Date: Thu, 14 Oct 93 10:05:47 EDT From: Judith Ann Reed ******************************Herb FAQ**************************************** 10/14/93 This is the second edition of the herb faq for rec.gardens. New items are appended to the end of the original info, some new information is also included in the text of older articles. New and modified articles are marked with a "*" in the table of contents below. I welcome your comments, further questions, and contributions, which will be included in future revisions. In particular, if anyone has any specific information/contributions, please send them along. At the end is a collection of questions to be answered - if you'd like to answer them, send that along too. The format is rather informal, but seemed to fit the information. Comments welcome. Judith Reed Syracuse University jareed@syr.edu Contents: (1) Herb Vinegars * (2) Bolting Cilantro * (3) Basil (4) Scented Geraniums (5) Stinging Nettle (6) Drying herbs (7) Some catalogs (8) Horsetail (9) Bee Balm/Bergamot (10)Chamomile (11)Rue (12)Essential herb oils * (13)Oregano (14)Grilling with herbs (15)Herb names (16)Digging out ingrown herbs (17)Purslane (18)Insect repelling plants (19)Herbs A-Z (20)Poisonous/Dangerous herbs * (21)To flower or not to flower (22)Pruning woody herbs (23)Groundcover herbs (24)Sages (25)Tarragon * (26)Herb Journal list * (27)Herbs for shade (28)Small list of books on herb garden design (29)Thymes (30)Herbs by email (31)Flowering chives (32)A quick living fence (33)Curry Plant (34)Types of catnip (35)Garlic (36)Herb sources (37)Controlling mints (38)Growing Herbs Indoors * (39)Lemon Grass * (40)Citronella * (41)Harvesting/Drying/Using Mint * (42)Lemon Balm (growing) * (43)Mint Flavor Fades? * (44)Cumin Plant * (45)Lavender * (46)Miscellaneous Yummy Stuff! * (47)Savory * (48)Aztec Sweet Herb * (49)Companion Planting With Herbs * (50)Medicinal Uses * (51)Questions seeking answers * (1)****************************HERB VINEGARS*********************************** My favorite base for herbed and fruit vinegars, by the way, is oriental rice wine vinegar. It seems to be a little less acidic, and has good, but not too strong, flavor. And it comes in gallon jars at your local oriental grocery. ***** You don't need a recipe just use what you like. I just made some summer savory vinegar it smells wonderful. Stuff a large jar full of whatever herbs you want then pour vinegar over it to fill in the spaces put plastic wrap over the jar the jar's lid on top of that and let sit a week or so then start using for salad dressings, marinade ect. ***** I made a couple different batches one year and it was pretty successful. I used it mostly on salads, and it was a real treat a few months later in the winter. By the spring, they seemed to get a bit funky. So one suggestion, might be to make only small size bottles in different variations instead of large bottles. (I think they make 12 oz bottles of vinegar.) ***** The basic method for making herb vinegars, regardless of the herb used, is given below in the recipe. I find that herbed vinegars are most useful in oil and vinegar salad dressings. The herb vinegar that I find that I use most often is tarragon, and I usually start with a little olive oil and a little tarragon vinegar and then start adding small quantities of fresh herbs as well (finely chopped chives, oregano, a tiny bit of spearmint, etc.). Herbed vinegars are also really fine in marinades (any marinade where you would normally use white vinegar or white wine vinegar). I notice that my Summer Savory is ready to be picked so one of my projects for this week will vbe to make some Savory vinegar. Imagine how good that will taste as a marinade for green beans! HOMEMADE TARRAGON VINEGAR Ingredients: 1 quart white or white wine vinegar 1/2 cup fresh tarragon leaves Method: Combine the tarragon and vinegar in a glass bottle with a tightly fitting cork top (avoid using metal) and steep the vinegar in a cool, dark place for at least one month and preferably a month and a half. Strain the vinegar and re-bottle it, leaving one twig of tarragon in the bottle for show. ***** >1. What *kind of vinegar* do you use? White? Apple Cider? Wine? Other? >Most respondents don't seem to address this question, and it seems to me >that that could be an important consideration. I like herbed vinegars made with white vinegar or white wine vinegar, but there is no reason that you couldn't use any vinegar that appealed to you. Why not experiment? >2. When herbed vinegars are used as dressing on salads are they in oil and vinegar mixtures? Any suggestions on ratios? Yes. You just use the herbed vinegar in place of the vinegar in the recipe. Vinegars vary in strength so it is a good idea to add your vinegar gradually to the dressing mix, tasting every so often to see if your dressing has reached