My Little Herb Garden

I have been helping and harvesting from my Mom's garden for so long. She made a homemade one where she build it specially in the back of her house. However not everyone has space (or the funds) to do that. So what other options are there? The first one is to use a veranda that is being used just for storage or is a bit useless for anything else.

The first we did was to get some rubber mats. Water drops from the containers and if not cleaned everyday (who has time for that!) can stain your tiles. This is a quick way to stop that. I also bought some of the ready made containers from the Garden Centre at Joostenbergvlakte.

First things first: I line the containers with special gardening felt-like material. This ensures that all the sand does not just fall through the drainage holes in the bottom. I also add a small layer of stones to help with drainage. It's not necessary but it does help your plants not drown.

Second step is to pour in some proper soil. Take something that already has the necessary nutrients added or ask your garden centre what else to add.To make it look neat I cut off any felt that was still visible before topping up the soil all the way.

Now the fun part: planting! The box in the corner received the plants that will take the longest to grow: corn and butternut. I planted them close as they are still small but I intend to add to my garden and then replant them as necessary.

Next I planted onions and beet. As they grow low I added eggplant plants in between that grows high. At the back next to the trellis, I planted 3 cucumber plants that need a space to hang.

Near the edge I planted spinach and tomatoes. The tomato plant was bought from Woolies and was already big with many fruits. While I bought it with the intention to keep it on the counter top, I was scared that it will die so decided to add it to the garden.

Next come the rest of my tomatoes. I bought Roma tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. The Little One loves tomatoes and eat so many during the week that I ensured i have a couple of plants. I will get more of these elongated one and just place it in front and replant some of them later.

I also planted a couple of green pepper plants. The tend to only have 1 or two peppers to i planted a few. They also didn't have any lettuce, so I bought rocket instead.

Then lastly I planted the 2 herbs I use the  most: parsley and coriander (cilantro). I am more fond of flat leave parsley than the curly variety as i feel the curly ones are more hard in texture.

Since I had the space i also added my 2 "hanepoort" grape trees. the can get nice and big and will add to the healthy living idea. I also recently planted 4 blueberry bushes, 1 gooseberry bush, a mango tree, an apricot tree, a Cara cara orange tree, a lemon tree, a paw-paw tree and a naartjie tree. they are all very small but the bushes are already giving us some fruit!

So what if you don't have the space to do the above? Well then the second option is to get a table, a bunch of small pots, and plant a small herb garden there. I didn't have space for all my herbs and truthfully, these herbs (majoram, oregano, basil etc) are herbs I don't use regularly. I also have my own chilli collection from paprika, jalapenos and my latest addition: the black pearl!

Everything to make the grocery bill smaller at the end of the day!