HERB-201 Lessons

Year Two, Lesson One
Hands-on Herbology

Welcome
Hello again, students! I’m so glad to see you all back in the greenhouse for another year of plants, pondering, and puns. Last year started you on a worthwhile and exciting journey to discovering all there is to know about our leafy neighbors. It may have been a little tedious for some, though, as we didn’t have much hands-on experience. This year, however, that’s all about to change, as you might have guessed from the title of the year. Of course, calling this the “hands-on” year doesn't mean we won’t be getting into the thick of it just as often in Years Three, Four, Five, or onward. We absolutely will, but this year marks the starting point of that journey and a shift towards the more practical side of herbology.

What’s Cropping up This Year?
We will begin doing practicals in class so that you can get a feel for just what I am teaching you about in a controlled, safe environment. When we discuss repotting and all the trials and tricks that come with it, we will repot a plant right here in class. When we discuss pruning techniques, I’ll bring in some specimens in need of a shave. Now that you have learned the basics, you’re ready for it. Let’s take a look at some of the subjects you’ll be studying and the tasks you’ll be performing this year.

For the first four weeks, we’ll be taking a look at different key stages of plant development in each lesson, which we went over last year. As you can see from the syllabus below, the stages we will be looking at are planting, growing, pruning, and harvesting. It will be by no means an exhaustive list, but we will go over generalized tips and tricks that apply to multiple plants, and plants in specific categories. However, owing to the stunning variety of magical (and non-magical) plants, there is always something new to learn, and in this case, many plants that have specific needs (whether for repotting, pruning, or the rest of it) will not be covered. While we cannot possibly cover every single plant, I will endeavor to cover at least one example for every concept and not only go through the process as it specifically applies to that plant, but also give a general look at the plant so you can add one more herb to your repertoire!

After the midterm, we will shift our focus to groups of plants that have unique needs, such as water plants and nocturnal plants. There are many other groups of plants, but I can’t be giving away all the secrets just yet, and many of the other groups are too complex for you to work with right now! We will end the year with a light-hearted break. After all the hard work you’ll do this year, you’ll have no doubt earned it. Before your final we will talk about some whimsical charms that can be applied to plants, as well as finally go over the Plant Growth Charm, Herbivicus.

Year Two Syllabus

Protips for Planting
Now, on to the first promised topic of discussion and a logical first step in herb care: planting. There are many things to consider before you even get to this stage, as we have discussed. Will your area get enough sun? What is the soil like? Fortunately, as witches and wizards, we must only identify these issues and then, more often than not, are able to remedy anything less than ideal with magic. So far, I have kept some of these tools from you in an effort to help you get to know your plants and their specifications a bit better; sometimes magic is no substitute for knowledge. If we rely on magic for everything, when faced with challenges like plants resistant to magic and reactive plants, we will be woefully unequipped! However, it is time to give you some more magical tools for your arsenal. For the sake of thoroughness, some of this may be a slight review, but much of it is new, and hopefully all of it will be beneficial.

For the purpose of these examples, we’ll be assuming you are planting in a greenhouse. Often enough, this is where the average herbologist operates. Though there are many that also use their own grounds, greenhouses offer numerous advantages, such as ways to regulate the elements (the sun, wind, and rain), the ability to grow plants with vastly different requirements in the same place at the same time, as well as the opportunity to grow foreign plants without access to their normal climate and without any danger of disturbing the indigenous plant populations and connected ecosystems.

Now, if you are unsure what pH balance the soil in your greenhouse has -- as an aside, ours ranges between 6.3 and 7.4, a very neutral and useful range -- you can always use the pH Detection Charm to find out. You knew that already, of course. The more pressing question is what to do once you discover your pH is not desirable. Should you wish to make your soil more acidic (or go below 7.0 on the pH scale), you’ll need to add either a hefty amount of dragon dung (or dragon dung compost) to the soil or sprinkle a dash of Acidity Augmenter onto the desired area. On the other hand, if you’re in need of more alkaline soil (soil that is above 7.0 on the pH scale), you will need to buy Creta’s Certified Alkaline Fertilizer. There are also Muggle tactics such as adding sulphur or nitrogen, peat, or mulch in order to make soil more acidic. To make it more alkaline, lime or wood ash is used. While we do appreciate the usefulness of Muggle remedies, I much prefer the magical supplements and therefore have a large supply of them on hand that is available to you in the greenhouses.

