This is a project I made for my wife that we put in our kitchen. We usually have a garden every summer, but this year we decided we wanted to bring in some of the herbs inside to have fresh as we cook. If you haven’t already, make sure you check out the video on youtube to go along with these steps.

Step 1: Tools and Materials

MATERIALS

1x6x8 (cut to 32″)
Rope
Zip Ties
Minwax Polycrylic
Tape
Screw hooks
4″ clay pots
Potting Soil
Herbs

TOOLS

Jigsaw
Drill
Level
Random Orbital Sander
Speed Square

Step 2: Make the Boards

This is a pretty simple project that you can probably do in a day. My herb garden consisted of three shelves with three pots in each. You can make your boards whatever length you want. I got two 1x6’s at my local home center and cut three boards to 32” in length.

I measured in from each corner and drilled holes for the rope to pass through. I wanted the rope to be pretty tight once it went through the drilled holes so I made sure it was as snug fit with some test holes before drilling the actual boards. I would recommend doing this. I think my rope and drill bit size was ¼”. I measured in 1” from the side of the board and ½” from the end of the boards at each corner.

When I drilled the hole I made sure to put another piece of board under and clamp them together so I wouldn’t get tear out from drilling. This is a great trick especially when you are drilling larger holes.

Step 3: Cut Out the Holes for the Pots

The next thing I had to do was cut out the holes for the pots to fit in. I used 4” clay pots that I picked up from my local home center. I had to make sure the pots would not fall through the hole I cut, so the first thing I did was measure my pot and determine my hole size. It was exactly 4” in diameter. I marked where my holes needed to be and then drew a circle where I would cut each hole out. To make a perfect circle without a compass, I tied a piece of string to a pencil and the other side to a wood screw 2” apart.

Then I drill the screw part way in on the center mark of where I wanted a hole to be. Then, keeping my pencil straight, I went around the screw in a circle. This worked great for creating a perfect circle. If I were to do this again, I would just purchase a hole saw and use that, but I didn’t have one for this project so used a jigsaw. I made a large pilot hole inside the drawn circle to have a place to start with the jigsaw, and then I cut out each circle. Cut slow and let the blade do the cutting. I went very fast at first and had to redo a few mistakes. It does work great though.

I sanded the inside of the holes until I got rid of most of the jigsaw cut marks and then with the random orbital sander, I sanded the boards up to 220 grit sandpaper. I put on 3 coats of Miwax polycrylic sanding lightly in between each coat.

Step 4: Attach the Rope to the Boards

To start with the rope I added a piece of painter's tape at the end of the rope so that I could fish it through the hole a little easier without splitting up the rope. I just started at each corner and put the rope up through the corner of each board. I tied a knot at the bottom of the bottom board.

I added zip ties on the rope below each shelf corner so the shelf could rest and be held up on the zip tie. This worked really well. You can make your shelves be as far apart as you want. I decided to make mine 10” apart.

I left about 30” of extra rope at the top just to make sure I had enough to hang it with. I then tied the two ropes from each side together in a knot and this what I would use to hang the shelf with.

Step 5: Install the Hanging Garden

I am sure each situation might be a little different when it comes to hanging the garden. I decided to use 2.5” hooks to hang mine with. I measured out the place on the wall where I wanted the hooks to be, then I pre drilled a small hole and tightened the hooks in place. You want to make sure you have a stud behind where you are adding the hooks. The garden can get pretty heavy when you consider the weight of all the pots and dirt. I put my hooks in the crease where the ceiling meets the wall. There is a 2x4 that runs along the top of my wall that I made sure to hit behind the drywall.
After hanging, I had to go back to the zip ties and adjust some of them to be level. I could move a few of them around but others I had to add a new zip tie and cut the old off. Just keep adjusting until everything is where you want it.

Step 6: Fill the Pots With Plants

We are almost done. Now it is time to pick out your herbs or plants and add them into the pots.

We got a few basic herbs from the local home center, and then we tried to start a few from seed. Once you fill the pots, you can add them to your garden frame and you are all finished. Make sure that the spot you choose to hang your garden has plenty of sunlight that your plants need.

This herb garden would be a great addition to your space. Plus there is nothing like fresh herbs when you are cooking. Make sure you check out the video I made to go along with this.