HERBS are a common feature in Aussie gardens, but their exotic cousins the spices, rarely get a look in when it comes to the home garden.
Spices are dried seeds, fruits, roots, barks, or vegetables used mainly for flavouring, colouring or preserving food.
They also hold a special, almost mystical place in human history dating back 4000 years to Asia and the Middle East.
Chillies are easy to grow in pots or garden beds and look pretty while producing fruit that can be used fresh or dried.
Ginger is best known as a knotty rhizome (basically a bunch of roots), but the young green shoots can also be peeled and used in cooking. It needs lots of water and nutrients (so prepare the soil with plenty of compost) then harvest after the plant dies down in winter. Dig around the plant and cut off a piece of the older root, leaving the young root with shoots to resprout.
Turmeric is closely related to ginger, but has shorter stems and broader leaves with small orange roots.
Galangal has red roots and can be grown in pots but needs to be protected from frost.
Cardamom is moderately frost-tolerant, but only sets pods in warm climates.
Vanilla is a vine that only flowers in moist, tropical conditions, may need to be hand-pollinated, and requires a lot of work to dry and cure, so it's probably best to leave it alone.
Cinnamon, on the other hand, can be grown in pots and, while it thrives in warm tropical climates, is worth a try in a pot that's kept in a warm place.
Mustard seeds come from various plants and, while short-lived, are easy to grow.
