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Spice & Herb Gardening

How to Grow Herbs For Tea in Your Kitchen

I love the feeling of my hands around a warm cup of herbal tea. I love the aroma, and I love the way a hot cup of tea reminds me to pause for a moment, take some deep breaths, and enjoy the world around me. Fellow tea drinkers, have I romanticized this too much, or just enough?

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Spice & Herb Gardening

3 Ideas for a Whimsical Kids Herb Garden

No matter the weather, my daughter wants to be outside all day long, running, jumping, and usually getting quite dirty. As a toddler, she is a total sponge and loves to watch what I do in the yard and then practice it herself. When it comes to gardening tasks, it’s definitely a “monkey see, monkey do” situation. Choosing to plant a kids’ herb garden was a no-brainer for me, especially after I saw these adorable kid gardening gloves.

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Spice & Herb Gardening

How to Stop Invasive Herbs from Spreading

Invasive herbs? I know that’s not how I usually think of invasive species. When I think of invasive species, it’s usually things like boa constrictors in the Everglades, carp in the Great Lakes, or perhaps kudzu in the southeastern U.S. Or murder hornets. Murder hornets are definitely invasive.  As it turns out, though, some herbs […]

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Spice & Herb Gardening

10 Edible Flowers to Plant with Herbs

I feel like one of the best kept secrets in gardening is around edible flowers. Edible flowers don’t just look pretty on your plate, they taste delightful, and they bring pollinators to your garden. When you choose edible flowers to plant with herbs, the results will make your garden a work of art. Vivid oranges and bright yellow marigolds catch the eye in a sea of green herbs. Delicate purple chive blossoms lend an air of royal sophistication to your nearby thyme. 

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Spice & Herb Gardening

7 Aromatic Turkey Herbs You Can Grow and Dry

I love fresh and dried herbs. They can turn any recipe into a treat for the senses. I especially love that I can grow herbs in my garden and enjoy them fresh most of the year, then dry them to flavor meals in the winter. I also love planning my garden and thinking about which […]

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Spice & Herb Gardening

Antimicrobial Herbs You Can Grow at Home

Antimicrobial spices are certainly more well-known than antimicrobial herbs. Cloves, for example, are clinically proven to fight gum disease and they can relieve tooth pain. Cinnamon is revered for its antibacterial properties. And we all know that garlic can ward off vampires. (Incidentally, there’s some interesting folklore behind that, and some of it may be partially based on facts, but that’s a story for another time.) But herbs? Let’s see what the doctor says.

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Spice & Herb Gardening

Spices vs. Herbs: An Introduction to Growing Your Own

Let’s talk about spices and herbs. Or spices vs. herbs if you prefer, because there can be some serious debate around what’s what. Admittedly, it gets a bit confusing, especially since the two terms get used interchangeably so often. Then you get into things like curry or garam masala, which are not, in fact, spices. They are spice blends. 

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Spice & Herb Gardening

How to Grow Herbs in Mason Jars

I love cooking with fresh herbs. There’s nothing like the smell of chopped basil or the aroma of crushed thyme to get me in the zone to cook. That’s easy enough to do in the summer when my herbs are growing faster than Jack’s magical beanstalk, but since I live in New England, the herb garden is pretty much done by mid-autumn. What’s a cook to do? Bring the garden indoors and grow herbs in Mason jars. 

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Spice & Herb Gardening

How to Create an Aquaponic Herb Garden

Imagine a stranger came up to you holding a bag of fish from the pet store and said, “Hey, you! Did you know you can grow a garden using live fish?” It’d be a little unsettling. But now imagine it’s me, your trusted gardening friend Amanda grinning at you while holding a bag of betta fish saying the same thing. I’m not selling this, am I? But it’s true!

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Spice & Herb Gardening

Basil Bonanza: From Planting Woes to Home Depot Heroics

Hey there fellow food garden enthusiasts! Today, I’m going to take you on a journey through my rollercoaster of experiences with growing common basil this year. As they say, when life gives you basil, make Pasta sauce! Well, at least that’s how the saying goes in my world now. You see, I’m a planner. So, […]