Spices and herbs are the keys to delicious meals and dishes, and if it’s easy to buy them from the supermarket, already grounded and good to be added to the foodstuffs, the same blessing cannot be said about how they improve preparation. Fresh, home-cultivated spices and herbs are far better than commercialized ones, and despite a common perception that they’re hard to grow, the reality couldn’t be further than this.
You can easily plant and enjoy your home-grown, fresh leavy goodies with the right tools, temperature, and harvesting techniques. Let’s look into the most widespread, easily-harvestable, and tasty ones you can grow at home without effort or a high-risk of failure.
Rosemary
If you’re spending a lot of time on TikTok, Instagram, and other social media platforms with shareable food content, then you likely find it impossible to imagine a steak without some rosemary leaves lying on top of it. Rosemary is a widespread herb that’s gained much recognition lately through viral culinary video posts where it’s used in many forms and ways. Considering that the global market for rosemary extract is forecasted to rise to 361.45BN by 2028 from an evaluated 280.36MN in 2022, it’s easy to see how it will soon become all the norm and rage in franchise restaurants and eateries and commercialized foodstuffs.
Rosemary offers exceptional taste palettes, use cases, and health benefits. For instance, it can improve the ability to detoxify estrogen, soothe inflammation, reduce retained fluid, speed up weight-loss, and act as a fantastic diuretic.
Mint
Mojito, tea, cocktails, lemonade, non-alcoholic beverages, and even coffee and hot chocolate can be bettered with the help of a single, widespread, yet modest herb. This easy, breezy herb improves dishes and is essential in many cuisines worldwide, proving there’s nothing as refreshing and bettering as a fair share of flavorful herbs.
Mint, the aromatic, flavorful, and almost entirely perennial herb is equally easy to grow and widespread. If we look at the health benefits of this powerful medicinal herb, we can conclude that there’s hardly any area in gastronomy and pharmacy where it doesn’t bring benefits.
Enough with lauding the benefits and use cases of mint, and let’s jump to the basics of growing it since, by now, you likely imagine how you’ll harvest it in a planter on wheels and relocate it from room to room or from the indoors to the outdoors – potting your fresh companions, whether mint, cilantro or any other greenery that may cross your mind in such a movable recipient, is the best you can do for your plants. You’ll be able to switch their spots easily. If you go with quality material for your planters, you won’t have to stress about sun discoloration, breakages, deterioration, or other damages that moving containers’ places would usually imply.
Turmeric
Flavorless and easily usable ingredients that can decrease the risk of cancer, enhance liver performance, maintain steady blood sugar levels, treat type 0 diabetes, prevent Alzheimer’s, and improve heart health. It sounds like a too-good-to-be-true ad, but turmeric, the flavorless but dyeing spice, can do it all, as scientific-medical research demonstrates.
The plant’s most active compound, curcumin, holds the most antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, so more than 1BN people include it in their everyday regimes. Growing this miraculous spice is as easy as ABC and mainly involves:
- Getting quality turmeric rhizomes.
- Seeding them in small planters or pots.
- Relocating them outside six-to-ten months after reaping them.
Afterward, you can pick this plant and create turmeric powder, the spice that, at best, reminds you of spicy ginger.
You’ll need to persistently track the plant’s growth and water the rhizomes, which should be easy, especially since this low-maintenance plant doesn’t need sunlight or an outdoor setting. With such a pick, you’re setting yourself up for success and growing a plant whose benefits you’ll reap in months.
Tea? Why not!
Did you know in a warm part of the United States, you can probably plant and harvest your own tea? Currently, there are only several commercial tea farms across the US, including one in Charleston and one in South Carolina. However, suppose you’re a lucky resident of a climate-friendly state. In that case, you can try cung and harvesting your tea leaves, using the low-maintenance Camelia sinensis as an example.
Camelia sinensis is a sturdy, unpretentious plant that thrives in acidic soil. You can grow this edible plant in suitable flower pots that allow expansion, soil aeration, hydration, and a suitable shiny spot for photosynthesis. The plant is not only usable in boiling water but can also be added to salads, stir-fries, and other foods.
Thyme
Are you into making dishes that start improving your health and well-being? Well, some, like thyme, actually live up to their promises. This herb, which belongs to the mint family, is used for its leaves, flowers, and oil to treat many conditions, including inflammation, respiratory problems, fungal infections, smooth muscle spasms, and gastric issues.
It is easily harvested at home and complements numerous dishes and beverages. You can flavor sauteed vegetables, baked fish, soups, roasted potatoes, creamy soups, stews, and more. Some users even dip it in their tea to reap any benefit this wonder herb provides.
Bay leaves
Bay leaves are often used occasionally in soup stocks, stuffings, baked seafood, stews, garam masala, sauces, and other alternatives. It can be cooked whole, fresh, or dried; generally, it’s not a plant you can eat whole. But you can grow and store it in your freezer to use throughout time, with the mention that its flavor potency will dissipate a little.
You can throw some leaves in when cooking and remove them before serving the meal since they’re difficult to chew and digest. And if you find the taste too stringent for your taste (or smell) after adding the herb, adding some fat, sweetener, acid, or water to your meal is always a safe idea to soften the aftertaste.
Ginger
The spicy yet delicious herb you often see accompanying sushi is more versatile than this! It’s a mouth-watering element to add to soups, smoothies, salads, and vegetable juices, among other preparations. Moreover, ground ginger is miraculous in baked deliciousness, as well as meat marinades and spice rubs. When it comes to its health advantages, it’s equally generous, relieving muscle pain, reducing cholesterol levels, and protecting the stomach against ulcers.
Whether you grow or buy it, always stock up on this ubiquitous, tasty herb!
When it comes to stockpiling herbs and spices, there’s no more comfortable way than growing the most used and favorite ones on your own, so don’t hesitate to make it a goal for the new year!