the desired sharpness. The basic ratio that I use is 1 cup olive oil to 4 tablespoons vinegar. ***** (What kind of vinegar to use?) Its a matter of preference. Which do you like? If you aren't sure, since vinegar is so inexpensive, why not use a small bottle of each. (I think you can buy 3 small bottles one of each, for under $1 total.) Personally, my favorite vinegar is raspberry. (but I suspect that its just white vinegar with a bunch of berries smushed in it - not fermented raspberries. IMHO, at least half of the batches should have a couple of cloves of garlic in it too. Garlic wine vinegar is pretty awesome. (Ratio of vinegar to oil) The same ratio as always, 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. Of course, if you *really* like vinegar you might increase it to 1 to 1. ***** Here's a variation on the theme... Herbed oils are wonderful also. If your looking for salad things or even as adjuncts with pasta/pasta salads or really any dish that needs oil. Recipe: Use whatever oil you like. For salads, olive is ideal. Stuff a jar with whatever herb or combination of herbs. Fill the jar with oil. Then microwave till JUST WARM!!!!! You just want to get the oil hot enough to extract the flavor, but you don't want to cook it. Then after it cools, it's ready to use. Like the vinegars, you want to use them up within about 6 mos. Basil Oil is absolutely marvelous!! (2)*****************************Cilantro/coriander***************************** >I am trying to grow cilantro (coriander) for the second time, and it's >happening to me again: after a few weeks, the plant grows very long stems, >blooms, produces fennel-like leaves, and stops producing the usual wide >leaves I associate with cilantro. What am I doing wrong, if anything? I don't _think_ you're doing anything wrong (at least, I have the same results). Last year, I compensated for cilantro's tendency to bolt by planting (from seed) a new batch every few weeks. Not incidentally, when your cilantro bolts and goes to seed, the seed may be harvested for later in the cycle. You'll end up with more seed than you need. ***** Try Nichols Garden Nursery for a slow-bolting cilantro 1190 North Pacific Highway Albany, OR 97321-4598 ph# 503 928 9280 I just looked it up they sell both. It's under Coriander. ***** Direct seed coriander in early spring or late summer through fall... Sowing the seeds in late spring or summer is futile because the short nights wil make plants flower and set seeds precociously, when they are tiny. Plants will withstand quite cold weather.... ***** As others have mentioned, this can come from two causes: the plants are bolting due to the longer day-length, and (if you bought ordinary "coriander" seeds) they're a variety which has been selected for rapid and copious production of seeds, at the expense of foliage. Several seed vendors sell a "slow-bolting" or "leaf" cultivar, which has been selected for these characteristics. I raised it last year, and have a healthy crop of "volunteer" offspring this year. It is very much as advertised... it grows a much larger crop of leaves, was slower to bolt, and even after bolting its leaves seem to be tastier than is true of the seed-coriander variety. I've come to believe rather strongly in growing some carrot-family herbs (of which coriander is one) to encourage the populations of beneficial insects. I can usually find a number of ladybugs prowling around the coriander flowers, and I've seem numerous other insects supping on the nectar. Many of the insects are ones I can't recognize, but I believe that at least some of them are predators on aphids and other pests... I've had far fewer aphids, etc. on my vegetables than in previous years. ***** Cilantro is indeed tricky. Like basil, it seems to really want to bolt to seed as soon as it can. The seeds are also edible and I believe are actually what we call coriander. They have a pleasant taste and can be chewed as a breath freshener or ground up for spice. Of course, if you really want cilantro,not its seeds, none of the above is particularly helpful. ***** Here in hot, dry Colorado, I plant lettuce, cilantro, and basil in containers. While the seeds are germinating and the plants are little, I leave them out in full sun. When the plants get big enough to where bolting might become a problem, I move them onto the patio, up against the north edge of the house, where they get early morning sun, and then bright light the rest of the day. We pick from these plants all the way until fall. ***** Cilantro (cilantrillo, culantro) is the green leafy stage of coriander, corian- drum sativum. Coriander, the spice, is cilantro seed, and yes they certainly do taste different. There are several other species that taste like cilantro, one is a tender knotweed from Thailand and the other is a succulent that people grow in