Starting this indoor herb garden was such a fun project for Emily and me, and we are especially looking forward to having some fresh basil to add to our homemade pizzas! Thanks to a few items from Target’s $1 section, this was very inexpensive and surprisingly not nearly as messy as I had anticipated.
The seed packets we chose came with a soil pellet and you could start the seeds right in the bag! We opted for some inexpensive planters (also from the dollar section), and some recycled YoBaby 3-in-1 Meal containers, but Emily did mix the soil pellet with water right in the bag.
She fluffed the soil with a fork, and remarked that the soil was “light and soft”.
Next, we transferred the soil to the pots with a small hand shovel (also from Target’s dollar section). This was Emily’s favorite part!
Then, she added the seeds, and covered them with dirt. 
And gave them a little bit more water.
I printed out some seed labels on the computer and Emily attached them to some short dowel rods. Of course, you could also use popsicle sticks, but we are all out of those.
Ta-da!!! Our nifty indoor herb garden! By the way, Emily’s garden apron was made from a tea towel. It has a bunch of pockets for all her kid-sized gardening tools.
Which reminds me… be sure to come back soon for an important update regarding the Sewing in Baby Steps workshop. The second session of the same workshop (slightly improved) is about to begin! You won’t want to miss it!
Dear Valerie,
I am going to slip in some sunflower seeds while you are not looking. Muahaha!
Love,
Mark
This is a great project! I have to do this. I spend too much on herbs we could grow; plus, it's a great learning opportunity.
@ Mark — You wouldn't dare! …… would you???
@ Christy — You're right, fresh herbs can be pricey, especially if you can grow them yourself. I love how this helps Emily to learn some responsibility and care for her own plants. She's come a long way this past Summer with all the work we did in our garden!
Your husbands comments are so funny. He's always the first to comment too. lol.
What a great idea. My son and I planted carrots and kale for our rabbit but the heat was so intense they died as fast as they sprouted. Next year we will do them inside first.
I tried the herbs inside the house and got fruit flys. Yeah they are a pesky problem out here in California. As soon as I put them outside they all burned. It gets pretty hot here i guess.
In response to the comment you left me, what do you do with your color journals? I'm intrigued.
Excellent idea as always, and Emily looks so pleased in the photos!
Cool! We are going to Target this morning – got my coupon mailer yesterday! Enjoy your day!
That looks great! I love how your hubby comments you!
That is a cute little garden! It would take a lot more help than really fun and inexpensive stuff from the dollar section to make ours successful. We had some this summer and didn't get much crop other than the basil. Actually I think you were the one who correctly identified the shoots for us:) We have brown thumbs around here. ER is rather a bit too enthusiastic about watering!
ooooo I want to make it for my new kitchen, in my "new" house!
Thank you for sharing the idea!
I need to do this. My kids would enjoy it. Only thing is I have a brown thumb.
Very cool! Can I do my own mint like that?
We also got some seeds from Target – pumpkin ones. They grew much faster and bigger than I expected. I got one for each of my students too, and it is amazing – they really look bigger every day! It turned out to be a great thing to plant for a young child who wants to see fast results!