Growing your own herbs

One main fact of having tasty delicious food is using herbs; you can buy them in the supermarket either fresh, as a paste or dried. I prefer fresh and love to use them straight out of my garden. If you don’t have your own garden, you can still grow your own herbs in a pot, maybe on the kitchen windowsill close to where you will use them…

Easy herbs to grow are parsley, basil, chives, rosemary, sage and thyme.

They all have very distinctive flavors and go with a great range of foods.

Sage is very delicious tossed and fried in some olive oil till it goes crisp and stirred into some freshly cooked pasta. Serve it with a generous serving of salad or veggies.

Basil is great in any tomato dish but not limited to only that. You can also make a fantastic pesto out of lots of basil, lemon juice, salt and pine nuts. Chop it all very finely in a food processor and serve with pasta.

You can see I really like the Mediterranean kitchen.

Rosemary is a must on lamb or even pork….

Herbs are very easy to grow; start small and don’t overfeed them with manure, they will grow very fast but loose flavor if you give them too much fertilizer.

All the instructions will be on the back of the seed packet but just make sure you water them well, especially if you are growing them in a pot, where water dries out faster. If your herbs are growing quicker then you can use them, you can wash them; hang them upside down in a shady spot on a hot day and let them dry out completely before making them into fine powder in-between your fingers for later use. They also make a great gift for friends if you present them in a nice jar…

The most important thing is to experiment with different herbs, try new recipes and not give up if your herbs didn’t survive the first time around.

Enjoy the wonderful varieties of herbs

How to grow your own tomatoes

I always liked the thought of self sustainable living; I have been trying for years to set up some ways with the help of my family to come closer to this dream.

My mother loves her garden and even though I don’t seem to have her green thumb, I can grow some veggies, fruit and lettuce. There is nothing more rewarding then eating your own tomato fresh from the plant, a carrot out of the ground and the odd citrus fruit from the tree. Even if you don’t have your own backyard, there are ways in the city to grow your own herbs and vegetables. One thing everyone should try is to grow some tomatoes. You can even grow it in a pot on your balcony.

Here some steps you should follow, but try it your way and see what works best at your place.

Buy some seeds from the gardening store; there are many different varieties you could choose from so try different ones if you have the room to do so. Plant the seeds after the last frost of the year, if you have frost in your area, when the soil reaches about 15 degrees Celsius. Follow the guides on the back of the satchel of the seeds. Position the pot in a sunny spot with lots of air circulation.

If you have a yard which you want to plant them in, make sure to raise the seedlings in a little pot first and then put them into the ground when they are about 10-15cm high. Make sure to water them regular, neither letting them sit in too much water nor letting the soil dry completely. Healthy plants grow in good soil so make sure to have a rich compost soil or fertilize the soil before planting. If you keep the leaves off the ground the tomato plant will have less chance to get a disease or rot. To prevent little white flies on your plants, plant some basil next to the tomato, white flies hate basil and will not go anywhere close to it. Make sure to grow one basil plant to every tomato plant.

When the plant grows, tie it to a stick or trellis so it will stay up not touching the ground.

Once you have tasted your first tomato you will know the difference between home grown and shop tomatoes. Let the tomatoes ripen on the plant if possible to get as many nutrients as possible. If they are still green, but need to come off the plant you can ripen them in a dark, warm place inside the house. Keep one of your best tomatoes and keep the seeds to dry and then plant in the coming spring.

I hope I have inspired you to grow your own tomatoes this spring.

Life is good