Zoe’s Herb Garden Update & Starting One With Your Little One

In April we started Zoe’s first Herb Garden. Sure she was only 16 months at the time but don’t let that deter you. It’s a great toddler activity. She is learning by seeing how seeds grow into herbs and plants for food (we also started tomatoes and bell peppers.) For the herbs I love the most, I wanted to be able to have them at hand and save money in the process. Fresh herbs are expensive and they don’t have a very long shelf life. In addition to our seedlings, we also purchased small herb plants: spearmint, chocolate mint, lemon thyme and purple basil. These were great for immediate use and also to teach pruning, watering and overall care. My hope is to have a full herb, fruit and veggie garden in raised beds next year.

Here are some progress pictures.

Today we said goodbye to our bell pepper plant and our chive seedlings. We had one pepper root sprout but it died soon after. And our chives never flourished even after two attempts with the seeds. I took this opportunity to explain to Zoë how plants grow, thrive and why some don’t make it. She doesn’t know what I’m talking about right now but these are important lessons that I believe should start young. We also practiced the names of everything we are growing.

Mommy: Tomato
Zoë: tomaeeeeee
Mommy: Basil
Zoë: batil
Mommy: Thyme
Zoë: thymeeeee

And so on. And guess what else we discovered today? Zoë likes mint. We picked one mint leaf so she could feel the texture and smell the fragrance. And then she ate it! Yep. Popped it right in her mouth and ate it. And then wanted more. She definitely has my palette.

So what do you need for your herb garden:

Seeds & Seed Starter: Your preferred herbs, veggies and fruits.
Small Plants: For hard to find herbs or fruits such as blueberries and raspberries (Whole Foods has some great organic one. Will definitely add berries to our crop next year because Zoë loves berries.)
Fertilizer
Water
Pots
A sunny to semi-sunny area
Spray bottle
Watering can
Basic gardening tools (plastic forks work too)
Google (for instructions and videos)
Love, patience and faith in the process

Will you give a container garden a try? If so, what will you plant?