How to Grow Cooking Herbs

How to Grow Cooking Herbs

Grow your own cooking herbs to add fresh zest and flavor to your menus year-round!

Is It a Cooking Herb or a Spice?

The first thing to know in selecting which herbs to grow is the difference between cooking (culinary) herbs and spices. The cinnamon stick you put in your hot chocolate or apple cider is a spice while the parsley on the edge of your plate is an herb.

Cooking herbs are usually the fresh or dried leaves of plants while spices are the ground seeds, roots, fruits, flowers, and/or bark.
Herbs grow very well in temperate zones, while spices generally come from tropical areas.
Herbs add subtle flavor, whereas spices are generally more pungent and add more robust flavor.

Herbs run the gamut of about 70 cultivars, broken into categories of medicinal, ornamental, and aromatic as well as culinary or cooking herbs. To start growing cooking herbs, it's best first to select where and how you want to grow them.

Site Selection

Most cooking herbs thrive in just about any location that gives them plenty of light, good drainage and nutrition. In addition to outdoor garden spots, culinary herbs can be grown in patio containers, as indoor herb gardens, or in greenhouses using soil-less growing techniques like hydroponics or aquaponics.

Outdoor Cooking Herb Gardens

For easy access, plant your herb garden as close to your kitchen as possible. Herbs grown in full sun have denser foliage, darker color, and higher levels of the essential oils that add flavor to your recipes. Good air circulation and drainage are also important to the success of your cooking herb garden. The size of your cooking herb garden, of course, depends on the space you have available for growing. Generally, an area 20 by 4 feet accommodates a satisfactory variety of cultivars.

Many herbs overlap in category. Border your cooking herb garden with some cultivars that have ornamental or aromatic qualities as well as the culinary. However, remember that the main purpose of this garden is for use in your kitchen.

Place cooking herbs that you use frequently in less conspicuous areas so that you won't leave big holes in your garden when you harvest them for cooking!

Most culinary herbs thrive under the same growth conditions as the vegetables they enhance and as such are a natural addition to your vegetable garden. Some cooking herbs even have properties that repel common insect pests and garden diseases, which is an added benefit to your vegetables.

The best time to amend soil with nutrient rich compost is when you till your garden plot. Herbs have coarse roots that benefit from chunky organic matter, which helps excess water drain away and also helps provide good air circulation.

After planting your cooking herbs, skirting them with a two to three-inch layer of mulch helps soil retain moisture. In addition, composting and mulching helps you maintain the neutral to slightly alkaline soil that most herbs prefer

Linda is an author of
Gardening Tips Tricks and How To Artciles.The next part read the rest on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.gardening-guides.com>Gardening-Guides

Speed Up Your Weight Loss With Herbs And Spices

I wonder how much it is generally known that the benefits of
using herbs and spices can speed up your weight loss efforts,
by quite a considerable amount actually.

We all know that herbs and spices are used with cooking to
varying degrees, and of course the primary reason for doing
so is to make food much more tasty and interesting.

I suspect however that you might be surprised at the
considerable health benefits that can also be gained by
using them. In saying this I am referring to those everyday
items that can be found in most larders, and not necessarily
those exotic and probably not so well known varieties.

I happened to discover the many benefits of herbs and spices
and the fact that they can be most beneficial to a weight
loss program, when I was doing extremely detailed research
for my latest book. The results of that research were so
extensive, that it could be the basis in itself for a
complete publication, and much more detailed therefore, than
I could possibly include in this short article.

However I have been able to include a fair amount of
information below about various herbs and spices which are
known to particularly help to speed up weight loss, and that
is also in addition to their excellent overall health
benefits by the way.

You should find that you will be able to purchase these
herbs from any good Herbalist supplier.

Garcinia: (Garcinia cambogia) is a herb which is sold
primarily for enhancing weight loss and boosting the
amount of lean muscle. This is also known as hila or
brindell berry.

One of the major benfits of Garcinia is that it acts as an
appetite suppressant and stops the body from storing fat.

Pysillium: (Plantago spp.) This cheeky little herb has quite
a few health benefits. Physillium is known to help lower
cholesterol, and another major benefit is that it also helps
to prevent constipation.

If you use it as part of your weight loss program, it can
help you to eat less calories and yet still feel really full.

This is because of the amount of fiber that it contains.

I mentioned earlier that it does help in preventing
constipation, but in order to achieve this you should make
sure that you drink plenty of water.


Siberian Gingsing: (Eleutherococcus senticosus) If you
are going to start regular exercise as part of your health
and weight loss routine, which is normally to be highly
recommended, then this is a really useful herb.

It can help your body adapt to the stress of
unaccustomed changes, and it will help to make you feel
less tired even when you are doing simple exercises
like walking for example.

So in turn therefore you are more likely to stick to your
exercise routine.

Little Known Secrets In Your Larder

Cayenne: (also known as Capsicum, hot pepper, chilli pepper,
tabasco pepper). The majority of us have cayenne in our
larders, and it is very commonly used in many food dishes.
Cayenne can be found in many forms such as ground spices,
teas, and would you believe it, topical creams.

It is well known for its antitoxidant action, and greatly
helps with osteoathritis and rhumatoid athritis, shingles,
and diabetic neuropathy.

A note of caution however: Cayenne may act with anticoagulant
drugs so be sure to consult with your doctor. Excessive use
may also irritate the intestinal tract.

