Growing a potted herb garden is beneficial to your health, good for your palate, and satisfying for your soul. Because it is potted, more people can choose to use this method for growing, even if they don’t have any more space than a window sill. For centuries many people have grown their own herbs, yet in modern society this practice has been lost, for the most part, with the ready availability of food at the grocery store, and most people don’t know how much they can benefit from doing it.
There are many health benefits that can be gained from using fresh herbs in your diet. Growing a potted herb garden will put these benefits at your fingertips on a regular basis. Nothing is as good as freshly picked food, and most all herbs have more than one health supporting ability.
Take parsley for example. Parsley is a staple herb for many chefs, and has the ability to improve the functioning and health of your digestive system. It is good for reducing excess gas, acts as a diuretic, and helps flush the kidneys. Eating fresh parsley can help with bad breath, like toning down garlic after eating. These are only a few benefits of one herb. There are more health benefits of parsley, and every herb has multiple health benefits.
There is no question that one of the obvious reasons to grow you own herbs is the ability to add freshly picked herbs to whatever dishes you are making. Herbs add wonderful flavorings to the food we eat, and without them our food would be very bland. A lot of the diversity of differences in cultural food is the choices and combinations of herbs used. Chicken, for example, can take on various flavorings depending on which herbs are used. The choice of combinations is virtually up to you as the chef. The possibilities are limited only to the imagination of the cook/gardener.
A side benefit to growing your own potted herbs is the satisfaction you get. Many people claim there is something therapeutic about gardening, even on a small scale in containers. Something about putting your fingers in the soil, watering regularly and nurturing a plant to grow brings a level of satisfaction unlike other kinds of success. Maybe it has to do with helping life develop, or, as the case may be for some, not killing it, but nothing says job well done like looking at a healthy plant you have grown from a seed. It’s kind of like watching a miracle, because so much of what happens is unseen, in the soil. The results show in the plant, and ultimately on your dinner plate in the case of herbs.
If you want to gain the benefits described, maybe it’s time for you to start growing a potter herb garden of your own.
