As the hotter months are approaching, you may think it’s time to get your green thumb out of hiding and put it to work. A lot of us take this time to plant beautiful flowers or even tasty fruits. However, why do we have to limit ourselves to just growing things at this time of year?
Though many fruits and flowers depend on the hotter weather to be able to thrive, something that can be grown essentially all year round is herbs. Though in the past it was traditional to grow your own herbs, as supermarkets have made them more accessible, people tend to just buy dried herbs for convenience.
Though it may be considered to be easier to buy herbs and spices at the store, there are a lot of benefits that come with growing your own herbs at home. Who knows, if we manage to persuade you of the benefits, then by the end of this article you may look into how to raise your own cilantro.
The taste is better
If you are someone that has experience cooking with both dried and fresh herbs, then you will know that there is no comparison between the two. Fresh herbs hold a lot of taste as they have not gone through the drying process and they have not had any additional preservatives mixed with them.
When using fresh herbs, you can pluck them from the plant and after a quick rinse with water, they are ready to be used. If you are someone that considers themselves to be somewhat of a chef, then you will be extremely appreciative of the taste difference between dry and fresh herbs. If you are eating a meal that is considered bland, adding herbs will not only add flavor but a sense of freshness too.
It saves you money
Now, herbs are not the most expensive ingredient that you pay for when you go shopping, but growing your own fresh herbs means that you won’t have to keep rebuying them. Once you have started to grow your own herbs, then you essentially have a constant supply of ingredients.
Depending on the care that you give your herb plants, they can grow to astounding heights. If you rip leaves from the plant, they also grow back fairly quickly. This is not the case if you purchase dried herbs, as eventually you will run out and have to head back to the store to restock your supply.
As the years go on, you will save more and more money that you can invest in other aspects of your life. Your plants will only get bigger, which means you could even provide your friends and family with a steady supply of fresh herbs, which means that they could also be saving some money in the future thanks to you.
Bring some decorative features to your kitchen
As well as being a great addition to any meal that you may make, growing your own fresh herbs makes for an amazing decorative feature within your home. We all love plants, but many of the plants that we fill our homes with unfortunately die very easily.
Though herb plants are not immortal, they are a lot easier to care for than normal plants and require far less attention. As well as being less work, once they start to grow they also have an extremely aesthetically pleasing appearance. If you match your herb plants with a nice plant pot, then your kitchen will look as though it has been intentionally stocked with beautiful plants.
This is something that also makes fresh herbs a brilliant gift. If you put the effort into picking out a nice pot, then you will be able to pass off just about any herb as a fun plant that can be kept at home. The only difference between a normal plant and fresh herbs is that you can actually use the fresh herbs for something more useful.
Freshen the air within your home
One of the main reasons that people buy plants and place them around their homes is because plants have air-purifying properties. This is why plants are so popular in countries that do not have the cleanest air.
Fresh herbs have the exact same effect as they also go through a process known as photosynthesis, where they take in carbon dioxide and use it to make oxygen which is released back into the air. Not only do plants produce oxygen, but they also deal with any nasty toxins that may be within the air, which means that what they release is a lot purer than what they have previously taken in.
An educational experience
Another reason why we recommend growing your own herbs is that it is an educational experience. When we buy herbs and other grown produce in stores, we never really think about the process that it had to undergo in order to end up where it is.
Growing your own herbs from the ground up will give you a brand new appreciation of all of the work that goes into growing the herbs that we all buy. It is easy to neglect the hard work of farmers all around the world, but if we as individuals gain further knowledge of the steps that our food has to go through before it reaches our plates, we may become much more appreciative.