Wouldn’t you just love to have a lush indoor herb garden? The only thing is you don’t have any good windows, or any extra counter space.
Well do I have a solution for you… I just made a kitchen wall herb garden from a thrifted picture frame and it solves all those problems.
It is mounted on the wall, so it does not take up counter space, and it includes an inexpensive grow light so no need for a sunny window either.
This picture frame herb garden only requires a few things and a bit of time to put together. And you can completely customize it to your style!
So if this intrigues you then keep on reading so you can easily build your very own old picture frame garden for your herbs.
Materials Needed
- 1 – Old Wooden Picture Frame
- 1 – 1″ x 6″ x 8′ Board (cheap pine works)
- 2 – 3″ Corner Brackets
- 1 – Grow Light
- Finishing Nails
- Screws
- Stain or Paint (optional)
- 4 – 4″ Herb Pots
- Soil
- Herbs
Tools:
- Drill
- Hammer
- Nail Set
- Level
- Screw Driver
Finding the Perfect Frame to DIy
First thing is first – you need to find the perfect picture frame for your project. I did this by visiting my local thrift store. Another option is to ask family, friends, or take a look in your attic or garage.
Here are some pointers to keep in mind:
- you want the frame to be made of wood so you can easily drill into it
- it should be big enough to accommodate your grow light at the top and the height of the herbs
- the size I bought is around 20″ x 16.5″
- I would choose a square or rectangle frame for this project
- If you can find a frame that is flatter at the back it may be easier to mount
Making the Box
Now that you have your picture frame picked out we need to take some measurements. Flip the frame over and measure the length and width.
My frame is slightly curved so I made sure to measure where the picture frame would touch the wooden box part that we are going to make.
If I were to do this again – I would have measured to the top of the frame so that the grow light can be even more recessed at the top. I like this because it really hides the grow light, so it does not get in your eyes too much or intrude into the room.
Once you have these measurements you can head to your local Rona or Home Depot to have them cut the pieces for you. I purchased a 1″ x 6″ x 8′ pine board and they were able to cut all four sides perfectly to size.
Once I got back home, I drilled small pilot holes in the sides of the box we are making and then put two screws through each corner. This way it will be good and secure.
You may want a friend to help hold these boards together to help you get them square. I will admit, my box is not perfectly square, but in the end you can’t really tell.
Attaching the Frame
Attaching the frame to the box was actually quite easy. I stressed about this part because I didn’t want to break the picture frame, I wanted it to be secure, and I didn’t want to see screws showing through where it was mounted to the box.
First remove the glass and picture from the frame by taking out any reinforcements on the back of the frame with plyers.
I drilled a very small pilot hole through the frame into the box.
Then I tapped in some finishing nails and used a nail set to really hide them. I only used one finishing nail per side and it feels nice and secure to me.
Alright now the hard part is over – woot woot.
Time for the Finishing touches
I was lucky and had some left over walnut stain that just so happened to match the colouring of my frame. I used this to stain the box and I think it blends perfectly. I also touched up some scuff marks on the frame itself.
I did not try to do a perfect job as I like the weathered look that this frame has, it goes with the rustic farmhouse decor that I like in my kitchen. You could also use some chalk paint on this project and that would look very good too, just depends on your style preferences and the frame you picked out.
You could also staple some canvas to the back and paint that, but I liked my kitchen wall colour to show through so I left it open at the back.
Adding the Grow light
The last thing to do is to attached your grow light.
I used this 16″ grow light and it is so good. It wasn’t too expensive, it has a built in timer, and you can adjust the brightness and colour of the light. It is full spectrum lighting which means it is as close to the sun as these plants will get while being indoors.
I have mine set to 12 hours of light each day and it is working just fine, if you are starting herbs from seed then you may want longer at first.
It also has three different ways to mount the light – I just used the small screws it came with. I secured the extra wire at the top with one of these nail in cable staples.
I also cut out a little notch in the back of my box so the wires can sneak through and not cause any issue against the wall. So it will all lay nice and flush.
Get your frame securely Mounted on the Wall
I attached my 3″ corner brackets on my frame as close to the lights as possible as I was trying to get to 16″ (the distance between the studs in the wall).
I was lucky enough to be able to find the studs in my wall and screw into those so I know this kitchen wall garden is not going anywhere. If you are not able to get into the studs, then I would use drywall plugs with mounting this.
I chose a nice open wall in my kitchen, where it does get some additional sunlight (not needed though). I didn’t want to mount it too high so that I can easily reach the herbs, and am not looking up into the grow light.
Choosing Herbs For your Kitchen Wall Herb Garden
The herbs I chose for this project are thyme, parsley, rosemary, and basil.
You want to chose herbs that you will use regularly, that grow quickly or pack a lot of flavour with a small amount. You should not be limited by needing low light herbs since we have a good quality grow light.
If you want to read more about choosing the best herbs to grow indoors, then check out this article that outlines the easiest herbs to grow in your kitchen.
Maintaining your Indoor Vertical HErb Garden
I set my herbs in their nursery pots in 4″ glazed ceramic pots with no drainage. This will protect the wooden frame. They can also easily be taken out for watering or other maintenance, and it looks nice.
Now you can sit back and enjoy this beautiful vertical herb garden for your kitchen. The main things now are to regularly prune your herbs (aka. harvest and eat them – yum!), and make sure to water as needed.
If you want to learn more about maintaining and watering and indoor herb garden then check out these posts:
Well, I hope you enjoyed and give this a try.
Until next time!
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