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Mint in a strawberry jar

Growing herbs in a strawberry jar is easy — the trick is to plant herbs with similar light requirements. For full sun, try rosemary, sage, basil, thyme, oregano, or lavender. For shade, try chives, lemon balm, or parsley. Or alternatively, just one herb such as mint, which should be grown in a container instead of in the ground.

It is not necessary, but some gardeners like to insert a one- or two-inch diameter PVC pipe with holes drilled lengthwise to make watering easier. The pipe length should be one to two inches higher than the jar.

Purchase small herbs and a bag of potting mix. First take your herbs out of their containers and tease the roots apart. Sometimes you can actually tease the plant apart to get more than one.

Cover the top opening of the pipe so potting mix does not fall into the pipe. Insert the pipe into the center of the jar and add potting mix up until the first “hole” while keeping the pipe upright.

herbs just planted in a strawberry jar

Push a plant through the hole, add soil on top of the roots in the jar, tamp down, and continue adding soil until the next hole. Plant each hole, in an upward spiral fashion, until you reach the top. At the top, add the last plant, which should be one that grows vertical and tall. Tamp the mix down so the soil level is a few inches below the jar’s rim. Pour water into the pipe.  If you are not using a pipe, water the top of the jar, gently. A little potting mix may become dislodged but over time, as the plants grow, everything will stay in place.

During the summer, make sure the plants are well-watered as most jars are made of terra cotta, which dries out quickly. Snip and harvest the herbs as needed.