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jeninthegarden · 3 years

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The expanded herb garden

Herbs

We forgot to discuss herbs. I am full up on lavender – 45 plants, a field. We will plant no more lavender on this property. It smells great and looks great. I cook with it occasionally, mostly with lamb, but it can be used with beef or pork just as you would use rosemary. Disappointingly, although the lavender is planted just yards in front of my bee hives, the honey bees showed no interest whatsoever in the lavender blossoms. No lavender flavored honey here. Too bad because I went through a phase of putting lavender into my coffee with honey, chilled and served over ice. It was very refreshing.

Rosemary and thyme never seem to survive the winter, or more precisely the spring thaw, in the herb garden, so maybe it’s time to start planting them, en masse, elsewhere. Who wouldn’t like to have a rosemary hedge, or a carpet of thyme? When I plant them this year I will give more careful consideration to where else they might thrive. We cook with them in almost every dish we eat for dinner. They go with all meats, and eggs, and beans, and mushrooms and soups. I never grow enough to harvest and dry it. Although, every other year or so I try to bring some indoors in a pot and the plants typically die by Valentine’s Day, on my kitchen counter.

The Egyptian walking onions can go back in the herb garden, but I ordered 30, so I can put some in the orchard, where they will be free to walk, and in the large bed on the front lawn where they will also have room to walk. They are an incredibly useful plant – the white roots and green stalks can substitute for scallions, while the topsetting bulbs can be used like shallots and the curling shoots on the topsetting bulbs are like garlic scraps.

As I mentioned previously, the chives are destined for the orchard. They tolerate shade so they can be planted close around the tree trunks, although these saplings won’t create much shade for a few years yet.

And a tarragon plant I had for several years did not survive transplanting, so I ordered a new one from Burpee. One plant is quite enough since we only ever use it in chicken salad or tuna salad.

Lovage. I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before. I planted some lovage (a perennial, cutting celery that is apparently more closely related to carrots) at least 10 years ago, in the herb bed, and it came back year after year. It is very strong tasting so it really only goes into soup. And this past summer I decided it is too tall (6 feet) to be growing so close to the house. It obstructs the view. So I divided it and moved it around. I’m waiting to see if it comes back this year in any of the places I transplanted it. It clearly does not need very good soil – the soil in the herb bed is rocky and full of clay. It is so resilient I feel obliged to grow it.

Mullein. Fuzzy Mullein is a medicinal weed. It is indestructible. I have seen it growing on railroad tracks. It is used to treat asthma and respiratory complaints. You can make tea from the blossoms. I just like the shape and texture. The first summer we moved into this house, in 2004, a single, stray mullein sprouted on the back edge of the property, just out of reach of the lawnmower. And the next year I found little mullein seedlings in the lawn nearby and moved them to safety in the flower bed. And ever since, I’ve been moving them around, culminating in a giant mullein I settled in the great hugel in 2019 which in 2020 grew to a 4 foot in diameter, rosette of green velvet leaves that put up an 8 foot flower stalk as thick as my wrist. They are so hardy and dramatic looking there will always be room for plenty of them in my yard.

Oregano is everywhere now, as is the lemon balm. Ironically, we rarely use either in cooking, even the oregano because we have a large container of dried oregano that just never runs out. But, also ironically, the honey bees really like the blossoms on both of these plants, and these plants bloom more than once per season. I am suspicious that, even though the articles I’ve read say bees are attracted to the color blue, honeybees prefer white or green blossoms to anything else.

Cilantro and borage are two annual herbs I never have to plant again. They self-seed and come back every year, all over the place. I’m not one of the 4-14% of the general population to whom cilantro tastes like soap. Cilantro is one of those few tastes that I did not grow up with and therefore have a very clear memory of the first time I ever tasted it. It was a totally new and unique taste and I really liked it. It tasted effervescent and fresh and it tastes like the color green. It has to be eaten raw. Borage is a cucumber flavored herb that also has to be eaten raw, but also very young because it develops spines. If it flowers, pretty little blue, star-shaped blossom clusters, then the leaves are too stiff and prickly to eat. But the blossoms are edible and have the same great flavor, and look nice in salads or as garnish.

I’ve been rather unsuccessfully growing mint all these years. It is a weed and it really should flourish. But in 2014 it died out entirely from a black spot fungus that infested the shade side of the herb garden. I had to treat the soil with neem oil for several years to be rid of the fungus. Now, as a precaution, I bury any penny minted before 1976 (because the old ones were totally copper and copper spray is a cure for lots of plant funguses) in the shaded herb bed. The past few years I have replanted the mint, along the patio wall where it has limped along. And then, this past summer I found it is growing wild in the left back corner of my property, at the edge of the great hugel.

