Build your own herb rack: create a miniature garden in your kitchen

Before fresh herbs can swing above your head in the kitchen, you need to cut down the board that will hold your herb pots to the right size. A metre-long board will accommodate around six herb pots. If you don’t want to saw the board yourself, you can have your local DIY store do it for you. Once your board is the right length, use a compass to draw the outlines of the pot holes. The diameter of the holes should be around 1 cm smaller than the upper lip of the pots.

You need to drill a hole in each corner of the board so that you can hang the herb rack later on. To do this, insert a 2.5 mm wood drill bit into the cordless drill/driver and drill through the first corner of the board around 2 cm from the edge of the board, applying moderate pressure. We recommend marking the drill holes before you start. Once you’ve drilled a hole in each corner, swap the 2.5 mm wood drill bit for the 18 mm wood drill bit. Use this to drill a hole in each circle you drew for the pots, following the inner edge of the compass line. You’ll need these holes to saw out the circles later and transform your board into a herb rack.

Good news: round holes are much easier to saw than you might think! You’ve already completed the first step by drawing the circles for the pots and pre-drilling the holes. Now place a jigsaw into the pre-drilled holes and saw up to the edge of the hole, then continue around the edge of the compass circle. Make sure to keep your hand directly above the saw blade, as this will help you to saw more easily and precisely.

To ensure your herb pots don’t get scratched and to avoid splinters, you need to sand the edges of the holes you’ve sawn. For perfect results, sand the holes evenly without applying pressure, moving in one direction. To avoid getting sawdust in your eyes, we recommend wearing protective goggles.

To hang the herb rack from the ceiling, you need to drill four holes in the ceiling. The holes should line up with the holes you drilled into the corners of the board. Then, insert the wall plugs and screw in the ceiling hooks. Next, cut the wire cable to the desired length, thread the ends of the cables through the holes in the board, and fasten them with four cable clamps so that the rack hangs securely. Now thread the cables through the ceiling hooks and secure them with the last four clamps. Your herb-rack creation is now complete! Now you can plant it with your choice of basil, rosemary, mint or other herbs.