Life Lessons from the Herb Garden

“Mummy!  It smells just like sunshine!” said my 5 year old son, Cameron, his face split wide open with a grin.  He was standing knee deep in the middle of our herb garden, the sun pouring down on him from a cloudless blue sky. 

“How do you know what sunshine smells like?” said Kent, my 10 year old.

“It smells like dirt, and flowers… and Peppermint.” Cameron replied, looking at both of us as if everyone should know what sunshine smells like.

Growing herbs is a fun and fantastic way to introduce children to gardening.  No matter how much space you have, from a window box to an 8 foot by 8 foot plot, herbs are hearty, prolific and easy to maintain.  A little dirt, some water and sunshine are all you need to share a lifelong skill with your kids.

When our family first started growing herbs, we planted thyme, oregano, basil and chives.  These varieties are simple to start, they have a quick turn around from seed to harvest and we planned to use them in our homemade spaghetti sauce.  We poured over seed catalogs, letting the kids choose which kinds of herbs we’d plant by looking at the pictures.  We took field trips to our local nurseries and asked lots of questions.

We start our herbs in the house in paper cups.  The kids fill the cups to within a half inch of the top with potting soil.  We help the kids read the instructions on the seed packet, and supervise the planting.  Once they are done planting, they water the cups well and then we place them in a plastic tray in a warm spot with lots of sunlight.  We water about every other day.

In about a week to ten days, the seedlings start pushing through the dirt.  This is a good time to talk with the kids about the particular shape of the first leaf sets.  Do Dill leaves look different from Mint leaves?  How many leaves are there?  What do you think the adult plant will look like?  This encourages kids to use their imaginations and teaches them how to identify plants.

Once the seedlings are big enough to handle transplanting, usually about five weeks after sowing, they can be moved outside to a window box, pot or garden.  Make a hole in the dirt large enough for the roots using a tablespoon or a garden trowel.  Gently squeeze the cup to release the roots, and pull the plant out.  Insert the roots into the hole and press the dirt around the roots and the stem of the plant.  Give the plants a good drink of water and check on them over the next few days to make sure they like their new home.

Maintaining herbs is simple.  Water them every few days, when the dirt feels dry to the touch.  Within a few weeks, you’ll be able to harvest small amounts to season food. Trimming the herbs is good for them, because they’ll shoot out new branches where they were cut.

Be prepared to answer all kinds of questions.  Anything from “Why is dirt brown?” to “Why do bees like flowers?”  With older kids, you may hear from them about how plants are pollinated, because they’ve been learning about it at school.

We began gardening with hand me down cuttings and a small front garden.  Our kids were more interested in the earthworms and insects we found in the ground, than in the actual plants.  Cameron still says his favourite part of gardening is digging wiggly worms out of the dirt.   

We now have a backyard garden, measuring about 6 feet by 8 feet.  We started out growing spaghetti seasonings, but we’ve expanded our repertoire quite a bit in the last few years.  Lemon balm, chamomile, dill, mint and rosemary have been added to the mix. 

Our kids have been gardening with us for five years now.  It’s provided an opportunity to bond with them and to teach them about renewable resources and nature’s life cycles.  Some of the best conversations we’ve had with our kids have been held while getting our hands dirty.

Nature’s cycles with plants mirror the cycles of our lives.  Learning about gardening has fed our curiosity about the world around us.  In the process of gardening with our kids, not only have we grown herbs, we’ve grown ourselves.  And, who knows, we may be planting the seeds of a future farmer or a full fledged horticulturalist.

For more information about herb gardening, go to

www.herbgardening.com

http://www.herbgardeningtips.com