This simple diagram highlights how to make herbs right in your dorm room.

H.G. WATSON — The Lance (University of Windsor)

WINDSOR (CUP) — The student diet is famously known for staples like macaroni and cheese, ramen noodles and bags of frozen perogies that only cost a few bucks.

But imagine your mac and cheese spiced up with some fresh hot pepper or a nice kale salad to complement your ramen. Heck, how about just some nice herbs to liven up your frozen food? It’s easy and entirely possible to grow these fresh foods no matter how little space you have.

Artist and gardener Samantha Lefort was living in a tiny Vancouver apartment when she decided she wanted fresh food 24/7, 365 days a year.

“I didn’t have access to a balcony or a community garden… I wanted something that was fresh and as close to the soil as I could get it.”

The importance of truly fresh herbs, vegetables and fruit can’t be overstated.

“As soon as you pick any fruit or vegetable from the stalk, it starts to lose a good portion of its nutrients,” Lefort said.

Produce from the grocery store has to travel hundreds of miles before it can be purchased — by the time it is, a lot of nutrients are gone.

“Eating food that is as close to the ground as possible as soon as it is picked is healthier for you,” she said.

When getting started, Lefort recommends only starting with the food you actually want to eat.

“Use stuff that’s simple — herbs are the best thing to start with because you can use them a lot and you get used to interacting with them in your kitchen or dorm space.”

Herbs such as mint grow like weeds so they don’t need a lot of support to get going (they also allow you to make delicious and fresh mojitos). You can purchase starter herbs that allow you to get a head start on growing instead growing right from the seed.

The Internet is a treasure trove of gardening information —  treehugger.com, letspatch.tumblr.com and victorygardensvancouver.tumblr.com all have great information on container gardening.

This guide will help you build a self-watering water bottle container to grow herbs in.

You need:

• A bottle with a spout
• Soil
• Some rocks
• A piece of cotton or water absorbent fabric (it needs to plug the hole of the spout)
• Seeds, or a herb starter

Step 1) Cut the water bottle about ¼ the distance up from the bottom so that the planting area is larger than the water reservoir.

Step 2) Place your fabric through the spout and tie a knot in the side that will make up the planting area. This is so soil doesn’t breach through.

Step 3) Put some drainage rocks in the bottle all around the fabric — this provides drainage and stops the soil from mixing with the water.

Step 4) Add soil and seeds. The seeds should be planted just a fingernail length in the soil. Add some water into the reservoir area. You can also buy a plant starter — this plant is already alive and growing, you just have to keep it healthy.

Step 5) Once all these steps are complete, water the plant once from the top — after that, the plant will get all the water it needs from the water reservoir.

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Graphic: The Lance