Puerto Rico where it is known as cilantro while the annual coriander is known as cilantrillo. You can grow cilantillo under lights all year long indoors, seed it in the winter for a really early spring crop or plant it every 10 days for continuous cropping in the outdoor garden from earliest spring til mid fall. ***** |> My experience with cilentro is roughly as follows: |> |> - The dense, low-to-the-ground foliage which grows early in the plant's |> lifecycle is wonderful. Ambrosial. Delicious. To die for. |> |> - The thin, lacy foliage which grows along the flower stalk once the |> plant begins to bolt tastes terrible... soapy (Lifebuoy, I think) and |> utterly unpleasant. |> |> A couple of years ago I started growing "leaf cilentro", a cultivar |> which has been selected for heavy production of the tasty foliage and |> for a reduced tendency to bolt and go to seed. This is a much better |> choice, for cilentro lovers, than simply growing out a bunch of |> coriander seed from the kitchen spice rack... commercial coriander seed |> has come from cultivars which have been selected for early bolting and |> heavy seed production, which is just what you don't want if you're |> growing coriander. ***** Now, for what to do with all that leafy cilantro! !!!!Salsa!!!!! (3)*********************************BASIL************************************** >From what I understand, picking off basil leaves encourages more growth. So >how do you know when to pick the leaves? Do the leaves have to be a certain >size before picking? Pick it when you need it. I usually pick herbs 10 seconds before they go into the pot. Our herb patch is right outside the kitchen door - an arrangement I highly recommend. ***** Don't just pick off the leaves! Pinch off the tops of each shoot, including a pair or two of good-sized leaves at the top of the shoot. Leave at least one pair of well developed leaves on the shoot (so you should have at least two decent pairs of leaves on a shoot before you pinch off the top). From the leaves that are left on the shoot, two new shoots will generally develop, resulting in twice as many leaves as from a single shoot. This is why pinching off the tops results in more leaves. This is good practice for many plants, including flowering plants. I have pinched off the tops of lots of mums in my mother's yard. This results in more flowers in the fall. Additionally, I sometimes stick the pinched off shoots in a well watered location and they frequently root themselves into new plants. I think pinching back and thinning are the two emotionally hardest things for a beginning gardener to get used to. I still have trouble pinching back flowers like petunias, where you will always be destroying some buds. Last Saturday I thinned many annuals which I started in the ground from seed. I couldn't resist giving the culls a second chance by scratching up the dirt in our back area, dumping the culled plants on the disturbed surface and giving them a soaking. It will be interesting to see if any of them make it. If they don't, it's no loss. ***** Let your plant grow to a reasonable size before you pick from it or prune it: like maybe 6 inches high. Depends on the variety. What you want are the tender young leaves, and you want to pinch back the growing tip to encourage bushiness, and you want to discourage flowers. What I do is grow several plants, twice as many as I think I really need, and use it every day or so during the first part of the summer. Then along about the middle of July I chop half the plants right down to a few inches high, and use those leaves for a batch of basil olive oil or basil vinegar. The remaining plants will serve me for daily use until the cut ones regenerate-- bushier and more tender than ever. Then cut the other ones, and repeat until frost. You have to be careful with that basil olive oil: if you put garlic in it too, it has to be refrigerated to forestall botulism. It gets ugly in the 'fridge, but ugly is better than deadly. This advice comes to you courtesy of Gail Perrin, the food editor at the Boston Globe, and the USDA. Your tax dollars at work. ***** >I planted some basil inbetween my tomatoe plants since it's supposed to >have some effect on the taste of the tomatoe (make it better of course). I happen to be watching, oh I can't remember the name of the show... maybe the Backyard Gardener or something. It comes on Saturday mornings on TNN (The Nashville Network) at 9:00 AM EST. That's where I first heard it. In fact my neighbor bought a rather large tomato plant last year and it had basil planted at its base. At the time I didn't know why. (4)******************************Scented Geraniums***************************** >Citrosa is one of the scented pelargoniums (P. graveolens var.) which >aledgedly had been developed in Holland by "gene-splicing" techniques. >More probably, it is a cross between P. graveolens and P. citronellum. > These plants can repel mosquitoes but the catch is that the leaves must be crushed to give off the odor to repel the insects. (5)**************************Stinging nettle seed source************************ Abundant Life Seed Foundation, PO Box 772, Port Townsend, WA 98368, (206)-385-5660 fax (206)-385-7455. Urtica dioica seed, $1/packet. (6)*********************************Drying herbs******************************* To dry chives, chop the leaves into 3-4 mm lengths with a very sharp knive or scissors. Throw out the flower stalks -- they are not edible (though the flowers are). Then spread out on paper or counter away from sun or heat. Other herbs are best dried by stripping leaves from stems and spreading out to dry as mentioned above. Don't dry too fast, otherwise you'll lose the aroma and flavour; resist the temptation to use the oven. The oven is useful, however, to finish off a batch of herbs to make sure any lingering moisture is removed before storing. Set oven at lowest temp, leave door open, and let herbs warm up for 10 minutes only. Herbs are ready for storage in an airtight container when the leaves become brittle. Good quality herbs retain as much of the green colour as possible. ***** I have found that dried chives have no taste. Freezing them in an old margarine container works quite well and you just take what you want by scraping the top with a fork. ***** I think for lavander, thyme and oregano, you can cut the stems and hang them up side down just like drying flowers. For rosemary, since it is an evergreen plant, you can just use it as it is but if you are thinking of using it as pot porri, you can hang the stems up side down. For chive, if you want to dry it for cooking, you can chop them up and dry them in the oven (the lowest setting) or use ice cube method (I think you put the chopped chives in the ice cube container and put a little bit of water in it to freeze it). Mind you, I have never tried this method, that is what the book said!! ***** For food herbs, why not freeze? They retain much more of the flavor, and somehow they are less bitter. As for drying, Ive tryed microwave, oven, open air, sun, but what seems to work best is to leave the herbs on the dashboard of a car parked in the sun. Makes the car smell interesting as well. :-) ***** It is better to freeze parsley in small bunches -- sized with as much as you would use at any one time. If you prefer to dry, you must dry in a well-ventilated location out of the sun with *slight* heat (no more than 30 C). It is good to remove stems first and to chop the leaves *carefully* (with a minimum of bruising) into smaller pieces, about 5 mm across, using a super sharp knife. When crisp, finish off in the oven with door ajar and temp set at lowest setting, for no more than 10 minutes to remove lingering traces of moisture which could cause mould. Store in airtight, opaque containers kept in a cool location. Don't keep beyond a year. Dried product should be green, not yellow or brown, if you have done it right. ***** Here's I've done for the last several years with great success: Cut as much Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, etc. as you want to dry (stems included). Gather a bunch of the stems together and secure with a rubber band. Hang the bundle upside down in the house out of direct sunlight and forget about it for several weeks. After the plant is all dried, the leaves just crumble off. I usually crumble the leaves over a cookie sheet, toss the stems into the compost, and fill an old jar or tupperware container. I've also dried many flowers by bunching them and hanging them upside down....it's a breeze! (7)*****************************Some Catalogs********************************** Although "seed-fever season" is pretty much over, I thought I'd share some catalog addresses for those interesting in planning for next-years garden or for summer/fall plantings and 'overwinter' gardening (possible in mild-winter areas). Most of these are Pacific Northwest area. Nichols Garden Nursery Herbs and Rare Seeds 1190 North Pacific Highway Albany, Oregon 97321-4598 -Great catalog with interesting varieties, many herb seeds. Territorial Seed 20 Palmer Ave POB 157 Cottage Grove, Oregon 97424 -Specializes in 'Maritime Northwest' adapted veggies, probably work well in most high-altitude or short-season climes. They have a special Winter Gardening catalog for cloche and cold-frame year-round veggie production in mild winter areas. Shepherd's Garden Seeds 30 Irene Street Torrington, Connecticut 06790 Many vegetables, oriented towards gourmet cooking, has some recipes in it. Seeds Blum Heirloom Seeds Idaho City Stage Boise, Idaho 83706 Catalog $3.00 A wonderful catalog, fascinating just to read, filled with lore and recipes and