Ginger Properties

How to Get the Best Use Out of Ginger Properties: History, Planting and Medicinal Benefits

Ginger (The edible part of the Zingiber officinale plant) is one of the best plants that any garden can grow. Most people know that the plant itself isn’t the delicious part, rather its rhizome (A stem that exists underground from which the visible plant grows) has all the flavor. This rhizome is technically a spice, however as its plant is a herb we have featured it here.

The list of benefits that it has is huge. The rhizome can be used to treat many different kinds of medical conditions and tastes great as a culinary garden plant or as a tea herb. The overground body of the plant grows beautiful yellow flowers that feature in a lot of garden designs.

Ginger History

Ginger has a long history that goes back over 3000 years. At this time, mentions of ginger started appearing in records in Asia. The original name literally translated as ‘horn root,’ anyone with a passing taste for ginger will understand this name! Even this long ago it was known as a culinary and medicinal plant. Asia was also the first region to begin cultivating the herb. It was also via the trade routes that went through India that the herb spread across the world.

Despite this, it wasn’t until Marco Polo brought some back that ginger’s popularity boomed. As early as the 11th century, gingerbread was becoming a beloved sweet. Soon it received the ultimate honor, when the Queen of England Elizabeth I created the first gingerbread man, ensuring its popularity for years to come.

Growing Ginger

While it can be easier to simply buy the fully grown plant, it is so easy to grow that I recommend gardeners simply buy a rhizome and grow it from scratch. When choosing a rhizome for this purpose, make sure that it has as many ‘fingers’ as possible as each of these can potentially grow into a new plant and give you ginger to eat.

To get the most out of the growing season, most gardeners grow the plant inside in late winter, then transfer it outside in spring. For its first stage, get a pot that is 2-3 times the size of your rhizome. Fill the pot about 70% full of soil, however make sure that a few centimeters have been left at the top. Instead of burying your rhizome, you simply want to lay it on top of the soil. This may seem strange, but as long as it is kept watered and out of direct sunlight, it will grow fine. Then transfer it once spring arrives and some growth has been established.

After 3-4 months, you can start harvesting. The reason why you needed as many fingers as possible, is because the main body of the rhizome will probably not be particularly delicious, so you will want to harvest the newer shoots. In fact I tend to only eat the young protrusions and throw the main part away at the end of the season!

Let’s Look At Ginger Properties

Ginger has many properties that make it an excellent plant. Ever wondered why ginger tastes so good? Well scientists have actually investigated this and isolated a compound they (Somewhat unimaginatively) labeled a ‘gingerol.’ This chemical is actually related to a similar compound called ‘capsaicin’ that gives chili peppers their spiciness.

However it is most the medicinal benefits of ginger that appeal to most people. The list of benefits is vast. Some of the major ones are listed below:

Arthritis. Although it is far from conclusively proven, it does appear that ginger can reduce the pain usually associated with this condition.
Heart Disease. Diets rich in ginger lead to thinner blood and lower cholesterol, this is a define plus for people with heart disease. However as it leads to problems if a person is on a drug such as warfarin, it can cause problems for people who have had a heart operation.
Sickness. Ginger has been tested on all kinds of nauseous people from pregnant mothers-to-be all the way to seasick travellers. The results were unambiguous: ginger could reduce the feeling of sickness and the probability of being sick.
Diabetes. Although the trials are still in their early stages it looks good for ginger helping diabetics control their condition.
Cold and Flu. Most people know that ginger tisane can be used to treat the symptoms of these sicknesses.

Aromatic Herbs

Growing Aromatic Herbs: Plants, Seeds and Tea

It is said that one of the strongest forms of memory is scent. Many of my childhood memories are linked with the smells of the herb gardens that I visited on my holidays in southern England and many of my adult memories are linked with the exotic scents of the Japanese herb gardens I’ve visited in my holidays.

The best thing is that many aromas combine together to give an awesome smell. Aromatic herbs from a Italian herb garden such as garlic and oregano combine their scents beautifully. Even a combination that rarely occurs in nature such as mint and thyme creates a complimentary smell.

The best thing is that many of the best aromatic herbs are also culinary garden herbs. Many gardeners grow these as indoor herbs, so that they can enjoy the smell and keep them close at hand for any delicious recipes they are cooking.

