Herbs At You Beck And Call..! The Revolution That Is Indoor Herb Container Gardening
An unexpected arrival of guests? There is nothing at home but a bit of olive oil and some vegetables. You have that old recipe which you can toss up for a brilliant meal of pan fried veggies. But what bout fresh basil? Darn! That one ingredient that makes all the difference. What do you do?
It’s Thanksgiving. You have planned a brilliant Turkey dinner. You picked up all the requirements from the Supermarket on your way home from work, but just as you are halfway through, your realize that the fresh mixture of herbs that makes you Turkey so special is missing! What do you do?
Run to the market? And keep your guests waiting?? Or send someone else... and let the dish grow cold?? A simple solution to a complex problem. Start gardening!
No, you need not march out to the backyard with your shovel over your shoulder! Do it Indoors! No, I’ not talking messy potted plants. Just get a container. And grow your very own fresh herbs anywhere in the house.
Herbs, those magical ingredients... the aroma can drive anyone wild! Wars have been fought over the... their healing qualities have been debated over... and one just can’t deny the zing they add to any dish! So grow them at home. Fresh is always so much better than the dried counterpart. And much cheaper than the fresh herbs available in the market.
And just incase you were wondering, the process of maintenance of these plants is not difficult at all. A few tips would be to use loose soil. Compact soil makes it hard for them to spread their delicate roots. Use some bark chips or stones at the bottom of the container. Herbs like aeration and respond well to this method.
Just pick a plant and a container (a pretty one.. just imagine a white ceramic with a tuft of sweet smelling lavender on your bedroom windowsill.. it’s smell will assure you unhindered peaceful sleep!). Add the chips or stones at the bottom, and a bit of soil. Place your herb,
and fill in the rest of the soil. Make sure your herbs get ten to twelve hours of daylight. This can e achieved easily by placing them on window sills. This does increase the risk of insects, but don’t add pesticides if you don’t want to eat them. A grow light is a very good alternative to direct sunlight. As for fertilizers, these small plants don’t need much. Of course, some homemade fertilizes would aid their growth. No, I don’t mean manure! Anything from used tea leaves to broken egg shells in small quantities would do the trick. You can run a search for natural homemade fertilizers on the Internet. But I repeat that they aren’t really necessary. Keep your plant aired, watered and in the sun, and it’ll blossom into your personal herb garden.
Those brilliant flavors will never be missing from your dishes again. It’ll be a feast all year round!