LITTLE COOKS
How does your herb garden grow?
H
March is the perfect time to start growing fresh herbs – why not get the whole family involved?
erbs have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes – and they’re now one of our kitchen staples.
They’re also the perfect crop to get the
whole family involved. Sometimes, it can be hard to involve children in gardening activities as the process from planting to harvest can be too long to keep them engaged – herbs, however, grow quickly and are easy to incorporate into meals that can be cooked as a family activity.
GROWING HERBS FROM SEED Spring is the perfect time to plant herb seeds: sow them and keep them indoors until the end of March, when the frosts disappear and the weather starts to get warmer. Plant in seed compost in half seed trays or small pots with holes punched in the bottom to ensure easy drainage. Children will enjoy sowing the seeds in the compost and watering them once done: consider using a spray water bottle instead of a watering can, to avoid drowning the seeds. You’ll also want to remember which seeds have been planted in which pots, and children can get creative in making their own plant labels from lolly sticks or other bits and pieces they fi nd around the home. After the end of March, you can repot
Choose a varied selection of the most common herbs that you’re most likely to use in the kitchen and create a herb garden at home: it will not only be useful, but will look fantastic too. If you only have a small garden, it’s also easy to grow herbs in containers. They’ll not only look attractive – they’ll be easy to keep close to hand in the kitchen to add to your food.
in containers outside, or transfer to fl ower or vegetable beds. Many of the herbs that we use regularly originate from a Mediterranean climate and so will need a good amount of sun, while herbs with darker leaves (such as mint), will fl ourish in areas with more shade. If you’re looking to plant in containers,
have children hunt to fi nd fun ways to grow their herbs: you can use anything from old baked bean tins to wellies that
are too small – even plastic toys that they have outgrown, as long as drainage holes are made in the bottom.
HOW TO LOOK AFTER YOUR HERBS Another reason why growing herbs is a great activity for the whole family is that many varieties require very little maintenance. Children can get involved in watering, and also in helping to thin out rosemary and lavender after they’ve fl owered, which will keep them from getting too woody.
With herbs such as mint, sage and tarragon, encourage children to help you to pinch them out: removing the upper portions of the stems will help to encourage better growth.
Not just for the kitchen – for nature too!
While herbs are fantastic for adding fl avour to our meals, they’re good for our garden’s wildlife too. They make great companion plants: certain herbs, when planted alongside other plants in your garden, can off er protection from the elements, help to increase the nutrients in the soil that these plants need, and act as pest control too, encouraging benefi cial pests and repelling the harmful ones.
The strong scent of sage, for example, will ward off pests from cabbages and carrots when planted alongside them, while mint will repel ants, fl ies and cabbage moths. Lavender and borage, among others, will attract bees, which are vital for the pollination of certain plants.
64 | THE WEST COUNTRY FOODLOVER
Turn to page 22 to find out how to make the most of herbs in your meals!
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