Having fresh herbs on hand adds instant flavor to your meals. Growing them indoors makes it even more convenient.
There are many containers that let you plant herbs inside your home, but mason jars are among the most popular. They make for a fun display that fit a variety of design styles so its a pleasure to have them nearby.
Planting herbs in mason jars is not only attractive but practical. Thanks to the glass you are able to monitor the water level and see if the roots are getting too big for the jar.
Start by choosing which herbs to grow. Annual soft herbs are going to do better for this. Woody herbs tend to need more room for their roots. Examples of herbs to try:
- basil
- chives
- cilantro
- mint
- parsley
- tarragon
Supplies for mason jar herbs
Once you have decided what herbs you want to plant in mason jars, gather your supplies.
- wide mouth quart sized mason jars
- small rocks, aquarium gravel, or even small marbles
- potting soil
- herb seeds or small plants (no bigger than 4 inch)
- labels for the jars, optional but nice if using seeds
Planting the Herbs
Now that you have your supplies ready, you can get started on planting the herbs.
Puts in rocks first. You can also use gravel or marbles at the bottom of the jar. Just a thin layer of rocks is all you need, about an inch. These are there for drainage since your mason jars don’t have holes.
Add your potting mix on top of the rocks. Make sure you are using potting soil, and not regular soil. The potting soil is lighter and often includes organic material that helps the herbs to thrive indoors. Fill to the top inch (seeds) or several inches for transplants. Tamp down on the soil lightly and add more if needed.
For seeds: Sprinkle seeds on top of the soil adding more potting soil on top. The general rule of thumb is add the same height of soil as the height of the seeds.
If you are planting several types of herb seeds at once you will want some kind of label so you know what is growing in each jar.
For transplant herb plants: remove the plant from the original pot, gently loosen the roots and place in the jar. Add additional soil around the plant and gently tamp down.
Water both seeds and transplants immediately after planting
Caring for your Mason Jar Herbs
Herbs are "goldilocks plants", especially indoors. They need regular light and water, but too much can kill them.
Place the mason jars in a sunny spot, but if the spot gets too hot (such as South facing windows here in SoCal in summer), it could dry them out quickly. Rotate the jar a quarter turn monthly or the plants will start to lean towards the light
If you planted from seeds, try to keep the top few inches damp while they are sprouting, but not soaking. Do not over water, just a little bit every day.
For transplants, or after the seeds have sprouted, they should be watered daily. Watch the soil in the jar. It should look moist, but if you see water regularly pooling in the gravel, use a little less next time.
how to use your fresh herbs
If you are planting fresh herbs, chances are you already have plans for how to use them. I have plenty of recipes using fresh herbs over on my recipe site.
Planting herbs in mason jars is a simple and easy way to make sure that your meals are always exciting and flavorful. And as you can see with the step-by-step guide above, it doesn't take a lot of money, a lot of time or a lot of space to grow them.
