I'm Gonna Plant One On You!

Or maybe I should say that I'm gonna plant two on you?  Two herbs that is, and for two reasons.  First, with it being such a beautiful spring day in Beantown, I wanted to harness some of that new spring plant life by taking a stab at starting my own city windowsill herb garden.  (How very green of me) There is something about growing your own herbs that just takes that homemade creativity to a new level.  Secondly, I'm frugal by nature and I'm embarrassed to reveal how much I actually spend on fresh herbs.  Since my cooking style tends to rely heavily upon delicious fresh herbs, clearly, something needs to be done.

Now, before I get to today's horticultural adventures, I should back up a bit and tell you how this project was a long time in the making and got started when I fell in love with the design of these cans of tomatoes.  (It's really not every day that one can say that, is it?) Ever the fan of a vintage decor (think brightly colored 1920's advertisements), I wanted to come up with some use for these pretty little cans.  So I bought two a while back and used up the contents, washed them out and then put them aside.  Then today, while at the grocery store, I came across cilantro and basil seeds for sale and thought that today might be the day to use those cans.  After a quick trip to the hardware store to get some potting soil, I was in business.  Now I'll just have to wait for these little seedlings to grow, allowing me to harvest my first crop.  If all goes well, that should be within the next couple of weeks.  I'm already dreaming of salsas and pestos and sorts of other uses for my little herbs....

Click on the link at the bottom of this page to jump to the instructions on how to test out your own green thumb in the city.  Happy gardening!

What you'll need:

- A large, 28 oz can, washed out and dried (One can per herb you'd like to grow)
- One shallow plastic container to sit under the can (to catch any excess water)
- A screwdriver or other sharp object
- A hammer, optional (to help drive the screwdriver or other sharp object through the bottom of the can)
- Packets of seeds
- Potting soil (enough to loosely pack into a can

Start by hammering holes into the bottom of each can.  There should be a couple of holes so that water can flow through and the plant can breath.  Put can (holes side down) into a plastic container.  Next, scoop soil into the can.  Don't pack the soil too much.  When you start to reach the top of the can with the soil, make a little hole in the center and drop a couple of seeds in.  Cover the hole with soil and top with a good amount of water.  Set in a sunny windowsill.  Water every other day or so.