Fresh herbs are a good way to say goodbye to bland meals, especially when those herbs are as close as your patio. This herbal globe, fashioned from two wire baskets, is a unique way of cramming a lot of herbs into a small amount of space.
Materials
- two wire baskets
- sphagnum moss that's been soaked in water
- variety of creeping herbs such as oregano, thyme and parsley
- water polymers
- plastic ties
- potting soil
Step-by-step instructions
- Line the baskets with sphagnum moss. Squeeze the moss around the wire (figure A) so that it will dry into place. Use plenty of moss; it will shrink as it dries.
- When the wire baskets are completely lined, poke your hand around the inside to check for holes. If a finger slips through a hole, patch the hole with additional moss.
- Add some soil to the inside of both baskets, but don't fill to the top. Sprinkle in fertilizer and water polymers (figure B).
- With your finger, create a small hole in the outside of one of the baskets. Remove a plant from its container and insert the root ball into the hole. Push the plant deep enough so that only the crown peeks out of the moss (figure C). Stuff moss around the crown to help anchor the plant into place.
- Continue adding other plants to the outside of each wire basket. If the roots of your plants are tangled (or the plants are pot-bound), simply tease the roots apart.
- Keep the same types of herbs clustered together. This will make them easier to identify, and they tend to look better in masses.
- Once all the herbs are planted, top each basket off with soil. Make sure you press it firmly to keep everything intact (figure D)
- Push the baskets together. Using one of the plastic ties, join the sides that are touching.
- Now you'll want to flip one half of the "globe." Put a piece of cardboard on top of the one you want to invert. Holding the cardboard in place, swing that half up and over until it's resting soil-side down on top of the other half of the globe. Slide the cardboard out (figure E).
- Using twist ties, secure the globe by joining the two baskets around its "equator" (figure F).
- Touch up the globe by stuffing a few more plants in the top and bottom.
- Once you're finished with the final touches, the globe is ready to be hung. Weave an S-hook through the top of the globe, and hang in a sunny location.
- Keep the globe well watered; in some cases, you might have to water it twice a day.
In about three weeks, the herbs will be ready to spice up your table. Enjoy!
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