I think we are all aware of the positive impact of herbs for our body and health. Spices are indispensable in any kitchen, and of course in any garden. They can be used dried or fresh. Also, the herbs are indispensable in our diet, especially in the form of teas. Some of the spices and herbs should not be left out in our vegetable garden, because they fend off pests and prevent certain diseases. Not having a garden is certainly not an obstacle from having some of them at home. They can simply be grown in pots on the balcony or on the window.
Herbs and Spices Gathering
We gather herbs and spices before flowering or when they bloom. Weather should be dry.
How we store Herbs and Spices
The place, where we dry leaves of the herbs and spices should be airy, dry and shady. Fruits and roots can be dried on the sun or a litle heated oven. We put dried plants in containers that are well closed and made from glass or porcelain. Storage jars are great for this purpose. In case if we do not close it, they loose the smell and they are also likely to absorb other odors. Still in the case if we are not 100% sure that the plants are dried, it is preferable that we just cover the glass with a thick cloth, as it is shown in the picture bellow. By doing this we prevent the formation of mold, witch can occur if the plants are not well dried and are tightly closed. Do not forget to paste the stickers with the name of herbs on the glass.
Every year we gather and store new spices, because eventually they lose their therapeutic effect. Storage area should be dry, cold and dark.
Guidelines for growing herbs and spices
We can grown them in the garden, in the boxes on the terrace or balcony and also on the window sills. Most herbs and spices reguire a light for at least half a day.
If we want to have plants with as many medicinal substances as posuble we must comply with the following regulations:
We have to plant them in good soil mix, you can add a little compost as well. We do not fertilize them too often and we also do not use artifial fertilizers. We wather them only when needed, preferably with rainwater. We do not use chemical means for pests and weed control. We control and prevent pests by spraying them with wather, in which we have soaking nettles for 24 hours.
Use of herbs and spices
Herbs and spices are used for the preparation of herbal and vegetable soups, sauces, salads and refreshing drinks like teas. As well as herbs also spices help us maintain our health. They are also important in hygiene and cosmetics.
We can also use them for refreshing baths. Put 1 fist of selected herbs into 1/2 liter of wather. Boil the tea, strain it and add it to the bath, which can last only 15 minutes.
Lets make soma syrup. We need jar glass. We put one layer of herbs and one layer of sugar or honey, and repeat the step untill the glass is full. Place the glass on the sun. Leave it there (couple of days) until the sugar melts and the leaves turn yellow.
We can also prepare the herb extract by soak the herb in alcohol. It is used for lubricating the effected parts of the body or it is consumed by drops.
Wraps are prepared form fresh chopped herb parth, which we turn in to a gauze. We can also use fresh herbs to make a herb brew.
We prepare inhalation when we catch a cold.
We can see that spices and herbs are important for our health. Of course, not all plants have the same effect. We chose herb depending on the desease. For health meintenance and disease prevention is the best that we use spices and herbs in our daily diet.
