Homegrown spices make a home cooked meal hum! Spices you grow will add flavor and a sense of pride of accomplishments in the kitchen and in the garden. When becoming vegan it was spices that taught me that I could make any dish excellent. Like most, I began my spice journey buying them from the store then choosing companies that sell fresh. But now I have a new adventure awaiting as I am using my own homegrown spices.
Spice Gardens
Gardening is making a come back as people living in the cities, apartments and in rural areas are turning back to gardening to raise their own food.
I grew gardens when my children were young to help curb costs at the grocery stores but I must admit that vegetables where my primary focus. Fast forward to 2022, I am back in the garden but this time growing my own homegrown spices as well as vegetables.
Rather than spend a lot of time on line to learn what spices grow in my area, I found a great book by Tasha Greer. I received a copy of her book in return for an honest review for this article. I am happy to share this book, Grow Your Own Spices, with my readers .
What Sets This Book Apart From Other Spice Gardening Books
The tips can be trusted as they are added by Lindsey Feldpausch, RH.
This gives the reader other avenues to purchase with trust
Actual photos of each spice including the plant, flowers and seeds are included. This really helps connect the gardener to the plants for easy recognition of them in the garden when growing new spices.
Grown Your Own Spices by Tasha Greer is an excellent book for successful gardening. This book is divided into 3 categories and also color coordinated according to the three sections devoted to types of spices. I love that feature as I can quickly find the section I am looking for to locate the needed information.
Contents
- Introduction: This section covers the topic of how gardening is becoming popular again and although we are going back to the roots of focusing on heirloom, organic growing and making our own compost, it also describes how modern gardening is becoming accessible to everyone, whether they live in an apartment, residential back yards or rural settings.
Basic Spice Plant Care is also included in this section.- Sanitation and soil care
- Protecting plants from animals, insects, pathogens
- Light
- Fertilizer
- Homemade compost tea
- Mulch
- Watering
- Plant Spacing
- Containers
- Temperature Guidelines
Pollination covers the different types of pollination such as:
- Self Pollinators:
- Cross-Pollination
- Pollination and Spice Profiles
- Hand -Pollination
- More Male Flowers
- Saving to Plant: Tips on preventing cross-pollination.
- Section 1: Fast-Growing Seed Spices
- Fast Growing Seed Spices
- Techniques for Starting Spice Plants from Seed
- Cool-Season Seed Spices
- Warm-Season Seed Spices
- Section 2: The Spice Underground
- The Spices Underground
- Techniques for Growing Spices from Roots, Bulbs, and Rhizomes
- Temperate Climate Spices
- Tropical Climate (or Temperate Container) Spices
- Section 3: Perennial Spices
- Perennial Spices
- Techniques for Growing Perennial Spices
- Mediterranean and Temperate Perennial Spices
- Tropical and Subtropical Climate Perennial Spices
*This was a very interesting section and informative and extended my knowledge about successful production.
* This section is loaded with information on the basics of starting seeds, planting, soil mixes, harvesting and seed storage.
*Each spice is listed and given a few pages to educate on growing, care and harvesting. I love not having to hunt for information about a certain spice. The spices are listed on the page with page numbers assigned to their care is on the first page of this category. The same format carries through for warm-season spices as well.
*We grow our own ginger and garlic but found the tips in this book helpful for better yeilds.
Final Thoughts
Growing Your Own Spices by Tasha Greer
Is well worth the money. My husband is a very knowledgeable gardener and he agrees with me that this is an excellent book for those that are getting started or wants to extend their knowledge. There are over 30 different spices in this book and the information is concise and easy to understand. This book may also open a path to growing homegrown spices you did not know you could in your area. I did not know that spices held such medical benefits for health before reading this book. I always looked to herbs and their health benefits. This book widened my knowledge and scope on how I can stay healthy with things I grow in my garden.
Creativity is a lifestyle in Grace's world and is a persistent believer in the phrase, " I can make that!"
Living in the forest, Grace and her husband enjoy sustainable living and are tree guardians and protectors of the wild life in their area.
Grace is the mother of two creative children and the grandmother to 3 magical grand kids who can make a smile appear on anyone's face in a matter of moments.
- Homegrown Spices & Medicinal Tips - 06/09/2022
- Quality Spices That Make Dishes Hum - 05/04/2022
- Blessed Elements: Where Life Sings In The Forest - 04/07/2022
This book is such a great resource! I hope you and your husband love looking for guidance within its pages as much as we do.
As a total herb and spice fan, I’m always looking for new tips to up my gardening game. Will definitely have to check this out!
I love growing my own. I always have herbs planted, and it’s so much better using in meals, than dried!! Thank you for the tips here, that’s interesting.
This looks like a great book. I started looking into lower histamine foods and any spices or herbs that may help with allergies. Now I’m curious to learn more about spices that may have additional benefits, so I’ll have to check this book out.