February finds me wistfully longing to plunge my hands into the soil and starting my garden for the year. It’s also a time when kids are bored and tired of being cooped indoors.

Harness this energy and plan out what you’ll grow and learn about this year!

I find it helpful to start by bundling up, grabbing a notebook and pen, and heading outdoors. Take the kids and go outside and assess your growing area.

Live in an apartment? Look around and see if there are nooks that you can tuck a few containers to plant herbs in. Or search out a local community garden where you can commit to a plot of land. You’d be surprised how much you can grow in a few containers or small garden allotment.

Use your notebook to take notes, make quick sketches of the area, and note any sun obstructions such as buildings and trees. Be sure to mark the directions on your sketch as well. Have the kids make their own sketches too.

Once you have an idea of the space you are working with, head back inside and start planning!

Gather you seed catalogs, Herbal Roots zine ebooks, and a nice cup of herbal tea and sit down with your notebooks to plan.

Go through your catalogs and ebooks, noting any herbs that you and your kids are interested in learning about. Make a list from that and read up on their growing requirements. Are they suitable for your space? Some, such as trees or shrubs may be too big, while others may be wild plants that grow in nearby parks or wild spaces. “Weeding” out the ill suited plants will help you to narrow down your growing selections.

Base how many plants you choose to grow on the time you have to tend to your garden, how experienced you are as gardeners, and how many herbs you’d like to learn about this year.

Committing to 6-10 herbs is a great starting point for beginners, though only growing 2-3 is perfectly fine too! Many herbalists start with learning about ONE herb in a year and just immerse themselves into that one herb. There is no right or wrong, simply choose what works for you and your family. You may each decide to pick one plant to focus on per person and each person can do a deep dive into that herb for the year and occasionally share their findings with the rest of the family.

You may find it a great way to schedule one day a week to spend an hour studying then sharing with everyone else. Or, your kids may  prefer to learn a little each day and then share their findings once a week.

Or, as a family, you may wish to work and study together on all the herbs you have chosen.

Whichever method you choose, order the seeds you want to start or plants you want to grow through reputable companies such as Strictly Medicinal Herbs. Start gathering your learning materials by grabbing any ebooks you might need. If you want more learning structure and options, consider an annual membership to Herb Club. I currently have 30 lessons on herbs with video content, expanded curriculum options, and monthly live sessions for both parents and kids to ask questions and learn about herbal topics. You can even preview the Calendula module to see what Herb Club is all about.

While you are waiting for your seeds and plants to arrive you can start planning out your garden space. In the next few articles, I’ll walk you through garden planning and lesson planning for the year.