Hello, Your son's garden project sounds like a great learning experience.

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Good Luck, Jen

Some questions:
Must it be an herb garden?
Must he start from seed?
Will he be growing in the ground? raised beds? containers?
What is the timeline for this project?
How will he be "graded" when it comes to starting the garden?


The reason for my questions is that growing herbs from seed can be challenging - spotty germination, slow germination, slow growth, etc., however once herb seedlings are established, then they are pretty hardy and easy to grow. For that reason, if the requirement is that he grows herbs, I suggest buying seedlings. If not on sale, they are $3-4 at the big box stores but I have seen local growers at flea markets and the like charge $1. I would only get one plant of each variety because once they get going they will be very productive and if you want more of that variety it is easy to expand through propagating cuttings.

Another option is if you have friends who have herb plants is to see if you can get cuttings and propagate from those cuttings.

If he needs to start from seed, then there are other plants that are easier to grow from seed like radishes and certain lettuces and greens. Tomatoes are also a good option if you are practical about it, namely select a variety that is compact and easy to grow like a roma tomato or a cherry tomato designed for patio growing (even if you have space and are not limited to patio growing, it is good to target plants labelled patio because they are not as unwieldy as the typical indeterminate tomato).

As everyone keeps asking and no one is responding, here is how the requirement reads:

2. Do the following:a. Grow six vegetables, three from seeds and three from seedlings, through harvest.b. Grow six flowers, three from seeds and three from seedlings, through flowering.
4. Test 100 seeds for germination. Determine the percentage of seeds that germinate. Explain why you think some did not germinate

When no one answered, I figured the child was not interested. Mom could start an herb garden and that might catch his interest.

I agree with Annie, easier to grow veggies like tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, etc. from seeds, and grow herbs from seedlings.... it looks like it didn’t have to be strictly herbs, as per Loretta.

More likely, not that the child is not interested, probably they didn't work on the badge over the holiday. I completely understand as I have two scouts and they can really drag out the badge work. It takes some pushing from the parent.

And honestly, seeds are extremely cheap at Walmart and they should be coming in now. That way, he can pick what he wants to grow. Some herbs that are easy to grow from seed are dill, cilantro, basil, parsley, fennel. Some vegetables that are quick to grow are spinach, lettuce, carrots, radishes. Quick to grow flowers from seed are zinnia, marigold, alyssum, creeping zinnia, cosmo.