Plant Some 'erbs, Herb

Last Saturday we went to the farmers market. Actually, we went to TWO farmers markets--one in Overland Park, KS, and one in downtown Kansas City. What a great way to spend a morning.

We each picked up some herbs and thought we'd show you our kitchen herb gardens. If you haven't planted one, try it. There are few pleasures more pure than harvesting your own herbs for a dish you're cooking. Container gardens like ours are oh-so-convenient and easy to do.

I'm crazy about galvanized buckets. Love them. And here's the deal--since I use them for lots of things, I hate to put drainage holes in them. After all, they could become something entirely different later, but only if I haven't poked them full of holes. SO...I don't.

But container gardens need drainage, you say? Right! We solve that problem by filling the bottom of the container with plastic bottles before adding the dirt. Works like a charm. My theory is that the bottles create little rivers and valleys for the water to run into. They also replace a lot of soil, so the container ends up lighter and easier to handle, which I like.

The bottles I had saved were too big for this container. They fit inside, but didn't create quite the right number of hills and valleys.


That's better: I cut some of them in half. A generous layer of bottles goes in first, then the dirt. We use Scott's potting soil with the moisture retention stuff. It helps come July and August when it's over 100 degrees in the shade!


Here are our herbs. (only $5 for all 4 at the farmers market!)

We slide each out of its pot, break up the soil around the root, and slip it into a pocket in the new soil. Pat the soil around it, and it's set. I put basil, thyme, and chives into one pot.


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And dill into another. (It gets really big.)

That's it. Now all they need is water. We'll pinch them back from time to time. Basil gets leggy if you let it and chives try to take over the world. A quick pinch now and then takes care of that.