Read Elements For A Healthier Life Magazine Issue 12 | April/May/June 2017 | Page 88

sprinkle a few over the top and then cover with a very light layer of more soil. I usually use a squirt bottle and squirt enough water into the seeds to get them and the soil good and moist without overwatering which can result in seed rot. If there is a chance of drafts of cold air coming through the window to the plants, cover with a thin layer of plastic wrap (the peat squares come with their own plastic cover to create a mini greenhouse).

Check the seeds every day and make sure they do not dry out, but also that you do not overwater or let moisture build up. If you see moisture on the inside of the plastic cover, open up one end to ventilate. In as little as a week to 10 days, you should start to see little green shoots start to push up through the soil. When the seedlings get to be at least an inch tall, you may want to thin them out until one or more distinct plants take form. At that point you can also remove the plastic covering. When the seedlings are at least 2 inches tall, you can take the peat pot or square and pop it into a regular clay flower pot that has good drainage at the bottom and fill in underneath and all around with more soil. If you are using old containers, gently remove the entire contents and place in the flower pots, filling in with soil as needed. Now all you have to do is water regularly, pinch back when they get too bushy, and in just a few weeks you can begin to enjoy picking fresh herbs for your meals.

Sometimes it’s the smallest things that can lead to the biggest changes in our lives. I started gardening by growing herbs indoors. Then I started reading about what is really in the food that we buy at the grocery store, and how factory farms grow foods that are unhealthy. That’s when I started to take a closer look at what I was eating, how I was eating, and what I could do to create a healthier life. I want to be around for a long time, watch my grandchildren grow up, and dance at a few more family weddings and graduation parties. I also want to pass on healthy practices and ideas for “the next seven generations,” as my native relations would say. It only takes one small step to put us on the path to health and wholeness.

Why not put a little more spice into your life and find out how satisfying and healthy growing your own herbs can be. Who knows? Today, herbs; tomorrow, a garden!