Manufactured topical capsacin creams can cause a burning
sensation, so test first on a small area of the skin,
remembering to wash hands thoroughly after applying the
cream. This will avoid it spreading to the eyes nose or
other sensitive areas.

Fennel: is native to the Mediterranean and is widely
utilized throughout the world. You will find it in teas,
capsules, tinctures and lozenges.

Fennel can be used to help with bloating, flatulence,
mild digestive spasms, catarrh, and coughs. It also has
antimicrobal, antispadmodic, and anti inflammatory
properties.

A note of caution here: Fennel can sometimes cause rare
allergic skin and respiratory tract reactions.
Fennel is also a potential source of synthetic oestrogens
and should be avoided if you are pregnant.

Garlic: you can buy this fresh, or the one you will most
probably have in your larder will be dried. The downside
of garlic is the odour which it leaves on your breath,
but chewing some parsley after eating will soon sort out
that problem.

Garlic is also known to help stimulate the immune system,
and to help in fighting cancer. Well documented health
benefits include lowering cholesterol,fighting infections,
and reducing blood pressure.

Again a note of caution: garlic may also interact with
anticoaglant drugs, so do be sure to check with your doctor
if in any doubt.
Rare cases of allergic reactions are known, and some people
might possibly experience heartburn or even flatulence.

These are just a few of the herbs you can use in cooking,
but do remember that there are many many more, and the
benefits in using them frequently can be quite remarkable.

You will realize of course that when using them as part of
any dish to use them sparingly, as to add too much would
just spoil the meal.

As with everything in life one should try and strike a
balance, after all you know what they say "all things in
moderation".

Marie Gordon is Author and Publisher of "Your Fastest Way
To Permanent Weight Loss" the complete solution to all your
weight loss problems. You can find out more by visiting
http://www.howtoloseitfast.com

Eczema and acne herbs for a powerful footbath

In 1979, Maurice Messegue, the famous French herbalist, who practiced herbal footbaths for all kinds of ailments, wrote a book called Health Secrets of Plants and Herbs. In this book he outlined his footbath treatment for Eczema.

I have listed his herbal recommendations and have added a few more that are effective in reducing eczema symptoms. I have listed 11 herbs that you can buy in small quantities, oz, to mix together, produce a tea, and use in a footbath.

As mentioned in my other article on footbaths, create a tea, with herbs and let them sit for 20-30 minutes. Then strain and add them to a footbath. Use the footbath in the morning and evening for 10 14 minutes.

Use at least 9 of the herbs listed here.

Artichoke leaves You can use artichoke leaves dried whole or cut down and as an extract. Artichoke leaves have been used for indigestion and irritable bowel syndrome. They help increase bile and help the liver to regenerate. The liver needs to be in good condition to help eczema conditions when excess toxins are contributing to eczema. The liver helps to detoxify colon toxins and other toxins that may reach eczema locations and cause inflammation.

What I do is just buy some artichokes and cut them into small pieces about a small hand full boil water and put them into the boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Then I take the boiling water off the stove and put my herbs.

Elecampane leaves This herb is used to expel intestinal parasites, helps to pull toxins out of the body, stimulate digestion and the immune system. A tea of leaves and roots help clean the skin by removing toxins and allowing your immune system to heal your skin.

Cabbage leaves these leaves are known to reduce your susceptibility to cancer. It is thought that cabbage leaves have anti-inflammatory action. Cabbage has a healing action on open wounds. You can use fresh cabbage cut into small pieces and add them to the boiling water at the same time you add the artichokes.

Nettles Nettle tea is good for wounds, stings, and burns. It is also used to eliminate worms and for colon disorders. Many times skin disorders can be the result of a toxic colon. That is why cleansing and detoxifying the colon will help with any type of skin problem.

Sage is a strong astringent, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory. It increases blood circulation, and helps digestive problems.

Lavender It is used for inflammation from insect bites. Lavender helps to calms nerves. Many of the skin disorders stem from anxiety and nervous conditions which lower the immune system. This allows toxins or heredity conditions to surface and re-establish themselves as skin diseases.

Marigold is used for pain and skin swelling. It is good for wounds, sprains, and inflamed and sore eyes.

Arnica stimulates blood circulation and increases blood pressure. It is used for eczema and acne. It has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It can reduce swelling and pain and helps heal wounds.

Burdock root Has an excellent history of helping bruises, swelling, and joint pain. It can help to eliminate ringworm on the surface of the skin.

Black Walnut hull and leaves are used to rid you of various kinds of worms throughout the body. It is useful in constipation, parasitic and fungal infection. It also helps eczema, acne, herpes, skin parasites, and psoriasis.

Yarrow Flowers helps to improve liver function. It has antiseptic and viral properties. It firms and tones tissue outside and inside the body. It helps to boost your immunity and kills many types of pathogens. Its oils absorb toxins and help the body dispose of them without out creating side effects.

There you have it. Dont be afraid of buying separate herbs and creating an herbal mixture that you can use in a footbath for eczema, acne and other skin conditions. One last thing, when you use the footbath, you will stir up toxins that may increase skin breakouts but this will pass as the footbaths help to clean out your body.

Rudy Silva has a Physics degree from the University of San Jose California and is a Natural Nutritionist. He writes a newsletter called natural-remedies-thatwork.com and he has written an ebook called How to Clear Up Your Acne by Enhancing Your Fighting Power. You can get more information on this ebook and more acne remedies at this site. http://www.acne-remedies.for--you.info