If you don’t have a big garden or even no garden at all, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy fresh herbs in your favourite recipes or salads. Try a vertical herb garden!
Any nook that gets adequate light can be used and walls are being utilised more and more. But vertical gardens or green walls can involve expensive irrigation systems and fail when the mix of plants have different light and watering needs.
Herbs, however, generally fall into the same needs group, look pretty and make a seamless transition from garden pot to cooking pot.
Easy steps to a simple vertical herb garden
Creating a vertical herb garden is easy with off-the-shelf products that, once installed in a sunny spot, simply requires regular watering.
Gather your supplies
- Framed mesh screen
- 2 x metal hooks for attaching to open-topped wall or screen, or 6 screws for brick walls, 6 screws for metal walls or 6 screws for wood walls
- Metal pot rings
- Plastic planters
- Herb potting mix
- Mix of herb seeds or seedlings
You’ll also need
- Watering can
Step 1
Attach screen to wall where plants can get all day sun.
Step 2
Fill pots with quality potting mix suitable for herbs or vegetables.
Step 3
Sow seeds or plant seedlings. You can put several plants in the same pot, so long as their water needs are compatible (see below).
Step 4
Attach rings to mesh, allowing enough space between pots for air to circulate around plants.
Step 5
Sit pots into rings and make sure they’re firm and won’t fall out.
Step 6
Water regularly, at least once a week, more often during extended hot periods.
Herbs to plant together
Most herbs are annuals, need sunlight, a well-draining soil or potting mix and regular watering. So when clustering herbs together, make sure they’re compatible so your watering regime is made easier.
- Check your plants’ origins. The Mediterranean is a great source of herbs, such as sage, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, oregano and lavender. They all need lots of sun and are drought tolerant, so grow well together.
- Asian herbs such as Thai basil, coriander and parsley need more consistent moisture. Plant them separate from Mediterranean herbs.
- Mint is rampant and grows over and into other plants’ space so give it its own pot.
Garden tips
- Read the seed packet or seedling label instructions.
- Water the potting mix not the plants as excess moisture can cause rust or fungal problems.
- Prune back woody herbs such as rosemary to keep growth compact.
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