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Easy Steps to an Indoor Herb Garden
To begin planning your indoor herb garden, start by preparing the pots for proper drainage by placing pottery shards on the bottom of the clay pots. Next, fill half the pot with the potting mix and pack it firmly. Now center the plant in the pot, gently loosening the dirt around the roots. Fill in the open space with more potting mix.
Thoroughly water the freshly planted herbs and make sure the excess water is flowing freely from the hole in the base of the pot. (You'll want to set the pot in a dish, usually sold with the pot itself, to prevent the overflow from damaging any of the surfaces in your home.) Once a week "feed" your plants with the liquid fertilizer diluted to half strength and pinch off new growth to ensure that your herbs grow bushy, but not tall.
Once your herbs are growing strong, harvest them as often as you want! They will make a healthy and flavorful addition to your cooking, or you can use them for medicinal and aromatherapy uses. And you do not have to worry about when to grow herbs when working indoors, because they will grow year round!
Using Herbs for Aromatherapy
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Using the herbs for aromatherapy requires knowing how to extract oils from herbs and plant material. The most common way to do this is through steam distillation. You will place some of the fresh herbs in a still, and then
circulate pressurized steam through the materials. The oils are released by the steam. (This process is difficult to accomplish without a commercially produced still because the steam has to be at the perfect temperature.)
The oil evaporates and travels through the included tube. The condensation chamber fills with both water and oil, and the oil floats on top of the water. You can skim this off, and also use the water for toner or other skin care procedures, because it contains many of the properties of the plant. This water is called floral water.
Essential oils can be used in a foot bath for a calming, relaxing experience or released as steam in boiling water for inhalation to help with respiratory problems or to relieve stress. (Mint is particularly good as a stress reliever.) In addition to these uses, the dried leaves of some herbs can be used to make teas. You can even put a drop of essential oils on your light bulb to diffuse the aroma through your room. Finally, oils that
rub into the skin can be used as skin treatments.
When you grow herbs at home, you save money and create an absorbing and stress relieving hobby for yourself. The beautiful plants will provide you with a lovely, relaxing space in your home and by learning how to grow herbs in your home, you can create a calm, healthy environment for your entire family.
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