Steps in Making Your Own Vertical Herb Garden

If you think making your own vertical herb garden at home can be complicated and quite impossible for you to do, then you are definitely wrong. You can even make your own vertical herb garden using recycled materials, which you can find in your own room. The recycled material I am referring to that you can use in making a vertical herb garden is a plastic hanging shoe organizer. Making a vertical herb garden with a plastic shoe organizer can be quick and very easy. However, you should not use a canvas shoe organizer, for canvas type of shoe organizer is not waterproof and it can’t be very effective in holding moisture to your herb garden.

Why Use a Shoe Organizer for Vertical Gardening?

Plastic hanging shoe organizers offer convenient built-in pouches perfect for planting individual herbs. The lightweight, flexible plastic also makes installation easy. Other advantages include:

• Inexpensive way to repurpose a household item
• Adjustable number of pouches to fit your space
• Portable if you need to relocate or take down temporarily
• Mesh pockets allow airflow to plant roots
• Durable outdoor plastic withstands weather

Make sure to use a plastic shoe organizer rather than canvas, which absorbs water and will rot.

Tips for Installing Your Shoe Organizer Vertical Garden

When setting up your vertical herb garden, follow these tips:

• Sunlight – Herbs need at least 6 hours of sun daily. Avoid shady areas or locations near HVAC vents.
• Mounting – Install screws or hooks 6 feet up, using a level for alignment. Hang organizer and add central screw for support.
• Drainage – Poke holes in the bottom of each pouch. Place a basin beneath to catch drainage.
• Soil – Use lightweight potting mix amended with perlite or sand for drainage.
• Planting – Transplant herbs, packing soil around the roots. Leave 1 inch below pouch rim.
• Watering – Water when soil is partly dry. Check with finger. Don’t saturate.

In just an hour or two, you can create a space-saving vertical garden to grow herbs in your kitchen.

Directions and Advices to create your Shoe Organizer Vertical Garden

1. 1. Make sure that you are going to place your vertical herb garden where natural sunlight can reach for at least 6 hours per day. Herbs can grow properly and healthily when they are exposed to natural sunlight at least 6 hours per day, and the sunlight can help in keeping the soil moist and not wet. It will be advisable for you not to place your vertical herb garden to an area near heating vents or even cooling vents, for your herbs can possibly die.
   2. Install a screw or nail approximately 6 feet above the floor, where your plastic shoe organizer will be hung. Make sure that either nails or screws are at the same height with each other. To make sure that that either nails or screws are properly aligned, you can use rulers or a level.
   3. Once you are sure that nails or screws have the same height, you can now place your plastic shoe organizer. Once the plastic shoe organizer is already securely hung into the wall, drive a 3^rd nail or screw at the top center of the plastic shoe organizer, for better weight support later on. Using a sturdy rod can also be used in installing a plastic shoe organizer for a vertical herb garden.
   4. With each pouch, make sure that it will have proper holes at the bottom for drainage. You can use a fine pointed knife or scissors to puncture the bottom of each pouch. And after puncturing all pouches, you will have to place a tray or basin at the bottom of the shoe organizer, which will serve as a drainage catch basin.
   5. Fill each shoe organizer pouch with 1/3 to ½ full of potting mix. To enhance drainage, mixing perlite with sand into the soil can be done.
   6. Transfer each herb into every pouch. Cover every herb’s roots with additional potting mix. Make sure that the potting mix in each pouch should only be up to ½ to 1 inch below the opening of the pouch.
   7. Water each pouch accordingly. Never keep your soil wet, since it can cause the root systems of your herbs to rot. Just keep the soil moist. You can check for the soil’s moisture using the tip of your fingers.

Herb Varieties Suited for Vertical Gardens

When selecting herbs, choose more compact varieties that won’t outgrow pouches quickly:

• Basil – ‘Spicy Globe’ dwarf basil
• Oregano – Low-growing ‘Kent Beauty’ or ‘Humile’
• Thyme – Petite lemon or creeping types
• Sage – Compact ‘Berggarten’ or ‘Lady in Red’
• Parsley – Slow bolting ‘Darki’ flat leaf parsley
• Rosemary – Prostrate spreading varieties like ‘Blue Boy’
• Chives – Dwarf ‘Forescate’ chives

Experiment with a mix of your favorite culinary and ornamental herbs. Mint, oregano, chives, thyme and sage are sure bets for vertical gardens.

Conclusion

With a recycled plastic shoe organizer, anyone can create an attractive vertical herb garden with minimal cost and effort. Follow these simple DIY steps to bring fresh herbs within arm’s reach using an item you may already have around your home. Give it try and unleash your creativity.

Related posts:

1. 1. Do It Yourself Hanging Herb Garden Design
   2. How to Build a Vertical Herb Garden Using Rain Gutters
   3. Different Herb Garden Design Plans
   4. Vertical Herb Garden Design