I have two large clumps of hyssop in the hugel already, so no need for more of that. It has great, purple blossoms all summer long, the bumblebees love it, and the honey bees ignore it. It is “Anise” Hyssop but I have never yet attempted to eat it. I think it is used for tea.

Milk thistle is also happily established in the hugel and I will have to watch it and make sure it does not spread. I originally planted it because it has a large taproot that can be roasted like a vegetable, but I have not yet tried to eat it. It is very pretty, about a foot high with distinctive holly-like, green and white striped leaves, and a purple bloom.

I’m trying to overwinter the parsley in the garden, and I even have a row of root parsley (which has a strong taproot that grows to the size of a small carrot) overwintering – parsley is a biannual. We eat lots of it. It goes into a lot of dishes, but I also like making chimichurri sauce, which is parsley pesto with lots more garlic. It goes well on grilled chicken or steak.

Sage is a hardier than rosemary and thyme. It lasts 3-4 years in the herb garden but is always small. So this year I will plant two patches in the hugel.

Nasturtiums, of course, are in my top five all-time favorite plants to grow. The leaves and blossoms are edible. It has a fresh peppery flavor but also a succulence. The plants are excellent companion for lots of different vegetables and I plant them everywhere.

Have I babbled about basil? I have discovered that basil does best in part sun part shade. It can be heat sensitive and needs water. That is why it is recommended to plant it under tomato plants. There are so many types of basil to choose from. I like purple basil. It has a stronger smell than green basil. I like Thai basil; it has a stronger, more licorice flavor and stands up to heat (both BTUs and Scovilles) better. I like lettuce leaf basil, with leaves like bib lettuce, big enough to wrap cheese and bruschetta into basil leaf tacos. And then there is holy basil, an herb used more medicinally, in tea. It has a stronger, smokier flavor, like the lapsang souchong of basils. So, which basil did I choose? Choose? Trick question -there is no choosing. They each have a completely different use, so I have to have them all!

And from the boundless basil, we will now digress into pure flights of fancy.

Green ginger, that’s its nickname. Its proper name is wormwood. It is used to create absinthe (no idea how and no intention of attempting it). But it is flowering perennial – “feathery grey-green foliage and bright yellow flowers” - so into the great hugel it goes. It is supposed to be quite bitter raw, and it is suggested that it be used in aromatic bitters. Medicinal qualities are dubious. Most articles insist that it is NOT a hallucinogenic, and that it IS somewhat of an anti-inflammatory.

Angelica, a biannual that looks a bit like Queen Anne’s Lace, but with a thick, celery-like stalk, and in fact is a member of the celery family. It likes total shade. It reportedly has medicinal qualities; the Chinese variety of it is known as Dong Quai (Angelica sinensis), a stimulant. I’m not getting that variety. I am planting Angelica archangelica (Holy Ghost), of Norwegian origin. It is another purported anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal. I have grown it in the past just to fill up shady spots. But I have not yet eaten it. Its flavor has been likened to juniper berries. It is suggested to be used to: “flavor fish, poultry, cooked fruits, soups, or stews, while its stems can be cut and prepared like asparagus, chopped and stewed with rhubarb and apples, minced in preserves and marmalade, or candied”.

Anise. Why, since I have anise hyssop, would I need to grow anise? It is yet another member of the carrot-celery-parsley family. Medicinally, it sounds a lot less dubious than some others. It contains manganese and iron. It is anti-fungal/anti-bacterial. It sooths and prevents stomach ulcers. It is an anti-inflammatory. And it is a tasty spice used in sweets and pastries. Right now, I like crushed anise seeds on top of my expresso or cappuccino. Anise Hyssop is more bitter and smokier/menthol tasting, more suited for tea.

Fenugreek. This is a new one that I encountered at our farmer’s market this summer. I ended up stir-frying it like an Italian escarole/broccoli rabe, and stewing it in a curry sauce like spinach. It’s sort of the texture of spinach and, although it is supposed to be slightly sweet and nutty in taste, I found it to be like a mildly bitter oregano. In theory the seeds taste like maple syrup. Medicinally, it is purported to lower blood sugar and cholesterol and help skin conditions. It belongs to the bean family of plants.

Caper bush. Capparis spinose is the blooming bush commonly called “Flinders Rose”, which is interesting because caper berries look a lot like large rose hips. You typically eat the flower buds pickled. The plant is a perennial that belongs in a rock garden. It is also a hybrid of several other distinct species in its family. It belongs to the Brassicales order of plants, and is related to mustard and cabbage plants. There are no known medicinal properties. It’s perennial, so hopefully I only have to plant it once. It tolerates poor soil and drought so it can be planted where a lot of things can’t. We cook with capers regularly. I have even pickled nasturtium buds as a substitute, so I’m very interested in the real capers. And I like pickled caper berries in my martinis.

