For Our Own Goods - FOOGS

Hanging Herb Garden - Other than some cool pics and a "how to make it" flavor, this blog seems long and boring, but that's really just me ruining an interesting premise with my rambling...

A while back, I was perusing the interwebs and ran across a beautiful picture of one of those hanging fruit basket sets that people put in their kitchens to keep fruit, onions, potatoes, etc. up off the counter, but still accessible and fresh.  Only THIS particular basket set was wonderfully lush, with ripe, vining herbs flowing out of every tiered basket.  So I became inspired and decided I wanted to do something like this at MY house.  I decided to look locally for this tiered basket as I do for most things, when possible.  So I looked at usual local houseware suspects, then moved up to the chain stores and really didn't find anything suitable.  "Doesn't anyone use these things anymore?" I thought.  After looking and some frustration borne of the instant gratification society in which we all live and my typically impatient, "hurried-and-rushed" temprament, I decided to look where all things in the world can be easily found and acquired: Amazon.com.  I found the basket and was pleased to see that I could order it for a relatively inexpensive price (more on the whole "get-what-you-pay-for thing" later) and quickly.  I ordered it and it came in.  Now, my family has a busy life and I do too, as do most of the people I know today, so the box kind of just sat there, unopened for at least a week or so, while I tended to the matters of my household.  As I was cleaning one day, I saw the box and couldn't remember what it was, so imagine my pleasant surprise when I opened it up and remembered the project I was once SO eager and impatient to complete.  By the way, this is what the basket set looked like (or at least a representative picture of it), except it wasn't assembled when it got to me.

 So I bought some coco basket liners and some great potting soil and decided to get to work.

My daughter and I cut the lines in the coco liners to be able to pull them out of shape and into the bowls.  We also cut the top of the liners that were too big for the smaller baskets (see the pic below.) 

 

Next, we added the soil and the plants.  We chose Basil, Thyme and Lavender for this particular basket, and once assembled, it all looked pretty good:

So, I'm feeling pretty good about this, right?  Then it came time to hang it.  I chose a post near the kitchen window, under the house eave, where it would get plenty of morning sun and we could water it using the kitchen sink sprayer hose.  We would still have to cut it by hand however, when we want herbs for our various tastes.  So, I drill the hole, put up the anchored hook and as I'm hanging the basket - SNAP!  TWO OF THE CHAINS SNAP AND THE WHOLE DARN BASKET COMES CRASHING DOWN.  It turns out the weight of the soil even without water in those baskets was too much for those junk, chinese-made, lousy, thin, made-to-save-money-at-any-cost, hanging chains.  I was on the top of the step ladder reaching up to hang the basket when the whole thing broke and spilled all down the front of me and then hit the ground after I dropped it.  (picture above is the cleaned up aftermath)   

So now, the whole thing is lying on the ground, spilled, beaten up, and I decided that the only way to do this project is to use heavier chains that I happened to have laying around from a previous lighting project.   

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND USING THE HEAVIER GAUGE CHAINS!!!!!  :) 

Can you tell the difference between the crappy Chinese chains and the less-crappy Chinese chains? (below)

 

Long story ready to finish, I hooked up the chains, rehung the basket and HERE it what it looks like!! :)

 

Views: 681

Comment

You need to be a member of For Our Own Goods - FOOGS to add comments!

Join For Our Own Goods - FOOGS

WELCOME TO FOOGS.org - MORE AND MORE EVERY DAY!



© 2024   Created by Ty Mellon.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service