Grow Your Own Spices!

This is a guest post by Wendy Dessler from MySeedNeeds.com. I only share information with my readers that I find interesting, helpful or fun! I hope you enjoy!

Having access to a wide range of herbs and spices could be a dream come true! These flavoring agents perk up the blandest of foods and are extremely healthy for our digestive systems as well.

Finding just the right ones in the market can be a time-consuming and expensive excursion, though. Plus, running out of them just when they're needed is highly frustrating.

Luckily, growing your own herbs and spices is an easy task if you know the best ones to grow and how to go about it.

Are you a complete beginner in home-grown spices?

We’ll get you started below!

Ginger
Ginger is an excellent spice for those who’re on a fitness regime or just like the zesty, potent taste. You can use ginger in your everyday cooking to reduce the effect of inflammation in certain foods.

Other than savory items, we’ve grown to love ginger in sweet stuff like cookies, cake, and even the occasional candy. Plus, the herbal tea concocted from ginger is an excellent way to relieve cramps, colds, and have a satisfying substitute for caffeinated beverages.

If you have a piece of natural ginger with around one ‘eye’, bud, or rhizome, you have your ginger starter. Place several such pieces (around 1-2 inches) around six inches apart on a bed or tub of potting soil/mix.

Make sure these stay in a well-lit place. Water them when the soil seems dry. Pour in a general fertilizer every fortnight. Once the ginger starts to grow, you can break off as much as you want and leave the rest to multiply more!

Coriander

This is another staple in Indian cuisine, as well as Mexican and Chinese dishes. Coriander can be used as the herb when you only use the leaves; or a spice if you use the dried seeds. Both choices are quite different in taste. It’s simply amazing how you can get two flavorings in one!

Luckily, coriander grows quite quickly. Get some coriander seeds, which should be glucose. Rub them between your hands—they'll break in half. Plant 3-4 of these halves in one large pot of soil. The soil should be kept moist at all times.

Eventually, you’ll get some simple leaves. With more time, there would come those familiar lacy, delicate, and divided leaves. They’ll also grow flowers, which will then fall to reveal fruit, which we know as the coriander seed.

All you have to do then is dry the fruits (with stem) in brown paper. Dry them more in the sun, then make a powder for spicing up your dishes. You can even toast the seeds for a more potent and nutty experience.

Out of seeds or have no reliable store nearby? Check out the variety here. There’s always some online help when you need the right seeds.

Saffron
If you can manage to grow this spice at home, you’re actually treating yourself as a royal! Saffron is by far one of the most expensive spices in the world, and the crocuses that house it are best grown indoors.

When you do get your first successful crop, you’re in for a world of treats. Just a few strands will make any dish aromatic. You can even use it as an exotic air freshener or for soothing aromatherapy.

Grab some corms of a mountain crocus called Crocus sativus. Since the outcome is quite costly, you may have to watch out for scams. Make sure you get a reliable vendor.

Get some large pots and cover their bottoms with gravel or sand. Layer rich potting mix on top. Finally, push around 2-3 corms per pot inside the mix. Cover up with a mixture of soil and sand.
The pots should go in an unheated area and under the direct sun.

Once you get your crocuses, allow them to wilt. You’ll get a precious few strands/stigmas from each crocus. Dry these and store in air-tight container.