Magical Herb Garden
What makes an herb so special? How are herbs any different from other edible plants?
Herbs are special in that they have more concentrated amounts of nutrients, giving them medicinal qualities. They go way back thousands of years with a history of having magical qualities as well.
Herbs are classified into 1st degree 2nd degree and 3rd degree herbs according to their medicinal quality. 1st degree or nutritional herbs are everyday spices we consume in our recipes to maintain optimal health. 2nd and 3rd degree herbs are more medicinal and should be used with skill for short periods of time to overcome dis-ease. Adding fresh herbs to a salad can increase the antioxidant level of the salad by 200 percent.
Using fresh herbs in your recipes rather than dried spices can add so much more flavor and health giving qualities because they haven’t lost their enzymes or essential oils during the drying process.
Now is the time to plant your herb garden. I actually do this the lazy way. Rather than using seeds, I go to the nursery and buy the starter plants and put them all together in a big pot with some potting soil. I keep this pot on my porch and snip some off when ever I need some for a recipe. The picture above on this blog is a picture I took this morning of my actual pot of herbs.
The next few days I will highlight the medicinal properties of different herbs and give ideas of how to use them in your diet. And of course I have to include the superstitions and magical uses of herbs. It wouldn’t be as fun without that aspect.
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