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Nick has been wanting to have an herb garden for a while now, but leave it to quarantine to help him take the plunge. Though our apartment in LA is about half the size of our Dallas loft, our patio is about double the size. I shared our patio reveal almost 2 months ago, but our plant babies have not only grown since then, they’ve multiplied;) We love to cook with fresh herbs but were tired of paying $5 or so for a small pack when we could be paying the same for a plant that would last longer and end up producing a lot more herbs!

I shared about some of our herb garden on Instagram stories and was really surprised by how many questions / comments I received about the process and figured I could do a blog post on it. Before I get into everything, I want to say that though I help with the plants here and there, they are mainly Nick’s project. I do talk with him a ton about it AND my dad has been planting his own herbs / garden for several years now, so I do have some intel. That being said, here are some herb garden tips AND how we like to use our herbs.

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HERB GARDEN TIPS

Always be learning. I said it - hah! We don’t know everything, so we try to learn any way we can. YouTube and google are great resources, but don’t sleep on TikTok as they have tons of plant hacks. Some of our favorite TikTok plant accounts are @kansodesigns, @sacredelements, @in_my_patch, @art.of.plants, @me.myself.and_plants, and @urbanfarmstead.
Become high tech. Use resources! We love the Planta app which can help you keep your plants alive / give you heat and water tips. For example, we have moved our plants indoors some days so they wouldn’t fry in the heat. This doesn’t happen often in LA, but it is good to know, especially if you are in a temper-mental climate.
Shop local. When it comes to buying herbs to plant we have purchased from grocery stores and plant shops and guess what? The plant shop’s herbs are always bigger, stronger, and not that much more expensive than say a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods plant. Support your local plant shop AND get better herbs. It is a win-win. We typically go to Armstrong in Santa Monica. In Dallas we went to Ruibal’s or Calloway’s Nursery.

FAVORITE HERB GARDEN ACCESSORIES

Apple Cider Vinegar. You’ll see mason jars with ACV in them if you look closely! We put saran wrap on top and poke holes to try and catch gnats and other bugs that can harm the plants.
Cinnamon . Yep! That ground spice in your kitchen! Not only will it help stimulate root growth, but it can also prevent fungus that can overtake your plant.
Egg Shells. There are lots of ways to use egg shells as they are a great natural fertilizer but the way we typically use them is after boiling eggs. I crush them up in a water pitcher and let them sit for 24 hours before using the water on our plants. They have calcium (and other good things) that plants really like!
Coffee Grounds. Nick makes coffee every morning, but probably only sprinkles grounds on our plants once a week. It acts as a natural fertilizer, attracts worms, and decreases heavy metal concentrations in soil.
Sticky Trap Butterflies. We learned about these on TikTok! We have some gnat problems and these not only help but are actually pretty cute. They are non-toxic and easy to use.
Neem Oil. An organic way to fend off un-welcome bugs. You can also release lady bugs! They can eat up to 100 mites a day EACH.
Moisture Meter. You stick this tool into the said soil and it will tell you if it needs more water, sun light, and how the pH level is fairing. Super easy / no more guessing!
Plant Spikes. These are hacks to being able to travel and have your plants self-water!

One thing I didn’t mention here is a shelf or herb ladder. That is really up to you, but as long as they are getting enough sun and water you should be good! We use our patio tables and a thrifted shelf!

WAYS TO USE YOUR FRESH HERBS

I feel like people want to grow herbs, but are unsure how to utilize them. Here are some of our favorite ways to use them.

Dry them. This is the equivalent of buying dried herbs at the store, except you did it yourself! We have a cute little hanging rack to dry them. It’s literally made out of rope that we tied around 2 cabinets. Just remember that you need more fresh herbs than dried herbs so take note of what a recipe calls for. Typically you need 1 tsp of dried herbs for every 1 TBS of fresh herbs.
Purée them. They make wonderful sauces for meat or pasta. Got parsley? Grab some and make some chimichurri! Got basil? Grab some and make some pesto! You can also BLEND them into smoothies!!
Freeze them. You can freeze herbs as is, but you can also freeze them IN things. I haven’t personally done this, but I have seen lots of people put olive oil in an ice tray, place fresh herbs in each space, and freeze. Next time you are cooking, you can just pop a cube out, let it melt, and get to cooking with your fresh herbs! Side note - you don’t have to pre-chop the herbs before putting them in the tray, but I probably would!
Muddle them. YES. We love making cocktails with them. From blueberry basil margaritas to fresh mint mojitos, we are STOCKED. They are also yummy to make mocktails with. One of my favorites is 3/4 parts lemonade, 1/4 parts ginger tea, fresh mint, and a splash of Topo Chico.
Liquify them. Don’t sleep on this! Yes you can brew tea with them, but you can also make simple syrups! We use these in cocktails, but also as sweeteners in general for tea and even baking. Rosemary simple syrup has probably been my favorite, but lavender simple syrup was pretty good too. To make a SS you just need equal parts water and sugar (i.e. 1 cup water 1 cup sugar). You can either boil the water in the microwave or stovetop, then add in the sugar and stir until it is dissolved. Next add in your flavoring (i.e. 1/4 cup fresh rosemary) and let the mixture cool before transferring to the fridge. We store ours in mason jars.
Sub them. Meaning use them in place of other herbs. Know your substitutions! Did you know that parsley is a good substitute for cilantro? We don’t have a cilantro plant, so this comes in clutch when we can’t find any at the store… or you are that part of the population who doesn’t like cilantro. Hah!
Bake them. Throw them in your fresh sourdough loaf!!
Use them as is. Fresh herbs are always a good idea! While it is fun to do other things with them, never underestimate the power they hold in their natural state. Whether it is basil on freshly sliced tomatoes with mozzarella, throwing in sage leaves with butter and pasta, placing a handful of leaves in a soup, salad dressing or more, it will be GOOD! Don’t forget they work as pretty garnishes too!!

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I think herb season (spring - summer?) has come and gone as we haven’t found any new ones at our local plant store, though our personal pots are thriving! Well…I think our lavender is done blooming for the year and looks kind of sad, but the rest of the bunch looks good! We have basil, mint, sage, oregano, parsley, thyme, and lavender. Not an herb, but we also have a spinach plant and recently acquired a catnip plant that the kitties LOVE.

Something to keep in mind is that plants take work. If I had to compare them, I’d say they are more like dogs than cats. We can leave our cats with food, water, and litter no problem; whereas, with our dog we have to board him. Typically we don’t have anyone come and check on the cats while we are gone, we now have had people over to simply check on our plants. Hah!

What are your favorite herbs? Any we should get stat? I still have my heart set on a cilantro plant, but they are fickle as can be. Let me know any hacks we should be using too! Always down to learn and do better. Happy planting!!