What about Mooncalf dung?, you might be asking. Part of the reason that Mooncalf dung is so good for delicate plants is that it does not strongly react with your soil. Instead, it gently and subtly increases the nutrients going to the plant without disrupting the balance. While this makes it excellent for certain finicky or damaged plants, it does not help us in our quest for changing the pH balance of soil.

Once you have your soil sorted, you must know how much sun your planting area gets. In greenhouses, this can be a real issue. Plants that require shade or partial shade may be blasted with too much sunlight due to the greenhouse’s light-channeling properties. In this situation, you can either plant your herbs in a place where they will be shaded by other, taller specimens, or you can use a handy charm to help block the sun from certain areas: the Darkening Charm. This spell can be a bit tricky to get right, as the concentration is quite a bit higher than the other charms you have learned so far in this class, but you can experiment until you get it. Additionally, the larger the plant, or the more plants you attempt to apply this spell to, the higher the willpower required.¹  For this reason, I highly recommend starting by enchanting a single plant at a time. This charm needs to envelop the desired plant in order to imperceptibly darken the air around it as though tinted. This won’t be visible to the naked eye, but will function as a sort of two-way mirror. As you become more adept at this charm and magic in general, you may also be able to set the spell to snuff out the light only at specific times, but I would not be surprised if it took you until your Fourth Year to fully get the hang of that particular aspect. One word of warning: be mindful that if the spell backfires, your plant could be fried to a crisp as though held under a magnifying glass. You can find the spell’s details below:

Lastly, you will need to consider how much water your plant needs. There are no fancy spells for this one -- at least not yet! Just good, pure water. Drainage is an issue we have frequently brought up, and while there is not a spell to remedy a situation where there is too much water in the ground, you can easily cut through the bottom of our garden beds to allow excess water to drain out of the soil. No need to worry, they can be patched up with Reparo should you wish to plant something else there later! Just be careful to focus and not cut too deep, damaging the root system of your plant!

When all that is sorted, all you need to do is place the seed, bulb, cutting, or young plant into the ground and cover it. Again, there are no spells for this, and were there any, I wouldn’t tell you! As I have said, there’s nothing like tender, loving (and hands-on) care. Specifications for the depth or space surrounding the seed will vary, but most are not fussy.

Dandelions
On to our featured plant this year, the dandelion! Since you will be expected to grow this plant as a year-long project, it seems only fitting I give you some pointers on how to plant it as well as some information on how you will be graded on this assignment.² Take a look at the requirements below.

Project

1. Cover Page

Decorate to your liking. Must include: the common name (in your area) of the plant, the Latin name of the plant, the date started, and the date finished. It can include extras as you please!

2. Plant Profile

Separate from the cover page, you will need to complete the classification template from Year One, Lesson Eight for this plant. You may include additional information, but not at the expense of what is required.

3. Plant Diary

As you grow your plant from seed to sprout, you will need to document that process via a “plant diary.” Every two or three days, starting with the day of planting, you must reflect on the growing process. Explain how the plant is doing, what you've done to take care of it, and your general thoughts throughout the process. Depending on your artistic ability you may want to include a sketch or photos of your plant at each stage, or at every significant point in the growing process. This (and, in fact, the entire project), will be due in the first lesson of Year Three.

General Dandelion Information
A perennial herb which grows in the northern hemisphere of the world -- particularly in temperate zones -- this magical plant is familiar to many. Dandelions, or Taraxacum magianale, have also adapted to more extreme climates and have spread further than originally imagined. It is because of this ability to adapt and thrive that it is classified as an aggressively-spreading weed. Because of this, it is fortunate for both the Ministry of Magic and wizardkind in general that this herb does not need to be kept secret from Muggles.³ It can grow between an inch and a foot in height, and the plant is topped with a distinctive, yellow flower. The dandelion, coming from the French “dent-de-lion” is named as such because the leaves are thought to look like a lion’s teeth. An interesting fact is that this plant is sensitive to light, opening each day with the appearance of the sun and curling in on itself when the sun goes down, or whenever stormy, cloudy skies appear. Upon maturation, however, this signature yellow head transforms into a puffball, otherwise known as a seed head.

