Grow Your Own Spices by Tasha Greer

Grow Your Own Spices
by Tasha Greer

ISBN-13: 9780760368022
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Cool Springs Press
Released: January 5th 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
In Grow Your Own Spices, author and spice-growing gardener Tasha Greer hands you everything you need to know to grow a thriving spice garden, with practical tips and in-depth advice on cultivating over 30 different spices.

Unlike herbs, which consist of the green leaves of certain plants, spices come from the seeds, roots, bark, or berries of plants, which means growing, harvesting, and preparing spices is a lot more nuanced than growing leafy herbs. Start with easy-to-grow seed spices first, such as sesame seeds, fennel, and cumin, then graduate to more challenging spice varieties, such as star anise, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Spices not only offer culinary flare, there’s also increasing evidence of their ability to fight inflammation and reduce various health risks. Medical usage tips from expert herbalist Lindsey Feldpausch are found throughout the book and offer well-researched advice on how to use homegrown spices to improve your well-being.

In Grow Your Own Spices, you’ll learn how to cultivate your own saffron, the world’s most expensive spice; the best way to tend tropical spices, like ginger, turmeric, and cardamom, even if you live in a cold climate; easy-to-grow spices that are perfect for beginners; the unique way certain spices, such as wasabi, cloves, and cinnamon, are grown and harvested; how to cultivate root spices, including horseradish and chicory; and tips for harvesting your own capers, mustard, sesame seeds, and even paprika.


My Review:
Grow Your Own Spices provides basic planting, care, and harvesting instructions for growing your own spices. The author started with general care information, but then she gave specific advice along with plant profiles. She started with spices that are easier to grow but also included more difficult ones that need more controlled climates and a long period of time before producing. She included spices grown from seed, from roots, and more. Each plant profile included information about that spice, information about growing it and harvesting it, and some information about how to use it or prepare it for storage. While she included some very good information, I think that a beginner gardener would have trouble with the trickier spices without having more experience or advice provided. I've already grown some of the spices from seed, and they're reasonably easy even for a beginner. Overall, I'd recommend this book to any gardener interested in trying to grow their own spices.

She included information on growing allspice, annatto, bay laurel, caper, cardamom, cinnamon, celery, caraway, chicory, cloves, nutmeg, anise, horseradish, ginger, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, fenugreek, dill, fennel, cumin, coriander, juniper berry, lavender, licorice, mustard, nigella, paprika, peppercorns, poppy, wasabi, vanilla, tamarind, turmeric, sumac, sesame seed, saffron.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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