Caring for a herb garden is a hugely rewarding activity for children. Herbs are quick to grow, easy to care for and youngsters can reap the benefits of their work with a tasty dinner! Cultivating the pots will exercise your child’s motor skills, and repeating a plant care routine will help develop their working memory and general wellbeing.
Top tip!
Make sure the soil in your herb pots is always moist, but never soaking wet!Equipment needed
- Container such as an ice-cream tub or plant pot
- Compost
- Herb seed packets from a supermarket or garden centre – pick basil, chives, parsley, thyme, oregano, mint, rosemary or coriander
- Jug
About the activity
Clean your container using warm soapy water, then rinse. If the container doesn’t already have holes in the bottom, ask an adult to make some with scissors or a skewer. This will allow water to drain from the soil.
Use your hands to scoop compost into the tub until it is nearly full. Then use your fingers as a fork to lift and separate the soil to make it light and fluffy. With the jug, pour a small amount of water onto the soil so that it’s damp. Sprinkle a few seeds onto the surface and lightly press them down into the soil.
Put your herb pot in a sunny spot and check on it each day. If the soil feels dry, give it a little drink of water to make it moist again.
Soon tiny sprouts will pop open! Remember to water the growing plants. When you have several stems, gently rustle the leaves to get a lovely whiff of herby scents…then pick one and see what it tastes like! Why not help your parents in the kitchen and see what tasty flavours you can create?
