Growing an herb garden in our 2 bedroom apartment
- Davina Bolinsky
- Jan 29
- 7 min read
As we continue dreaming and planning for our future homestead, we’ve found a simple yet meaningful way to bring that dream to life in the here and now. Starting an herb garden in our San Diego apartment is the perfect first step. It allows us to cultivate not only fresh, flavorful ingredients for our meals but also the skills we’ll need when we’re ready to plant on a larger scale in the future.
There are plenty of reasons to ask "why now". While we can’t yet grow rows of vegetables or fruit trees on a homestead, growing an herb garden in our apartment is the perfect way to introduce the rhythm of gardening into our lives. It’s a small but fulfilling step toward the sustainable, mostly self-sufficient lifestyle we’re aiming for. Plus, having fresh herbs like cilantro, basil, and oregano at our fingertips will make cooking more enjoyable and cost-effective, especially here in San Diego.
A Tip from Letitia H. Barnes: The Art of Starting Small
Letitia H. Barnes, in her 1941 guide for The Old Farmer’s Almanac, shared timeless advice for anyone starting an herb garden: “If you are just beginning, try only a few... decide whether 'soup herbs' or 'pot herbs'—those chiefly for fragrance or those practical ones to dress up the day-by-day salads, the roasts, the economy dishes; whether lavender for your linens or thyme for the Saturday night bean pot."
Kimberly and I love the idea of starting small—both in terms of space and variety—so we’ve chosen a selection of herbs that will not only be practical in the kitchen but also serve as a reminder of our future homestead. If you would like access to The Old Farmer's Almanac, you can access it at archive.org along with many other historic texts, documents and other forms of media. Click here to view the Almanac.
As we plan our future homestead, we’re beginning by growing a few herbs that are easy to care for, practical in the kitchen, and will thrive on our patio or window sill in San Diego. Here are the herbs we’ve chosen to start with:
Cilantro: A staple in our household. In every taco, burrito, salsa, guacamole - we always have a fresh bunch in the fridge ready to be used. I thouht I added this tomy cart with the other seeds, unfortunately, we missed it and this is the only packet ordered from Amazon.
Basil: We are looking forward to developing our own tomato sauce recipe (which we will one day be preparing with home grown tomatoes.) We are also excited to use the basil for other dishes like Bruschetta al Pomodoro, Minestrone Soup, Caprese Salad & Margherita Pizza that neither of us can say no to. More than anything, we are looking to replicate the “Hot Basil” recipe from Bua Thai, one of our favorite restaurants here in San Diego. There were some options in terms of seeds, a dwarf variety, Genovese, Basil Lemon Scent, Basil Lettuce Leaf and Basil Opal. As well as Basil Spicy Bush, Sweet Thai and Basil Cinnamon. Of course, we were drawn to Basil Spicy bush but we opted for Basil Genevese for that classic flavor pairing with tomato as well as the Basil Sweet Thai for the dishes we are looking to try.
Parsley: Parsley is incredibly versatile in cooking and is for sure another staple of our kitchen. We garnish just about everything with parsley, salads, soups, potatoes and meats. There is no limit to what we will do with parsley. Most of the time, if we are feeling that something needs a little more color, we will go right for the parsley. We went with the flat variety versus the available "Curley Parsley."
Chives: These have the same story as parsley, or just about. Instead of it adding color and not as much flavor - we grab the chives to add a little fresh onion flavor to everything. While we don’t always keep it around, it’s a very versatile way for us to add a bit of flavor to just about any dish, and we would love to have it on hand when possible. There were two seed options for the chives, one "Fine Chives" the other "Garlic Chives". HOw could we resist? Added them both to the cart.
Thyme and Oregano: Both are hardy herbs that love the sun and dry soil. They both go hand in hand in our spice rack. From seasoning chicken to soups and sauces and roasts with veggies - we use these spices very often! There was one variety of Oregano, but a few varieties of Thyme, including French, German or Dwarf. While the dwarf thyme initially caught our attention, after a bit of research it did turn out to be of the "creeping" variety. Instead of culinary uses, I probably would just use this for more landscaping purposes. We chose the german variety of Thyme as we discovered it was more aromatic than the french option. There are a few other things we want to expand on with some of these spices. We would like to try our hands at making some herb-infused oils and butters. We have heard some pretty great things about them, and we can think of a lot of things we would be willing to add them to if we had these available. An easy herb-infused oil you can drizzle on pasta, salads, or vegetables or a compound butter with thyme, parsley, and chives to serve with bread, vegetables, or grilled meats. It all sounds pretty good to us!
