clippers. These stainless steel cutters will help you make clean cuts when harvesting your herbs, which will prevent the plant from being overly stressed from the ordeal, thus improving its chances for long term survival. As time goes on, use an organic fertilizer every couple of months (or as recommended,) maintain water, and watch your herbs grow into healthy, happy household members. 

Using Herbal Supplements

The herbs you use have many uses, and not just for cooking. Herbs have been used for thousands of years as a medicinal aid. Today, many companies specialize in herbal supplements. 

One way of using herbs as a supplement is to ingest them. However, one popular ways is to create a tincture. You can buy herbal tinctures online, or make them yourself. This process is quite simple.

Dry your herb of choice, add to a glass jar with pure alcohol, and store for several weeks or month, mixing occasionally for around six weeks. From there, strain the mixture through cheesecloth and store the resulting formula is a glass dropper bottle. You can use this mixture medicinally each day. If you are looking for a more detailed recipe, find that here.
Alternatively, you can shop Oregon’s Wild Harvest. This supplement provider specializes in herbal formulas, including dried herbs, herbal extracts, and tinctures. If you are looking for Turmeric, Milk Thistle, Cinnamon, Lion’s Mane, and so much more, Oregon’s Wild Harvest has your herbal needs covered.