Top Aromatic Herbs

While almost any herb can be a great aromatic herb, the best are:

Coriander Seeds. While the leaves of this herb have a subtle smell, the seeds are the best smelling. Most people crush them to release the smell. In addition they are great culinary herbs, as they go with vegetables, curries and cooked meats.
Thyme. If you want a great herb that can be used in almost any recipe, a thyme herb garden is one of the the best ones. It has a minty-lemony smell, so goes well with strong smelling herbs.
Oregano. This has one of the most potent smells of all the aromatic herbs. The hotter your garden, the more potent the smell is, so people who live in a hot climate (Or use an artificial way of heating the plant) really get the best benefit from this herb. To really get the best out of its smell, it should be grown alongside other Italian herb garden plants. It also has the great plus of being a versatile culinary herb.
Lavender. There can be little doubt that lavender is one of the best flowers to use. A great use is to use it in massage oils for some aroma-therapy benefits. In addition its oils make an excellent perfume .
Mint. The uses for mint are numerous. The oils can be used to flavor things or to add their scent to shampoos or body washes. Some people prefer to simply leave in unharvested and enjoy the strong scent of the uncut plant.
Lemon grass. If you ever need a natural smell on your body, the oils from this plant are great. In fact it has been used as a deodorant in the past.
Ginger. This is a personal favorite of mine, simply because it combines with almost any smell. On top of that it is delicious for making tisane in your tea herb garden.

Combining The Scents of Aromatic Herbs

The best way to really make your house smell good is to grow a potted herb garden and practice moving your pots around to get the best combination of smells. While it can seem like a good idea to put all the strongest smelling herbs together, this can easily become overpowering. Often it is best to chose one strong smelling herb and a couple of weaker ones to add a subtle ‘character’ to the smell. Experiment with as many combinations in different areas as you can and soon you will have a great smelling house and garden that you will love to go to.

Medicinal Garden

Medicinal Garden: Herbs, Health and Harvesting

When I was younger I was playing on the climbing frame near my house, when the worst thing happened. One of the thrills of our plaything was that at one point it went over a bed of stinging nettles (Urtica dioica). This was a more innocent time when the government didn’t worry about kids getting stung, so no-one had ever thought of cutting back the nettles.

Can you see where this story is going yet?

Yep, you’re right. I was showing off for my brother, when I slipped and landed face first into the nettles. I began crying and my mother rushed over and began rubbing another plant on my face. Although it didn’t stop the pain, it did reduce it enough to get me home without disturbing the whole neighbourhood with my wails. The plant she treated me with was a dock leaf (Of the Rumex-genus).

If I’d known then what I know now I might have paused to take some of the nettles home too! These days I love to drink nettle tisane straight out the tea herb garden and I even grew a taste for yarg (A cheese which is often found wrapped in nettles!) during my childhood trips to Cornwall.

Planning Your Own Medicinal Garden

The first thing that you need to decide is what herbs you want to grow. This will be key. Generally you will either want to choose your herbs based on their medicinal properties or the other properties they have in addition to their medical ones (For example are they aromatic or delicious culinary herbs?). You then have to make your herb garden design based on this.

The Top Ten Medicinal Herbs are:

Garlic. Not only tastes good, but also has been linked to improving circulation, controlling your blood sugar level and helping reduce the risk of heart disease.
Chamomile. This is one of the world’s favorite tisanes. It also has antiseptic properties. A word of warning, many people vomit if they take too much chamomile and worse still it has been linked with uterine problems, so pregnant mothers-to-be should stay clear.
Rosemary. Not only a great medicinal herb (It is linked with controlling free radicals that cause the Alzheimer disease) but also a great culinary garden herb too.
Lemon Balm. The best thing about this herb is that its tea is linked with reducing headaches.
Lavender. This aromatic herb is one of the most commonly used in herbalism. In fact it has such powerful antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, it was used to disinfect hospitals during the first world war!
Ginseng. This is one of the most studied herbs in the world. It is linked with everything from combating cancer to boosting the circulation.
Echinacea. The root of this popular plant has been linked with anti-viral, antiseptic and anti-allergy benefits.
Ginger. Thank heavens for ginger, with its throat soothing properties it has saved me from many a tough day in the classroom. It is also linked with aiding digestion.
St. John’s Wort. This is a great immune stimulant to help with wound healing.
Aloe Vera. Another herb that gets a lot of love in my household, especially when I’ve burnt myself (I.e. Every summer!) as it really soothes burns. Because of this many gardeners like to plant it when growing herbs in pots indoors to keep it handy in case of burns.

Growing Medicinal Herbs

When you start growing your herbs you need to first consider how much space you have. Lots of gardeners make a little windowsill herb garden, whereas others want huge gardens such as formal English gardens. The choice really is up to you and your garden.

Medicinal herbs, like most herbs, require a good soil with plenty of drainage, a neutral PH and which has been cleared of debris/ fungi. They also generally require a lot of sunlight.

