Tuesday 20 September 2011

Growing Your Own Herbs Is, In Fact, Fun And Has A Lot Of Benefits

By Gary S. Dimas


Besides imparting flavor to food, herbs grown at home on your own will provide many other benefits. You're going to get everything you need to launch your own herb garden from the garden center or nursery down the road, and then you'll need just a small spot of garden for planting, or even using pots will get great results. Simply herbs have numerous uses and advantages - let's explore that in some detail.

Maximizing the flavor and color of food must be the one use of herbs that most people are familiar with. They actually can be added to all sorts of meals and this can include salads and soups. There are plenty of meat dishes where herbs help to enhance the overall taste and if using your own, you will know that these are freshly picked from your garden. If you ever experiment with various recipes you will add variety and new tastes to your daily meals.

Across the ages an array of illnesses and diseases have been successfully treated with herbs, many of which are credited with curative powers. Several natural remedies are available for various health complaints which are easily obtained with a bit of investigation. Both dried and fresh herbs are utilized, either by imbibing them in the form of teas or tinctures, or perhaps by applying them straight to the affected area in the form of creams or poulltices. If you find it difficult to fall asleep, take camomile to calm and soothe you into a restful slumber, while if an upset stomach is your issue then the way to settle it is with peppermint tea.

Pick or cut your extra herbs, which usually influences further growth, and then dry them for keeping. Use them as you did the fresh variation, in teas and as a culinary flavorant. Another use for dried herbs can be as a decoration and for creating potpourri. The aromatic smell of dried herbs can easily calm and please at the same time. Achieve a countryside feeling with dried lavender strung in bunches from the kitchen ceiling, which will also provide subtle aromatic and visual tones .

It is rather easy to grow your own herbs at home, even if you have a small garden or little space. Believe it or not most herbs grow very well in pots and mint is a good example of this. It grows and develops very vigorously and can take control of other plants if given the chance. If perhaps grown within a pot, however, this tendency is well controlled. Needless to say, herbs, like various other plants grown in containers, do require frequent watering.

It is possible to get youngsters to participate in growing herbs at home, thereby introducing them to the advantages and fun of gardening. You might just promote a fondness for cooking by letting your children to experience the different flavors from adding the various herbs they have grown. An easy but intriguing way to get them started would be to permit them to sow and then watch grow some cress in a windowsill planter. They are sure to be successful at it, after which there's the fun of cutting it to add a tasty bite to their meals.

So there are plenty of reasons to start growing your own herbs and you will quickly reap the benefits of your efforts.

About the Author:


No comments: