Home Herb Garden Tips and Advice

Using Herbs from a Home Herb Garden

Once your herbs are planted, you can watch them grow and flourish. Herbs are so useful, not only for cooking, adding to oils, but also for medicinal uses. However, your home herb garden requires just a bit of work.

Herbs can become a part of your daily life. You will get so used to adding an extra special flavor that can only come from your home-grown herb garden. You most likely will be harvesting (picking) your herbs daily. Harvesting is very important. Timing is everything. If you are using the herbs for an immediate use, obviously the best time to pick them is when you need them. But, if you are planning on drying or freezing the herbs, it is extremely important to harvest them when their flavor is at their peak. It is better to pick the young leaves several times a season rather than waiting until the entire plant is mature.

Pick the herb flowers either right before they are ready to bloom or when they first open their petal. It does not matter if you are using the herbs immediately, drying or freezing, the morning is the best time to harvest the herb flower or leaves. This is when the concentration of rich oils that give the herbs their aromas and flavors is strongest.

Many people that have their own home herb gardens harvest by the phases of the moon.

They say that herbs that have been harvested around a moon calendar retain more nutrients and flavor. Pick your herbs in the morning as usual, but check a moon calendar to find the best phase of the moon.

One of the big pleasures of having your own home herb garden is that you can eat your foods without having to wash it. There are no pesticides or chemical to rinse off.

If you plan to store your herbs for a few days, hold off washing them. When you do wash the herbs and if there is a large quantity, you can use the sink and place 2 tablespoons of salt in the water. This will get rid of insects without damaging the plant. After removing the herb, dry them in a salad spinner. The exception is parsley. This is one herb that stays longer and fresher if you seep it in cool water as soon as you pick it. This herb will not wilt by following this procedure.

Although different types of herbs have their own list of instructions, typically there are three ways that people preserve their herbs for later use: drying, freezing or preserving.

Drying is one of the simplest and most convenient ways to preserve your herbs' leaves and flowers. Hang drying is an especially great way to preserve large quantities of herbs. You will need a well ventilated, dark, dry location. Your attic or a small dark room would be ideal. Don't bother to wash them. Tie small bunches of herbs with twist ties, rubber bands or elastic threads and hang them so that air can circulate freely. Hang them one foot from the wall and leave at least 6 inches between bunches. Most herbs dry within two weeks. They will feel crackly to touch. These herbs are much more concentrated than fresh herbs. Store in tightly closed jars/bottles and store in dark part of your kitchen cabinet.

Freezing captures the full flavor of herb leaves. Cut the herbs into ¼ inch pieces and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Once frozen, place in a bag for more efficient storage. A neat trick for using your herbs in soups/stews is to place your chopped up herbs in an ice tray and cover with water and freeze. These cubes are handy to add to a simmering pot of soup or sauce.

The third way is using a medium. You can use either vinegar or salt.One great example is to use chopped mint, basil or tarragon with vinegar. It will stay preserved for months. If you'd like to make flavored salt, just alternate layers of fresh herbs between salt. When completely dry, separate the brown herb from the flavored salt and store in an airtight container.

Herbs transform ordinary meals into magical delights. Even if you already cook with herbs, having your own herb garden will inspire you to experiment and discover new ways of making an old recipe new.

Herb Garden Information - How to Succeed With Herb Gardening

Have you ever noticed that cooking shows don't use the herbs and spices that they buy from grocery stores? Everything they use is freshly picked right from their own, personal mini herb garden. Truly, if you want to cook exceptional meals - having your own herbs is something you should definitely be looking into.

The fact of the matter is growing your own herb garden isn't that difficult! It takes a bit of knowledge, some discipline and a good location to plant your seeds.

There are all sorts of different ways to grow herb gardens. There's the indoor kind, such as the ones you see in a cook's kitchen. These are nice for people who live in apartments or crowded condo's.

Then, there is the outdoor herb gardens (which may be what you're more familiar with). These are usually grown on a small plot of land outside.

Either way, the herbs can be used for cooking, medicine, or to make your home smell good! The latter kind is my personal favorite.

Like any other kind of plant, there are herbs that thrive as annuals or perennials and can either be bought and planted or raised from seeds.

The seeds you plant yourself are the most difficult, but it doesn't really require a green thumb. It just takes a bit of time and patience.

Seeds should be placed in a shallow pot or box in the late winter. The finer the seed - the shallower it should be sown. If you place it too deep in the soil, there is no hope that it will grow.

In fact, my grandma taught me to start growing the seeds early in the house. Just put them in soil and keep them watered, put them on a windowsill where your cat can't get to them, and transplant them in the spring.

Growing herbs at home is really, really easy - but there's lots of stuff you need to know before you venture out and start your herb garden.

Make sure you research up before you make your purchases!

Herb Garden Information - Herbal Medicine Plants

For those who don't trust the pharmaceutical companies, herbal medicine plants serve as safe and healthy alternatives for treating many kinds of ailments and diseases. However, there are several things that you have to consider first before buying any of these herbs for usage. These plants, like other pharmaceutical treatments, are products that should be treated with both caution and respect. As natural as these herbs are, they still share many of the components that can also be found in those non-prescription medicines. A lot of plants (such as thyme and oregano) are just easy to take care of, and they can be utilized for cooking and home remedies as well. As a herb garden information, this will be able to transform your own garden into a multi-purpose project which will allow you to make the most out of your plants.

In choosing the herbal medicine plants to grow, there are several things that you should consider.

First, you should label each of the plants, so you won't make any mistakes in identifying what that plant is in your garden. If the plants have some poisonous components, then these should be labeled and kept out of the reach of children. Keep in mind that there are a lot of useful herbs that have poisonous components, so this is very important.

You should also keep a detailed information on how these plants should be prepared for use. Most of these plants can't simply have their leaves just taken out and then digested to get their benefits. You have to dry the leaves or saturate them as teas first before you will be able to release the medicinal properties of the plant.

With some of these plants, the flowers and berries are the ones that are going to be preserved and used for medicinal purposes.

It's also quite important to handle these kinds of plants with utmost care, as these tend to have poisonous components of their own.

There are several illnesses and diseases that these plants can help cure. This range from treating the common cold, to negating the symptoms of pregnancy and also heal dangerous diseases such as cancer. These plants can also be used in promoting healthier weights and boosting up your body's digestive capabilities.

If you have further questions or concerns regarding the use of herbal medicine plants and other herb garden information, just consult your doctor or your local herbalist.

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