Harvesting your herbs at the correct time becomes more important with medicinal garden herbs, so make sure you know when your herb can and can’t be harvested. Make sure not to over harvest as well, as many of these herbs die if too much is cut off.

To conclude, please remember that your herbs should never be a replacement for the advice of a trained medical professional. However it can be a great way to grown healthy, flavorful herbs with a health benefit. On top of that getting outside and enjoying some gardening will help reduce your stress, so you get benefits all round!

Herb Basil

Growing the Basil Herb

Basil has always been one of the most popular herbs for all kinds of gardeners. In fact the International Herb Society voted basil the ‘Herb of the Year’ in 2003! It is easy to see why it is so popular, it can be easily grown, is packed full of nutrients and used in almost any kind of cooking. The best use for this herb is, of course, in an Italian herb garden for cooking with delicious Italian-style tomato dishes. However many also love it for its health benefits which include cardiovascular and anti-oxidant benefits.

The strong flavor that basil has is due to it belonging to the same family as garden mint. Because of this relation, growing this herb is similar. One key difference is that basil is easily grown from seed or cultivar. Most gardeners plant in early spring, however it can be sown in late winter as long as the frosts have definitely finished. If you want to give your herbs the largest chance of surviving, it is advisable to grow it as an indoor herb first. After about 4 weeks of growth have taken place, it can then be transferred outside easily.

Basil was originally cultivated in India, so it comes as little surprise that it requires as much sunshine as possible. Temperatures that would cause bolting plants, actually benefit basil. 80 to 90 degrees is the optimum range for the basil herb. Because of this love of heat, some gardeners bring their plant back indoors during the winter.

On top of this, you will need to add a good fertilizer to get the best growth. You should make sure that your fertilizer is suitable for use on ‘edibles’ as some are not suitable for using on anything you intend to eat! From then on you will need to make sure that it gets adequate water to make sure that it is soft and flavorful. You will also want to make sure that you pinch off the shoots semi-regularly to delay the growth of flowers and to encourage growth. It is also important to cut off any flower buds you see.

Harvesting the Basil Herb

As long as you leave about 7 niches or so of growth, you can harvest a lot of basil. The only problem is what to do with it all, as it does not freeze very well. One solution is to use it fresh and make a lot of food. Another is to dry a significant proportion of it.

Basil can be easily dried as long as you have a hot, dry place (70-80 degrees is best). Take about 5-6 stems of basil and dry hang them upside down. Eventually the water will all leave the plant, then it can be broken easily and stored in a pot. For those that don’t have days to spare, an oven or microwave can be used. Drying will take 3 hours or so in the oven and 4 minutes in the microwave. Note that a little flavor is usually lost using this method.

If you have a lot of vinegar or olive oil, you can add basil to it. It will not only preserve the harvest, but will add a great flavor to the condiment.

Uses for Basil

As a general rule basil is used to flavor something rather than used by itself. The most common use is in pesto or in tomato sauce, especially spaghetti sauces. Some people like basil tea, however I would recommend either adding something to the tea to sweeten it (Such as honey) or mix basil with other strong flavors (Basil and mint is a great combination for example).

Mint Garden

Garden Mint In Your Herb Garden

There are many different kinds of mints that can be grown in your garden. By far the most popular are spearmint and peppermint types. This herb is great for gardeners as it grows almost everywhere and returns year after year without much care.

A mint garden can be troublesome for beginner gardeners, as it has a habit of trying to take over your entire garden! A good technique to prevent your garden from being overrun is to grow this herb as part of a potted herb garden, the pots should keep it under control. Be careful about feeding it too much with fertilizers as this can cause it to become uncontrollable.

This rapid growth isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as a small cutting from these herbs can be planted in another garden and it will quickly grow into a full plant. Therefore you and your friends can share this herb with each other easily and it saves you having to grow this plant from seed which can be tricky.

Growing Mint

The mint herb has a number of advantages to other herbs. One of the big advantages is how versatile this it is. It grows in the kind of soils that most other herbs would die in. The only important thing is to make sure that it remains moist. Many gardeners mist their mint using a spray can outside its regular watering sessions, so that your mint garden gets a little bit of water but does not get flooded. Luckily your watering sessions can be very far apart with this plant, as it can survive everything bar a drought. Some gardeners try to reduce the amount of watering to almost zero by using perlite or mulch to maximize the water they give it.

This herb grows well as an indoor herb. Unlike other herbs mint tends to grow better with some shade. This makes it great for smaller apartments/ houses that don’t get much sunshine. Many gardeners erect a cover, so that it gets lots of sunshine early in the day when the sun is in a lower position, then is shaded later in the day. This mixture of light and dark should see your herbs grow rapidly.