such. A company dedicated to the preservation of 'old fashioned' and rare veggies. Some really far-out stuff. Abundant Life Seed Foundation PO Box 772 Port Townsend, Washington, 98368 Dedicated to preserving genetic stock of foodcrop seeds. Has many informative books too. (8)************************Horsetail Plant Source******************************* >I have read that the pioneers called this plant the "scouring rush". It >has a silica compound in the outside layer and acts like a very fine abrasive. >They would gather it and use it for scouring pots, sanding fine woodwork >surfaces, etc. I use dried horsetails in "plant tea". The silica content is supposed to deter fungal growth and, if sprayed on, provide a small measure of protection against sucking insects. I use plant tea in the house as a combination food/insect deterent. I mix together comfrey, horsetails, nettles, tansy, wormwood and a Thai pepper or too (say, a spoonful of each herb) and pour in the boiling water (about 6-7 cups). Soak as long as you like, allow to cool, and water your plants. This is a good soil drench for black flies and fruit flies in your house plants, and provides extra minerals, too. Whatever you do, don't *drink* it though! Not only would it taste terrible, it will make you ill, to say the least. Oh - sometimes I toss in some dried seaweed, too, usually dulse. Outside, you can use it as the base for a plant spray. Make a strong solution, then add a spoonful of liquid soap, and a spoonful of powdered clay (I use the kind sold in health food stores for poultices and such). SHake very well (even so, it may clog your sprayer) and spray plants, thoroughly wetting all surfaces. There is a commercial mix you can buy (from Gardener's Supply in Vermont) called SilKaBen, which is silica-kaolin-bentonite, basically a mix of clays which form a protective barrier on the plant when sprayed on. The principle is the same. That's for plants - for people, I'm told that soaking your fingers in horsetail and nettle tea makes your nails stronger, but mine are always so trashed it hardly seems worth the effort. (9)******************************bee balm/bergamot****************************** Bergamot leaves + black tea make a drink which tastes exactly like Earl Grey. That's what I always thought Earl Grey tea was. We also make an excellent herbal tea by mixing 2 parts bergamot leaves with 3 parts lemon balm leaves. ***** The Bergamot used for real Earl Grey tea was actually an aromatic oil from the Bergamot orange. Monarda didyma etc are called Bergamot because of their startling resemblance to the original. I believe that they are sometimes called Oswego tea after some American Indians of the same name who used it this way and no doubt introduced it to early settlers. ***** If it is monarda, it does attract hummingbirds. We have some planted, and the birds, bees and butterflies all love it. (10)*****************************Chamomile************************************** >RE: chamomile, aka camomile. Now I'm really confused on the two >available varieties: "German" Chamomile vs. "Roman" Chamomile. > Roman chamomile is Anthemis nobilis, a low growing perennial. This is the one to use for chamomile lawns. German chamomile is Matricaria something-or-other; it's a rather weedy-looking annual. You can make tea from the flowers of either, I believe, but those from Matricaria taste better. ***** + Both varieties are used for tea, but in different places. The Germans use + the German variety and consider the Roman variety to be a weed. The English + consider the German variety to be a weed and use the other kind. I have both varieties: English Chamomile ('Anthemis nobilis') and German Chamomile ('Matricaria recutita' sp?). I like Chamomile tea and had the same problem trying to figure out which one it was that I liked. Anyway, I gave up and got both in February of this year. The English Chamomile is like a ground cover, while the German Chamomile can get pretty tall (it's about 1 ft tall now, and I've read that they can get to 2 ft tall). The German one has a yellow-green color. While the English Chamomile is a darker shade of green. I've read that the English Chamomile doesn't mind being stepped on, so it can be used between stepping stones, where it could release its fragrance. Since I got them in small 2.5" pots, the German Chamomile has quadrupled in size, while the English Chamomile has doubled. Both have been repotted, and both plants smell nice. (I just moved my English Chamomile since I discovered that my gardener has been mowing the flowers off!) To date, I've only tasted the German Chamomile. It's covered with little daisy-like flowers, and they are very mild. The flowering is extremely prolific, so I can understand where the term 'weed' comes from. :-) My guess is that it takes about 4 fresh tablespoons to get the