I stood in the kitchen holding a $4 plastic clamshell of sad, wilted basil. That was the moment I realized I had to start growing my own herbs, even though my apartment had no yard and a balcony the size of a doormat.
Here are the tricks that actually made a difference for us.
1. The Classic Kitchen Windowsill Box
A simple rectangular box in your sunniest window is still one of the best ways to keep herbs alive. I swapped out my individual pots for one long wooden box last spring. It holds moisture much better than tiny pots. Best bang for your buck on this whole list.
2. Vertical Pallet Planter
Lean a clean shipping pallet against your wall and staple heavy landscaping fabric to the back to create dirt troughs. It turns a massive vertical footprint into growing space. John grew an entire season of cilantro on his apartment balcony this way.
3. Hanging Gutter Garden
Buy a single piece of vinyl rain gutter from the hardware store and zip-tie it to your balcony railing. It’s the exact depth needed for lettuce and fresh herbs. (cheaper than you’d think)
4. Mason Jar Wall Rack
Use hose clamps screwed into a piece of scrap wood to hold mason jars against a wall. Put a layer of rocks at the bottom of each jar before adding dirt. The drainage isn’t great, so you need to water very carefully to avoid rot.
5. Tiered Strawberry Pot
Strawberry pots have multiple pockets up the sides. Fill the entire thing with different herbs instead of fruit. Keep mint in the very top section so it doesn’t smother the smaller, more delicate herbs below.
Now for the ones that cost almost nothing.
6. Recycled Tin Can Cluster
Clean out soup cans, nail them directly to a wooden fence, and plant your herbs inside. This is how I finally got my rosemary off the ground away from the dog. It’s a great example of 10 Garden Hacks for a High-End Yard on a Tiny Budget.
7. Over-the-Door Shoe Organizer
7. Over The Door Shoe Organizer
Using a canvas shoe organizer turns a blank wall into twenty-four individual herb pockets. Hang one right outside your back door for quick access while cooking. Just poke small drainage holes in the bottom of each pocket.
8. Ladder Shelf Garden
An old wooden A-frame ladder makes a beautiful, rustic plant stand. Put larger pots of rosemary on the bottom steps and smaller pots of thyme up near the top. Honest take on this one. It eats up more floor space than a standard shelf, so only do this if you love the vintage look.
9. Tea Tin Mini Garden
Vintage metal tea tins are the perfect size for small herbs like oregano. Drill a few holes in the bottom with a metal bit. They look sharp lined up on a kitchen counter.
10. Hanging Macrame Baskets
If you have zero shelf space left, look to the ceiling. Macrame hangers let you dangle your plants right in front of the window glass where the sun hits best. (sounds weird, but the plants love it)
11. Woven Basket Wall
Attach flat-backed wicker baskets directly to an empty wall. Line them with heavy plastic before adding your potting mix. They give the room a lot of warmth while keeping your basil out of the way.
12. Rolling Bar Cart Garden
Find a cheap metal bar cart or IKEA rolling cart. Fill the top shelf with sun-loving basil and the lower, shaded shelves with mint or parsley. You can literally roll your entire garden right into the sun.
13. Wine Bottle Self-Waterers
Save your empty wine bottles. Fill them with water and quickly shove the neck deep into your planter’s soil. As the soil dries out, it slowly pulls water from the bottle. Dead simple. Check out our 18 Genius Plastic Bottle Hacks for Your Home and Garden for more recycling tricks like this.
14. Cinder Block Corner
Stack a few cinder blocks in a corner of your patio and fill the holes with soil. They are incredibly cheap and absorb heat during the day to keep plants warm at night. Just make sure you wash them off before planting.
15. Teacup Place Settings
Chipped teacups are useless for coffee but great for thyme. Put a layer of small gravel at the bottom to keep the roots from sitting in water. These look sharp clustered on a kitchen island.
16. Galvanized Bucket Row
Line up a few matching metal buckets along your driveway edge. Drill at least five drainage holes in the bottom of each one. Joanna did this with her mint collection and it looks so tidy.
17. Birdcage Planter
Find an old decorative birdcage at a flea market. Line the bottom with moss and plant creeping thyme or oregano inside so it spills out through the bars. (trust me on this one)
18. Wooden Crate Stack
Stack vintage wooden fruit crates on their sides to create instant cubbies. Put your shadow-loving herbs in the lower compartments and sun-lovers on top. It gives a ton of character to a boring wall.
19. Colander Hanging Planter
Old metal colanders make excellent hanging baskets because they already have holes built in. I found a vintage enamel one at a thrift store and lined it with sphagnum moss. The drainage is spot on for herbs that hate wet feet.
20. Spiral Herb Garden
You don’t need a massive yard to build a spiral. You can make a miniature one using river rocks built up in a wide planter base. It creates microclimates so you can plant sun-hungry basil right next to your tomatoes. Check out Pot To Plate: 4 Secrets To Growing Juicy Tomatoes In Small Spaces to see how well they pair together.
21. Chalkboard Painted Pots
Taking care of twenty identical terracotta pots gets confusing fast. Paint a square of chalkboard paint on the front of each pot so you never forget what you planted. We use this trick out in the greenhouse constantly.
22. Trunk or Chest Planter
An old wooden steamer trunk makes a stunning raised bed for herbs. Just prop the lid open permanently and line the inside with heavy plastic. Honest take on this one. It’s beautiful, but make absolutely sure you seal the wood first or it rots in a single season.
23. Magnetic Tins on the Fridge
You don’t need counter space if you have a refrigerator. Buy magnetic spice tins, pop the lids off, and stick them to the side of your fridge. These hold small herbs perfectly and keep them right at eye level.
24. Floating Shelves
When your sills are full, install two simple floating shelves directly across your sunniest window. It completely changed the way my kitchen feels.
25. The Potting Bench Focal Point
Turn a small, cheap potting bench into a dedicated herb station. Keep your soil and trowels stashed on the bottom shelf, and line up your potted herbs on the top work surface. It makes harvesting extremely easy.
Start Small and See What Grows
You definitely don’t need twenty pots to get started. Just pick the three herbs you actually buy most often at the store. Pick three, try them this weekend, and see what happens.