Herb and Spice Gardens

Having a Herb and Spice  Garden is it worth it? I have a very small herb and spice garden in some pots outside. I decided to try herbs and spices this year on a small scale just to see how it would work. Next year I plan to expand on the herbs and spices a little more. I love to have fresh herbs and spices to put in my recipes when I cook. Buying herbs and spices in the store are very expensive. So one day when I was in a dollar store I saw some herb seeds and decided to give it a try. These seeds only cost me $1.00 dollar for 4 packages. So even if they didn’t turn out, I only had $1.00 dollar into this whole experiment.  I planted the herbs and spices in some pots and put them outside to grow. As you can see they turned out very well.

When the weather starts getting colder I will bring the plants inside for the winter to grow inside. So today I will show you how I dehydrated and how to freeze my herbs. You can have fresh herbs year round this way.

1.       First, cut your herbs by the stems and rinse them off.

2.       Take a slotted spoon and pull your herbs through the spoon leaving the stems behind. This saves a lot of time because you don’t have to cut or pick them off.

3.       Next take your herbs and place them on your dehydrator's trays. Make sure you label your trays so you know what herbs you have on them.

4.       When your herbs are dry just crush them and put in a zip lock bag or a sealed container. Label and date them.

5.       Use your fresh herbs in your favorite recipes and soups.

Here’s another way to keep your herbs fresh. If you do not have a dehydrator or you don’t want to dehydrate them, try freezing them. Take an ice cube tray and place your herbs in them and fill them up with water or olive oil. Freeze them. When you need some herbs, all you have to do is pop out what you need and add them to your favorite soups and recipes.  Each cube holds about 2 Tablespoons of herbs. Freezing your herbs is very easy to do and very convenient.

Growing your own herbs is easy and can save you a lot of money. This would be a great project to do with your children or Grandchildren. I love the smell of fresh herbs especially while they are dehydrating in my kitchen. When I try something and it works well I like to share it with you. Have fun growing your own herbs and spices, from Suzie Homemaker.