Example form is linked to a database table, but won't be saved in this example.
When you submit the form, the value is presented with debug_dump(), so strings are quoted and array values listed.
<?php
$field = new form_field_textarea($form, 'Message');
$field->db_field_set('message');
$field->min_length_set('Your message is required.');
$field->max_length_set('Your message cannot be longer than XXX characters.');
$field->cols_set(40);
$field->rows_set(5);
?>