How to Grow Four Essential Herbs for Asian Cooking in Your Kitchen

Cooking Tips

 If you do a lot of cooking, you've probably learned that fresh herbs are the best to work with. Sometimes, when it comes to Asian cooking, it's not always easy to get hold of the herbs you need. You might find out that your local store doesn't carry them, or that someone just bought the last of the shipment they had.

 Being unable to get the herbs you need for a dish can leave it lacking in flavor. if not impossible to cook. Why not grow your own? You might need to do some planning (and practicing) to get the hang of growing your own herbs, but it can be a rewarding experience.

 Furthermore, you'll always know what (if any) pesticides or chemicals are on your plants.

Garlic

 Garlic is one of the easiest plants to grow indoors, and you get a great return for a minimum starting investment.

Choosing your plant

 For growing garlic, all you need to start off with is a single head of garlic. Garlic grows vertically, so you'll want a pot that's between 10 to 12 inches deep. (While you can always go taller, why waste the space?) Since you'll be planting the cloves all in one pot, you'll want a pot with a large diameter, about 12 inches or so.

Time to plant.

 Break apart the head and separate the cloves, making sure to leave the skin intact. Soak these in warm water overnight to get them ready to plant.

 Potting: Assuming your pot already has holes (if not, drill them) place a coffee strainer at the bottom and layer in your potting soil to 2 inches below the rim. Plant your cloves at a depth of 1 inch, then cover them with another inch of soil. They can be close, but they shouldn't be touching. Make sure to plant the bottom of the glove facing down; the clove will sprout from the "pointy" part.

 Care: Place the pot in a south- or west-facing window, where your garlic will get plenty of light. Water with a slow and steady stream until you begin to see water coming out the bottom. After that keep your soil moist.

Time to harvest.

 In a week or two, you'll see green shoots come up. After these reach a few inches in height, you can snip them down to about an inch, and use the greens in salads, soups, stews, or any dish in which you would use garlic. Keep in mind the shoots are a slightly more mild flavor. Between three and six months after planting, the greens will stop growing and will tum brown. t this point, you know that the cloves are ready to harvest.

Ginger

 Ginger, in direct contrast to garlic, is one of those rare herbs that love to grow indoors in full or partial shade. While you can keep it in the windows or outside during the warmer months, if you live somewhere chilly, you'd be better off keeping it in your kitchen year-round.

Choosing your plant.

 Where to buy plants in dubai? You have several options when it comes to ginger. You can either choose a young piece from the stores, and soak it overnight in water to remove any growth hormone, or you can order online from food delivery services or find at a local garden center. You want a piece that's firm and smooth, preferably with several eyes already on it.

Choosing your pot.

 For growing ginger, you need a wide and shallow pot, since the roots grow horizontally rather than vertically.

 Time to plant: Allow your ginger to soak overnight in warm water to get it ready for planting.

 Potting: Fill your pot with rich, well-draining potting soil, and place your ginger in it with the eyes facing up. Cover it with 1 or 2 inches of soil and water well.

 Care: Place the ginger somewhere that stays reasonably warm, with partial or full shade. Use a spray bottle to keep the soil moist, but not water-logged. Since ginger is a slow grower, expect it to take several weeks before you'll see shoots begin to pop up.

 Time to harvest: You'll have to wait three to four months before you can begin to harvest ginger, or as much as 10 months if you plan to dig up the entire plant.