Harvest Time

When it is time to harvest your herbs you want to make sure that you harvest this herb early on a dry, late summer morning as it is prone to losing the oils that give it its flavor in sunlight or rain. As a general rule this herb is best harvested before the flowers have a chance to develop.

The most popular use for mint is in tea herb gardening. It is a great tisane herb as it goes really well when mixed with almost any flavor. To make the herb suitable for making a drink, you will want to dry it either on a rack or by hanging it upside down in a dark, cool place. Once dry it can easily be crumpled into small particles suitable for making tea.

Many gardeners also choose to freeze this herb. Unfortunately this costs a little bit of the flavor, but it can be a good way to save your harvest for a warm summer day when it can be added to drinks or a cool dessert. It goes fantastically well with ice cream and chocolate-based desserts.

It can also make a great fresh sauce for lamb, by simply preserving the mint in vinegar and adding honey/ sugar to taste.

The best part is that mint has long been used for its medicinal properties. It has been linked with cold treatments and clearing up headaches, so you get great medicinal benefits too!

To read the next article in this series about growing a thyme herb garden click here.

Culinary Garden

Growing Herbs In a Culinary Garden

If you really love herbs or have ambitions as a seller of herbs (Check out my products page for more information on my become a professional herb seller ebook) then turning a large area of your garden into a culinary garden can be a good idea. Another idea is to have many herbs gardens, each with a different role. This gives you plenty of herbs, but also requires some special care, so it is worth getting as much information as possible.

Weather and Herbs

The first consideration is that the survival of your herbs becomes more important. Many gardeners grow a potted herb garden so they can move the herbs between locations if there is unusual weathers! The two weathers to watch out for are exceptionally hot or cold weather. In sunny weather some herbs have a habit of bolting. Bolting plants can be a real nuisance as the plants can be left completely inedible. Worse still many popular herbs such as herb garden cilantro are prone to bolting. If you want to plant this kind of herb in your garden you will often need to manufacture a hood that allows sunshine to reach the plant early on, but shields it during peak times. Similarly most herbs are also prone to frost, so be careful not to plant them too early before the frosts have fully finished.

Using the Right Fertilizer

Fertilizers are not as vital for herbs as they are for other kinds of plant, however it is worth considering using one during the early growing stage. Make sure that you check your fertilizer before use. The fertilizer should be marked as ’suitable for edibles.’ If not you will want to buy a different brand as some fertilizers are more suited to helping non-edible plants grow and can cause your herbs to give stomach upsets.

Aphid and Mite Problems

There is nothing worse than going out to check on your herbs and finding aphids or mites (The red spider mite in particular is a nuisance in hot areas of the world and can cause a lot of damage). Luckily herbs are very resilient, but it is still worth treating them as, for the professional, the tiniest loss of yield can be devastating. Generally there are a few ways of treating them. You can use chemical treatments such as mitocides or you can use a biological treatment such as controlled release of insects that prey on your problem animal.

The Location For a Culinary Garden

The most important thing is, of course, the location. You will want to make sure that your herbs receive a lot of sunlight, have a good well-drained soil and make sure that they receive enough water.

As a general rule herbs in a southern facing garden will get more sunlight, so if your garden is on different sides of your house and you want to grow a large formal English garden this is a consideration. Likewise find out information on your herbs, as some actually prefer the shade, whereas others really need a lot of light.

The drainage and condition of your soil is also important. Whilst a particularly poor soil can be improved using composts, perlite and fertilizers, you should try and find the best kind of soil for your herbs. Be wary of areas of your garden that are very dry, as you will end up spending most of your time trying to keep it moist enough to grow anything! If your garden has poor drainage, it can be improved somewhat by digging an extra inch or two when you plant your herbs. This extra couple of inches should be filled with crushed stones to increase the drainage.

Luckily watering is not such a big consideration for culinary garden herbs as most survive well without it. You will need to make watering a habit. Most gardeners choose the same day of the week and only delay watering if the soil is still moist from the previous time. Another technique is to give the occasional ‘misting’ to your herbs by spraying a thin layer of water onto their leaves. This will give it a little extra water, without risking drowning it!

Then comes the best part, pruning and harvesting your herbs. The great news is that as you cut little bits off for eating, it actually stimulates your herb to grow more! Therefore a regular pruning or cutting schedule where you preserve your harvest using salt or freezing them (See the harvesting your herbs article for more information) can increase your harvest. Isn’t that great news. Soon you will have enough for you and it is time to start thinking about your own mini business. Have fun!