The leaves, flowers, and root of this plant are all used, though for different purposes. In general, dandelions are quite high in vitamins, specifically vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K. As if that wasn’t enough, the plant is also rich in minerals, including copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. It will come as no surprise, then, that it is used for various edible purposes, such as in wines, teas, salads, and the like. In terms of magical uses, this plant has astonishing effects in potions that aid the growth or function of the liver. The roots tend to be the most potent source for this effect. The leaves, on the other hand, are more often used for edible purposes, while the flowers are used in Anti-Swelling Solutions. One warning, however. If you have an allergy to latex, be aware that the white substance that leaks out of these fresh plants is just another, raw form of this irritant, and either touching or accidentally consuming the plant (or parts of it) may cause issues for you. Finally, this plant has been used to some success in the Appetite Enhancing Aperitif.

Finally, we arrive at the reason this plant is classified as magical. It’s a bit of an often-overlooked fact in the magical community due to the temperament of the plant’s magical abilities. The Muggle folk tale that dandelions can influence luck and seemingly “grant wishes” is not entirely based in nonsense. However, they are slightly off in terms of how they try to collect those wishes. Instead of wishing when you blow the mature seed head away, you must make the wish (and concentrate on it fully) while planting. The grain of truth to this Muggle myth, however, is that the wish only comes true after the wish is “released” in the form of scattering the seed pod, which many people do by blowing. As you can imagine, focusing on the wish enough during the entire process of planting is quite a challenge indeed, and wishes do not often come true in the way we want them to, which owes to their lessened popularity when compared to other luck-based magical items. Some herbologists have been successful, however, and they recommend getting into the habit of using the planting process as a meditation period, so that when the time comes to make a wish while planting, you have the ability to clear your mind of all other distractions and focus on said desire. Just another reason to take your upcoming meditative practice seriously in Defense Against the Dark Arts! While it’s not quite the same, setting aside time to focus your mind never hurts!

Planting
When planting your dandelion seeds, the first thing to know is that for reasons related to their magical ability, they are best planted in prime numbers (or numbers that are only divisible by themselves and one), such as three, seven, or eleven. After this, the plant will require sunlight and water, just as any other plant does. When watering, dandelions prefer rainwater. However, if you are unable to collect rain, then tap water is acceptable, though lacking some nutrients. In the first watering, cover the seed until the soil is medium-damp. From there on out, make sure you water the dandelion whenever the soil is dry, watering enough so that excess water comes out the drainage holes. Ah, yes. I should mention that allowing the plant drainage is preferable. As far as sunlight, this herb flourishes in full sun, though it can sustain itself even in full shade, if need be.

Harvesting
If you get far enough along and would like to use your plants for your own purposes, there are a few recommendations. Firstly, it is best to gather the leaves when the plant is between four and eight inches tall; the leaves are still edible afterwards, though become more bitter the bigger they grow. If attempting to harvest the flower heads for edible or potion-making purposes, it is a bit more of a difficult process. As you may have logically guessed, you must collect the flower once it is fully open for maximum smack for your Sickle in terms of usable area and potency. However, you must make sure you collect it before the flower begins to turn into a puffy seed head!

Closing
I hope that information has you raring to go to start your own growing. For our first practical portion this year, your assignment (though not anything you will have to submit until the beginning of next term) will be to use this information to plant your herb. Don’t procrastinate and leave it for later or you won’t have any progress when the time comes to turn in your final project! As I have mentioned before, if you have any questions -- about this project or otherwise -- please contact me. Next week we will be looking at some sources of trouble in the average garden (indoor or outdoor) and ways to combat them. In the meantime you have a quiz as homework. Until next time!

 Footnotes

1. Another consideration to make when casting this charm on multiple plants is that you will have to perform the wand movement up the general center of the plants that you are focusing on, not every plant stem individually.

2. If need be, other plants (though only non-magical ones) can be substituted for your plant diary. However, let Professor Aspen know of this ahead of time.

3. While most Muggles are aware of this plant’s abilities, it is still considered magical. Its ability to grant wishes is the reason behind this classification. Fortunately, Muggles do not know enough about the specific process of activating the dandelion’s magic to make it work (and likely couldn’t, though no one has attempted to test it due to reasons surrounding the International Statute of Secrecy). This fact, coupled with their incredible propensity to spread, is the reason the Ministry of Magic ultimately ruled that these plants were safe to keep around Muggles, just as non-magical herbs are. For further details on the magic of the dandelion, see the General Dandelion Information section.

 Original lesson written by Professor Lily Tudor
Additional portions written by Professor Venita Wessex
Image credits here, here, here, and here