Why You Should Grow Your Own Herbs
When it comes to growing herbs, whether in your outdoor garden or in your home the first thing that needs to be addressed is why? Why grow your own herbs when you can hit up your local grocery store and purchase them already cut, cleaned, packaged and ready to go whenever you need them without having to get one speck of dirt under your fingernails. There is more to herb gardening than meets the eye. So we’ve put together a list of all the reasons why growing your own herbs is a must!
"There is more to herb gardening than meets the eye."
Money saving!
Have you ever noticed that the herbs that the recipe you want to try calls for are outrageously priced at your local grocery store? We certainly have and we’ve found ourselves paying for a few sprigs (a small stem, belonging to a bush or plant that contains leaves or flowers) when we could have purchased the entire plant for the same price. The entire plant is a much better investment especially when you grow it yourself. Annual herbs can be harvested from, for weeks and perennial herbs can produce for years.
Easy to grow.
Most herbs are among the easiest of plants to grow. Herbs have a tendency to grow in locations that other plants struggle to. Generally speaking, as long as they have plenty of sun, they are happy. Herbs can be easily grown indoors or outside in the garden or in a pot on the patio.
Fresh herbs at the ready.
Have you ever been in the middle of making a dish only to realize that you’re missing one ingredient? Yep, been there, and it’s more often than not a herb. Having your own herb garden, either outside or inside will eliminate those unplanned trips the the grocery store
Eliminate boring dinners
Herbs can take your meal from drab to fab! Adding a few different herbs to chicken, for example, makes it a whole different meal. You can experiment with different flavours in both your main dishes and your sides. Herbs can be added to almost any dish, and although they are tiny they are packed with many health benefits and a tone of flavour. Herb selection has the ability to make or break a dish.
Fresh is best.
Fresh herbs are more flavourful. Herbs are no different than a lot of produce, the longer they are off the plant the less flavourful they become. Herbs are at their peak freshness immediately after harvesting. Fresh store bought herbs have been harvested, packaged, transported and placed on grocery store shelves. You do not know how fresh they actually are, but you can bet that they weren’t cut that day. Growing herbs in your home or in your garden allows you to harvest herbs as you need, guaranteeing freshness.
Fun and educational
Growing your own herbs is fun and educational for both you and for kids. There is fun to be had in the garden, both planting and harvesting. If you’ve got herbs growing indoors, it’s fun to watch them grow. Kids can learn to care for plants and learn how they grow. When it comes time for harvesting both you and kids can experiment in the kitchen, trying new healthy and flavourful dishes.
Less waste
Chances are you’ve bought fresh herbs from your local grocery store (and paid an arm and a leg for them) only to throw half of them in the trash because the package contained more than what you needed. Also did you notice how they came packaged? Our local stores sell them packaged in plastic and the other in styrofoam and plastic. Home grown herbs mean you pick what you need when you need so nothing goes to waste AND no there’s no packaging waste. It’s a win win!
Preserving herbs is easy!
Once you start growing your own herbs, there’s a chance you’ll never have to buy them again. Fresh herbs can be dried or even frozen for later use. One of the most common ways of preserving herbs is drying them. Herbs can then be stored in airtight containers for use year round.
"Home grown herbs mean you pick what you need when you need so nothing goes to waste AND no there’s no packaging waste."
You don’t need a lot of space.
Don’t let the fact that you may not have a lot of space stop you from growing your own herbs. Herbs don’t take up very much room in the garden, they can be grown in pots on your patio or in containers indoors in a window sill or under a compact grow light. If you still find that space is limited, try growing just one herb, perhaps your favourite, or one you tend to use a lot of.
Herbs are a wonderful thing, there is no denying it! There are so many reasons to grow your own herbs, the ones we have listed here are just the beginning, we didn't even touch on the medicinal reasons (a whole other list just on its one). We challenge you to give it a try now, it doesn’t need to be extravagant or perfect, start with your favourite herb and go from there.
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