Simple, easy do-it-yourself herb garden made out of cinder blocks and old wooden boards. Very sturdy and easy to customize to fit your space!
This weekend we did a lot of work in the backyard, including disassembling the cinderblock benches we made earlier this year. We realized they were too heavy for the concrete and it was cracking down the middle. So now we are left with all these cinderblocks and had to figure out something to do with them. So I started looking for cinderblock projects on Pinterest, of course. And I found some shelves that were made out of cinderblocks and wood. Perfect! That’s just what we have from the benches. I showed it to Justin as an idea to start from, and we went from there.
We have done a lot of projects around the home. Some were outside, like this, and others were inside, such as our DIY Coffee Bar.
Originally Published On: November 14, 2016
Last Updated On: May 11, 2020
Construction of the Herb Garden
I decided I want a few big planter areas in the bottom of the herb garden. This would give room for some of the bigger plants and ones that need a little more room to spread. I don’t know exactly what is going in there yet, but I have the space saved for now. Then we started to lay out the rest of it with the cinderblocks and measured what length we needed the boards to be cut for this.
We knew we couldn’t go too tall because it would start to get unstable, so we went wider and shorter. It was Justin’s idea to put one small shelf on the side and I like how it gives it a more unique look.
I grabbed a few of the leftover flat bricks that we pulled up from the front of the house a long time ago and laid those out in front of the herb garden to have an area to stand in front of it. We are going to get more of these blocks and mosaic them to take up that area. I still need to get that part done and pull the grass on the left side to lay those.
This is far from done, but looking good. We still need to put some liquid nail between everything to help hold it together. Then we need to restain the wood because spots are bare wood. I want to attach the pots to the shelves so if we get a big storm they don’t move or fall over. Once we have that done, and a few other things in the backyard, we are going to order some soil to be delivered and fill the bottoms up. I will probably wait to plant anything until around February or so. It doesn’t really freeze here much, but it still does get cold enough that I don’t know how well the herbs would do in the winter.
Herbs and Veggies
I only have some green onion and mint leftover from last season so I placed those on the shelves for now. The vine is one I am trying to grow from a plant we have hanging inside the house right now.
Updates to the Herb Garden
UPDATE: December 30, 2016
We finally ordered fill dirt and also turned all the dirt over in the old garden. I still had just a couple things growing in there, so I potted those. For now, they are sitting on the herb garden. We are going to wait until the threat of any frost is gone before replanting in the garden. This way we can move the pots inside if we need to.
UPDATE: March 30, 2017
I used the same wood stain from the wooden boards to stain the cinderblocks and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked and is holding up. I feel like it gives the herb garden a more cohesive look. We finally have a lot of our herbs growing in enough to start using to cook with. That small tomato plant we found in a completely different section of the garden, so we decided to put it in its own pot to see what happens with it. The plants at the very bottom, we aren’t sure what they are. Justin had cucumber, zucchini, and squash to plant. Two went in there, one in the vegetable garden, but we don’t know which went where! I guess we will see soon with how much they are growing!
Herbs
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- Essential Herbs and Spices for a Healthy Kitchen, Part 3: Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Red Chili Flakes
- Essential Herbs and Spices for a Healthy Kitchen, Part 4: Chili Powder, Cilantro, Cumin
- Essential Herbs and Spices for a Healthy Kitchen, Part 5: Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg
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- Bay Leaves vs Basil Leaves: Uses in Cooking, Gardening, and More
- Basil vs Parsley
- Red Pepper vs Cayenne Pepper
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- How to Start an Indoor Herb Garden
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Growing Your Own Food
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- Eating the Seasons: A Monthly Guide to the Best Produce
- How to Grow Your own Food without Waste
- 11 Ways to Use Fresh Herbs
I’m looking at the very last photo of your DIY herb garden and feel that you did a good job using the cinder blocks in your yard. Now for more herbs, right? 🙂
Definitely time for more herbs! I feel like I never have enough 🙂
We cook with fresh herbs so often that I need to create a little herb garden. Hoping to start one soon.
I like using fresh herbs in my cooking, too. I was buying so many at the store, it just seemed much more efficient to grow them myself.
I love the idea of making my own herb garden. We’re in the process of doing up our garden and making it a nicer space to be in so I will have to add this to the list x
And mine was just a hodge-podge mix of pots that we had. If you buy matching ones or paint them to match it’ll look really nice out there!
While I’m here in Colombia and I have the space on the terraces of my apartment, I think I may start an herb garden. If for no other reason, it gives my toddler a chance to water plants…something he seemingly took a strong liking to after spending the summer with his grandparents.
Having plants to grow and tend to is so beneficial for children of all ages! It would be a wonderful project to work on together.
I’m certainly going to miss my herbs once winter comes along. I’m already in the process of drying them. I’d love to start an indoor herb garden as well. Your herb garden is lovely!
We have a lot of dried herbs, too. I have to do that before summer here since it’s so hot they just fry in the sun.
What a great idea for an herb garden. Love having fresh herbs for cooking!
It’s so easy to put together, and cheap, too!
I really like your herb garden! We have a bunch of herbs in pots inside our house – but having an outdoor structure is such a good idea, and you can bring the pots in for the winter.
We had a bunch of random pots around, too. But I like having them in one central location to be able to check on them and water easily.
This is right up my alley. I love your herb garden and I am inspired!
Thanks! It’s so easy to put together and there are so many possibilities 🙂
This is awesome! We plant tomatoes and peppers on the side of our house, it would be easy to add a herb garden there too. Thanks for the idea!!!
I have a herb garden that I love so much…I wish I had a bigger space to plant more herbs, this is such a fun activity.
That is such a cute herb garden area! I have one myself, but it’s not nearly as put together as this. I love it!
An herb garden is one of the projects I have lined up for this year. Hopefully I get started soon. It is so nice to get fresh herbs right in your own backyard. Will be bookmarking your post for tips.
When we do up our garden this is exactly the kind of thing I want to do as I’d love to grow herbs, but indoors just doesn’t work for us with our cats x
I love using fresh herbs. I liked your herb plants. I also have few in my balcony.
Such a brilliant idea! My kids are keen to start growing some herbs so I think we might just give this a go – looks fairly easy, thanks to your helpful guide!