While garden beds across Wisconsin are still sleeping outside, you can start enjoying the flavors of summer early with your own kitchen herb garden!

Here’s everything you need to know to get crafty with containers and start an indoor herb garden with secondhand supplies from your local Goodwill NCW.

Gather Your Supplies

Shop today and pick up festive secondhand containers from Goodwill NCW to house your plants. Get creative with the way you mix and match wood, ceramic, tin, glass and plastic holders.

Consider ordering grow lights to supplement the natural sunlight your plants will receive over the winter, as well as fertilizer to help keep your plants nourished and healthy. Lastly, pick up indoor potting soil and plant saucers to protect your countertops after watering.

Drill a few holes to help your plants drain properly.

Roll Up Your Sleeves

Drill a few holes into the bottom of your containers before planting your herbs to help your plants drain properly.

Fill your containers with potting soil and plant your seedlings or seeds into the soil following their planting instructions. If you want to start with mature plants, you can bring plants indoors in the fall with their root stock or see if your local grocery store carries herb seedlings in their produce area through winter.

TIP: If you are starting your garden from seed, a heating pad will help the seeds germinate faster. If you find a wooden tray to hold your ceramic containers like the one pictured below, you can line it with a recycled plastic bag to protect your countertops after watering instead of using plant saucers.

Tips and Reminders

Avoid over-watering your herb garden! Both young and well-established container plants need less water during winter than plants need outside during the summer. Also, avoid over-fertilizing your plants or their stems will grow too quickly and break easily.

Enjoy fresh herbs in your favorite dishes through the rest of the winter! Cheers to getting thrifty with your kitchen herb garden!