Sesame. I like tahini. I like sesame seeds toasted and sprinkled on yogurt. A flowering plant first domesticated on the sub-continent of India, it is the world’s oldest seed-oil crop. It purportedly can lower blood pressure. It is an annual that prefers dry, hot weather. So I will plant it in the raised garden bed this year. An added advantage of that location is that it is close to the bee hives, and the flowers of the sesame plant are supposed to be very attractive to honey bees specifically. I have doubts, since the pictures I have seen all show big, tubular flowers that are purple. I think they are going to be more attractive to bumble bees than to honey bees.

Black Cumin. Otherwise known as Black Seed, it is rumored to have almost as many miraculous health benefits as marijuana. But none of those claims are scientifically proven. But then again, no financial interests are served by promoting naturally existing medicines that can’t be patented and sold for lots of money. I just eat the seeds for their flavor. I like toasted cumin seeds on melted cheese, in my cereal, and on buttered toast. There are two different plants referred to as “black cumin”. I am planting Nigella sativa. It is a member of the buttercup family along with delphiniums, clematis and hellebors. This is a historical spice – seeds were found in a Hitite(!) flask in Turkey dating to 2000 BC. It is a flowering annual sometimes called “Love in the Mist” and the plant looks a lot like dill or comos to me. It is quick growing and is advised to be sown every three weeks mid April through mid June, and then again August 15 and September 15 for continual bloom. I think I’m more interested in a consolidated, early harvest and maybe a second fall planting to allow it to self seed for next year.

Feverfew. Also a member of the aster family, but much prettier, and more compact. Someone in my garden swap group traded me a feverfew for some mullein last summer. It was lovely (coin sized, white, daisy like flowers) and the honey bees liked it. Supposedly it will self-seed. So I’m waiting to see if it comes back. It is used medicinally to treat migraine headaches. I don’t suffer those so for me it is purely ornamental (and pollinator friendly). Maybe it ends up in my honey and adds to the relief from pollen allergies by adding head-ache relief.

Crocus. A flower, yes, but I bought the giant fall blooming variety from which the stamens are harvested (with tweezers) and dried into saffron. We use it in risotto and paella. And this time, I carefully planted it in the orchard, unlike the hundreds of crocus I have planted in my front lawn that spring up every spring only to be eaten and re-eaten by deer any time they get taller than an inch. And because they are fall blooming I am concerned about avoiding planting over them in the spring, or letting weeds completely overtake the spots where I planted them, so with each clump of 10 crocus bulbs I planted one, large daffodil bulb so I will have a daffodil flag marking each spot in the spring that I can replace with a permanent marker in the summer.

French Sorrel: I have two large, perennial patches of it, but other than the first, tender, spring leaves, it is fit for nothing but soup; I must resist the temptation to add it to salad

And, of course, I forgot to mention a couple of additional herbs I decided to grow. I really do not wish to make my own medicines, so there are some heavy weight medicinal herbs I’m NOT growing. But there are a couple more culinary herbs I am going to attempt to grow - attempt is the operative word because they are annual and tropical.

Culantro - not to be confused with Cilantro (soapy tasting, Mexican parsley). Culantro looks like dandelion leaves, grows in a rosette and supposedly tastes like a mix of sorrel, cilantro and arugula. It is biannual and pungent enough to stand up to high heat cooking and stewing, whereas cilantro is used raw or just to finish or garnish a dish. Culantro figures in Vietnamese and Cuban cooking and pairs well with dishes that include beef.

Roselle - is Indian Hibiscus. It’s perennial in the tropics. It grows 4 feet high. The stems can be used as a jute substitute in burlap or rugs. The buds and flowers can be used as a natural red food coloring or dye, they have a sweet and sour flavor and are used to make chutney and a wide variety of hot and cold beverages. The leaves are cooked and eaten as a spicy, peppery spinach. They hold up well to heat and are used in curry dishes and to season bean dishes.

Shiso - is that flat, basil like leaf with a serrated edge that often appears as a garnish in your sushi order. It has a very delicate cucumber, lemon and licorice flavor. Excellent with raw or cooked fish. A relative of mint and basil, it is suggested you can substitute it into any cocktail that calls for mint. Doesn’t hold up to heat so well. You can blend it for salad dressing, or dipping sauce for tempura, and you can make raw shiso pesto to serve over fish.

#herbgarden culinaryherbs

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