When to Start an Herb Garden
The best time to start an herb garden depends largely on your location and the climate. Since we live in a mild climate with year-round gardening potential, we’re taking advantage of the opportunity to start our indoor garden in mid-February.
Indoor Herb Garden: Starting herbs indoors is a great option at any time of year, especially during the colder months when outdoor gardening isn’t practical. Since we live in an apartment, we have the advantage of controlling the environment indoors. We’ll ensure our herbs get plenty of sunlight by placing them on a south-facing windowsill, or we may use grow lights to supplement natural light. The ideal temperature for herbs to thrive indoors is between 65-70°F (18-21°C), which is perfect for our apartment’s indoor climate.
Outdoor Herb Garden: If we had the space outdoors, we would wait until after the last frost in spring to start planting herbs. For most climates, this falls between April and May. However, in our case, since we’re limited to an apartment, we’ll start our herbs indoors and transplant them outside once the weather is warm enough. If you live in a warmer climate like ours, you can start your herbs even earlier, in February or March.
How We’re Starting Our Herb Garden
Since we’re working with limited space, we’ve gotten creative about where to grow our herbs:
Containers: We are using a seed starting tray. After a while these will sit on our windowsill, which receives plenty of sunlight, and on the balcony for a bit of fresh air and light.
Soil: We’ve chosen high-quality potting soil that provides good drainage. Since herbs like dry soil, we’ll make sure not to overwater them, as we have learned that too much moisture can lead to root rot. When we transplant,
Seeds: After a bit of research, and by a bit I mean less than a minute to type into Google “Reddit where to buy seeds online” I have found a post with a plethora of resources. Thanks to @teacamelpyramid for the thorough post. We decided to go with https://www.artisticgardens.com/ for our seeds. Turns out, there are multiple strands of each type of herb! So, what do we do? I guess the best way to begin is pick the types that are the least intimidating, go with the dishes we make the most, and the kind that grow the easiest to grow in this San Diego climate! We listed the seeds we chose above.
Lighting: Our apartment is lucky enough to have a south-facing windowsill, which is perfect for herbs that need a lot of light. If we find that the natural light isn’t sufficient, we’ll invest in a small grow light to ensure our herbs get the light they need to thrive.
Watering & Care: We’ll water our herbs regularly but carefully, allowing the soil to dry out slightly between waterings. By trimming the herbs regularly, we’ll encourage bushy growth and prevent them from becoming leggy.
Space: With only a small apartment, we’re focusing on maximizing the space we do have. The windowsill, kitchen counter, and balcony are all potential spots where our herbs can thrive, depending on what each one needs.
The Bigger Picture: A Step Toward Our Homestead
For us, starting this herb garden is more than just about fresh flavors in our meals—it’s a reminder of the homesteading life we’re working toward. As we care for these plants in our apartment, we’re learning the basics of gardening, from soil and watering to sunlight and growth cycles. These lessons will be invaluable when we have a much larger space to tend to.
In the meantime, this small garden connects us to the future we envision—a life where we’ll grow our own food, raise animals, and live (somewhat) off the land. It may be a humble beginning, but it’s a tangible step toward realizing our homestead dream.
Looking Ahead
As our herbs grow, we’ll continue dreaming of the homestead we’ll one day build, and updating you as we grow. This garden is just the beginning—when we finally have the space, we’ll expand to growing vegetables, fruits, and even raising chickens for fresh eggs. But for now, our little herb garden is a meaningful way to begin the journey toward a more sustainable, fulfilling lifestyle.
We’re excited to see how these herbs grow, and we’ll be sure to share our progress as we continue nurturing them and planning for the homestead that awaits us in the future. Stay tuned for more updates on our journey!
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