Herb Indoor

Growing Your Herbs Indoor

When I was growing up my mother was always a big fan of fresh herbs. We only had a small garden, but our house was full of tiny potted herb gardens and the windows partially blocked with her windowsill herb garden. I can still remember some of the salads that she made using handfuls of freshly grown flavorings (I was one of those rare kids that loved vegetables- go figure!).

Indoor herb gardens are great as an alternative to bigger outdoor herb gardens such as formal English gardens. They have the disadvantage of being smaller, but the conditions are a lot easier to control. Other gardeners like to use a indoor herb garden as one of many herbs gardens to maximize their harvest.

The easiest thing to control with an indoor herb garden is the weather. Outside herb gardens can be troublesome if you live in the northern hemisphere as your garden can be under a couple of inches of snow for much of the winter, leaving your herbs either dormant or dead. Likewise hot summers can make herbs such as herb garden cilantro bolt. Bolting plants can leave your harvest inedible.

Filling your garden with ornamental herbs (Herbs selected for eye-pleasing as opposed to taste reasons) can also make a great addition to any house. Not only can many ornamental herbs also be eaten, but they also add some life to your house.

Many herbs can be grown indoors, but as a general rule the following herbs grow well indoors:

Dill
Basil
Sage
Oregano
Fennel
Thyme
Mint
Chives
Parsley
Rosemary

The first thing that you have to consider is whether your plant needs sunlight or shade. Amazingly some herbs will do really well in the shade, whereas others need lots of sunshine. If your plants need a lot of sunlight (Most do!) then they should be planted in the southern end of your house, in the part of your house that receives the most sunshine.

The next part is to chose the container. You will want to choose a container that confirms to the space where you intend to put it. Containers for the windowsill will tend to be light, long and not very wide. If you intend to put your plant in your living room, you may want to buy one for aesthetic reasons as much as practical ones. If you just want to grow herbs for your own cooking, then you can improvise containers from yogurt tubs or leftover ceramics. If you are artistically-minded you may want to create some original art on your pots or have fun with young children painting one.

You will likely need to add some kind of fertilizer, although this varies somewhat plant-to-plant. Remember to check whether the fertilizer is suitable for use on edibles if that is how you want to use it- some are not!

Water then becomes the most important thing. You will of course need to make a schedule as it can be difficulty to remember. A simple way is to choose the same day every week and water the plants constantly on that date. Many people also add perlite to their soil to reduce water loss. The problem most people have is either not watering enough or watering too much. If you stick a finger a small way into the soil and it feels moist you should wait another day or two before watering. A lot of gardeners mist their plants if the soil feels wet (Leaving a thin mist of water using a spray bottle on the leaves for it to be slowly absorbed), giving the plant a little water over a long time.

Growing herbs indoors can be one of the most enriching activities you can take part in, not only do you get flavorful herbs, but you also make your house look more beautiful. What could be better than that!

Potted Herb Garden

Growing a Potted Herb Garden Indoors or Out.

Potted herb gardens have some great benefits that other gardens don’t have. The biggest advantage is that you have flexibility over where you put your herbs. On one hand you can grow your herbs in smaller pots or even as a windowsill herb garden. This allows you to really maximise space. A secret technique that is becoming more popular with herb gardeners is to have multiple herbs gardens each of which grows many different kinds of herbs. This allows you to maximise the space and your garden’s harvest.

Many types of herbs also benefit from being grown indoors at the start of the season and then being grown outside later on. This is particularly useful if you have herbs that need to be planted in winter/ early spring as sudden frosts can devastate your plants. Often the herbs are initially grown indoors until they have begun to show some edible growth, then they are transferred outside so that they can propogate and create more herbs.

Another advantage of a potted herb garden is that your herbs can be transferred inside if there is a freak hot spell in summer. In your herb garden cilantro for example, can be a bolting plant if the summer is especially hot. This can leave the herbs that you spent months growing inedible, so it can be wise if you live in an area that is prone to hot summers to leave these herbs in pots.

Some plants have a really tendency to try and take over your garden. Ask anyone who has seriously tried to grow mint without some way of controlling its growth and chances are they will have a story of woe, as the plant tried to take over most of their garden! Some herbs are just like that, so for gardeners that want to harvest these kind of herbs, it is a great idea to use a potted herb garden as this will prevent the herbs from growing too out-of-control.

The final factor is sunlight, when you have potted herbs you can more easily control the sunlight that your plants receive. By moving your plants around a little you can shade them during hot parts of the day (For example to prevent bolting) or increase their sunshine if they are not getting enough where they are.

A potted herb garden can be great for gardeners. Either by themselves or with many other kinds of garden, they are a great way to really get the best out of your herbs.