If I had to pick the most important thing you can do to create a healthier life, it would be to grow your own food. When you grow your own food, you have absolute control over what goes into and fuels your body from the time the seed is planted until it ends up on your plate. You even have control over the kinds and quality of the seeds – no GMO’s, no pesticides, no questionable farming practices; just good, organic, fresh food. How can you go wrong with that?
“Well,” you might say, “that’s all well and good if you have room to garden, but I live in a small apartment. How can I grow my own food?” As someone who has lived everywhere from a house with a huge yard to a tiny studio apartment, I can safely say that if you have a window and a pot, you can grow something.
There is a certain satisfaction and sense of being in control of your life when you eat something that you have grown with your own hands, even if it’s just one small thing. From such small beginnings, a whole new philosophy of living can take root. The easiest way to begin is by growing herbs on your windowsill. When you spice up your food with fresh, organic herbs and spices, you begin to start thinking about spicing up your life, too!
To start an herb garden indoors, begin by asking yourself what herbs and spices you use most when you cook. I use lots and lots of basil, parsley, rosemary, and, in the summer, spearmint that I like to put in my fresh brewed ice tea with lemon. You may like to cook with things like dill, oregano, cilantro, thyme or other herbs. The next thing to do is to check out the growing requirements for each herb and see if your “sunny window” will provide enough light to grow what you want (and if you don’t have a window sill, a small table in front of a window will do).
As long as the plants will get at least six hours of natural light a day, you should be in good shape.
Next, get yourself some small individual peat pots, or a tray of peat squares that are attached in rows, either of which you can find out your local DIY store, or garden center, plus a bag of organic potting soil. The peat pots give the seeds a better head start but you can just as easily use washed out plastic containers or milk cartons cut in half. Fill each peat pot or container with soil and place on the window sill remembering to put a tray or dish under each plant. If you are using the squares, they usually come with their own tray. Take your packet of seeds and read the back.
For the bigger seeds, poke a couple of holes in the soil and insert the seed, covering over about 1/4” with more soil. For the tiny seeds,
By Barb Parcells
An Easy Way to
Spice Up Your Life
April/May/June 2017 | ElementsForAHealthierLife.com | 87