Mother's Children Make (And Sell) Herb Vinegars!

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MOTHER feels strongly that youths can be creative "doers" ; working toward more ecological and self-reliant lifestyles . . . whether their tasks be raising chickens on a farm or maintaining rooftop container gardens in the city. To support the endeavors of our often overlooked "underage" citizens, we're glad to publish well written articles from younger children and teenagers concerning projects they've undertaken. However, we recommend that all young authors query (that is, send us a letter telling about the story you'd like to do) before writing a full article. Address inquiries to Mother's Children, THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS 105 Stoney Mountain Road, Hendersonuille, North Carolina 28791.

Last summer, I made herb vinegars and sold them at craft shows. I found out that they were fun and easy to make and profitable to sell!

I got started making herb vinegars when I was working on a Girl Scout badge called "Food, Fibers, and Farming". One of the things I had to do to earn the badge was to grow a fruit, vegetable, or herb and use it in something I could eat. I planted dill and made a few bottles of herb-flavored vinegar to use in salad dressings and for other cooking purposes. When I found out how easy it was to do, I decided that selling the bottles would be a good way to earn money. So I went to work.

GETTING STARTED

Since the only plants I had ever grown before were vegetables, I asked my mom some questions before I got started. The first one was "What herbs can I plant from seed?" I found out there are many kinds of herbs that can be started loom seed. Here are a few: basil (sweet or opal) chervil (needs light to germinate) dill garlic (from cloves) marjoram parsley cage salad burnet thyme

I knew that some herbs can best be started by clipping stem pieces, called cuttings, and rooting them. So my next questions were "How do I plant cuttings?" and "What herbs can I plant from cuttings?" I found out that to start an herb from a cutting, a person snips off part of a "parent" plant and places it in water, soil, or peat moss. [EDITOR'S NOTE: See the sidebar that accompanies this article for additional information on starting cuttings.] Here are some good herbs to raise from cuttings: lemon balm mint (any kind) oregano pineapple sage sage savory scented geraniums tarragon

Later on, I found out that there's still another way to start new plants . . . dividing. To split an herb this way, take a small garden shovel and divide the plant in two at its roots. Dig up one section and replant it somewhere else. Here are some herbs you can plant from divisions: chives lemon balm lovage mint (any kind) tarragon

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