Herbs Essential to Great Food and Simple to Grow

Herbs have been with humans since the dawn of recorded time and before. They have been used in a wide variety of functions and new uses continue to be found for them in the present day. Depending on who you ask, there are anywhere from 40 to 60 herbs to choose from and most of them are very simple to grow and use.

Different herbs serve different functions. The aromatic herbs, for instance, are grown purely for their scent. You can use oils from these herbs to make candles, perfumes and other cosmetic and skin care products.

By far the most popular of herbs is the culinary herb. In fact, most people are familiar with only this kind of herb. Many gardeners grow a few varieties of culinary herbs such as basil, dill and chives. The beauty of some of these herbs is that you don’t need plant them every year since some of them are annuals and will appear without needing to be replanted.

The ornamental herbs are planted only because they look beautiful and you can create exquisite fresh or dried arrangements with them. They are usually found in and amongst the flowers in a flower garden.

There are herbs that have medicinal value. They are used to treat a variety of ailments to this very day. Although the Western medical community has not yet accepted or practiced curing diseases with the help of herbs, it has been a popular way of treatment in the Eastern countries. And, scientists are showing an increasing interest in the potential of herbs to cure disorders.

The culinary herbs are most popular because without them our food would not taste so good. We use herbs to create marinades. Without herbs it would be difficult to get that subtle, but distinct, flavor that enhances many dishes. Herbs are as essential to cooking as any of the other ingredient. No wonder, people keep herbs on hand, even if they cannot afford them. They would rather grow them in their garden than do without them.

Growing herbs in your garden is a fairly simple and painless process. But before you start laying out your garden and planning where what gets planted where, be aware that herbs are available as annuals, perennials, and biennials. This means that the herbs will be coming up at different times in the year so you will have to keep track of where you plant what herb and what its growing cycle is.

Most of the culinary herbs do quite well in soil that has been well drained but still remains fairly fertile. You have nothing to worry about if space happens to be limited outdoors because herbs do great when grown indoors as well. No matter where you intend to plant your herbs, be sure not to plant them too deeply in the soil or they may not have a chance to grow. When harvesting herbs, try to do so in the mornings because this is when the precious oils in the herbs are at their concentration and precisely when you want to pick them.

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Ungari Dodisto is the owner and operator of F herbs, the web's premier resource for information about herbs. For questions or comments about this article visit: www.herbso.com/articles
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