Mason Jar Herb Planters

Happy happy Monday friends!  I had a nice four-day weekend, including a two-day stint as a stay at home mom before I start my new job today… I’m pretty sure I could totally do the SAHM thing (at least part-time) one of these days, but for now I’ll be heading back to the ole’ 8to5 routine.

One thing I won’t be giving up my day job for is to be a gardener, given my history of having a black, er brown thumb.  Nevertheless, I’m determined to overcome my reputation as a plant-killer this year and I’m starting with these: Mason Jar Herb Planters.

When my daughters told me they wanted to “plant something” a couple of weekends ago, I thought it might be good to start small with some herbs.  Secretly though, I have always dreamt of cooking all Giada-like with some fresh herbs that I just snipped from my garden so this project was a little self-serving.  Thanks kids :).

The blue Ball jars have been sitting in the transoms above my kitchen windows because I love when the light shines through the blue glass, so they seemed to be the perfect choice for my new herb garden.

I placed river rocks on the bottom to assist with drainage and then layered soil on top before planting.  I purchased my herbs at my local Home Depot and Lowe’s – most were from Lowe’s because the variety there was so much better.  The plants were less than $3.00 each and were big enough to split into a couple of planters.  I even made a square planter for our neighbors – I’m waiting to make sure they’ll live and grow a little before I take them over.  Can’t tempt fate too much with my reputation…

I had some clay tags left over from the Christmas market I did this year, so I used those to label my newly planted herbs.  I’ve got peppermint (mint julep, anyone?), rosemary, sweet basil, curled parsley, and thai basil.  I lurve me some thai basil – I’m dying to make some thai coconut curry soup with it.  Nomnomnom.

Here’s a pic of my mason jar herb planters in their new home – the lighting makes it so difficult to get a good pic of this, but trust me when I say those transoms were made for herbs in a jar!

It’s been a week since I’ve planted these and so far, so good.  Everything’s still green and living and I’m hoping it stays that way.  I’ve been doing some reading on gardening herbs to try and keep them from succumbing to my usual plant mistakes – water too much, water too little.  Is there not an easy way to figure this out?!

If all goes well, I’ll be posting recipes soon using these little herbs – pray for us all.

Do you have a brown thumb like me or are you an avid gardener?  If you’re the latter, I’d appreciate any and all tips you can share!  Happy Monday lovelies!

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