same taste per cup (as a Celestial Seasonings Chamomile Tea teabag). Don't worry, I can cut 4 tablespoons of flowers and still have as much left over from the same plant. The taste is almost the same, but I think the fresh one is more fragrant. I've heard that English Chamomile has a more tea-like taste (i.e. less mild), and I'm still waiting to try that one out. But I'm quite happy with the German one so far. It's really soothing for a drink before bed. Watch out for aphids, though! ***** >While we are on the subject, I'd also like to ask a question about >harvesting chamomile. What do you do about those aphids that are on the >tiny stems and the flowers? Is there a way to keep them out of your tea? To keep insects out of your chamomile tea: dry flowers, keeping in whole form as much as possible, and screen out the debris, including the little dried out insects. There is not much more you can do once the insect invasion is fait accompli. **** Funny, I havent had any problem with aphids on chamomile (annual type, anyway) They do like to congregrate on the rose of sharon bushes where the lady bugs gobble them up. (distraction?) Also, perhaps they are repelled by the sage that I have around the chamomile ? Anyway, to get rid of any bugs on herbs, I give them a quick dunk in hot (not boiling) water and then rinse in cold water. That seems to get rid of all of them; I havent had buggy tea in quite a while :-) (11)***********************************Rue************************************* >Also, what can I expect from for "rue". [can you tell I found a bunch of herb >plants marked down to $.49 at the local nursery!] Ruta graveolens--a quite lovely perennial, typically with lacy grayish leaves. Be warned that it can give some people a rash--you might determine whether you're sensitive to it before you feature it to heavily in your garden. (12)************************** Essential herb oils****************************** >I grow many medicinal herbs and wonder if anyone knows how to distill >the essential oils from a plant. While most of the medicinal benefits >of the plants I grow are available by making infusions, decoctions, >tinctures and poultices, some of the compounds in the plants are only >found in the plant oils. If I recall correctly, one way of doing it is with solvent extraction. You crush the stuff, soak it in some solvent (alcohol, benzene, or other), then pour off/strain the liquid, then gently boil off or evaporate the solvent leaving the oil behind. It's been quite some time since I helped a classmate do an oil of cloves extraction... Like almost 20 years. This isn't exactly low-tech or "green". Especially with benzene - *nasty* stuff. Old chemistry text books from the 40's thru the 50's are most likely to have exact recipes for extractions from a couple of different plants. Then perhaps the Merck index or a specific index of plant oils will tell you which solvents to use. ***** The safest and cleanest method of extraction is with an alembic still. It's nice if you can buy one (try Edmund's Scientific) but you can also put one together from pieces of lab equipment or even kitchen pots. The idea is to simmer the organic matter in water so that the oils are released in the steam, then trap the steam so that it condenses. Typically this will yield a more dilute product than a pure essential oil - what you will usually get are herbal "waters" such as rosewater, lavender water, etc. The best quality oils are steam distilled but the apparatus and technique may be beyond the home hobbyist. ***** If you are only interested in flavor and scent, the easiest way to extract it is to soak the flowers or leaves in a light cold pressed olive oil. The oil will attract the oils from the plant. Use a glass or pottery container, metal or plastic will discolor the oils. Lay the leaves or flowers in layers in a shallow dish, use just enough oil to cover the materials. Let stand in a dark, cool area for at least 24 hours. Gently sieve the mixture, pressing the plant materials gently to extract the (essence?) of the oils. Add more fresh plant material to the oil, and repeat the process. Six times through the process seems to be the minimum to get a good lasting scent. Some plants and flowers need 10-12 times through the process. When extracting the oil, remember the 1000 to 1 rule. It will usually take a 1000 oz. of plant or flower (sometimes more, and it needs to be FRESH, not dried) to get a ounce of oil. You can extract the oil using alcohol as the solvent. Use undenatured ethel alcohol (pure grain alcohol aka Everclear) instead of the oil in the process above. After the sixth time through the process, you will have a nicly scented alcohol base (it makes a nice base for perfume, or toilet water). The base can be either steam distilled or frozen. Distilling is traditional, but freezing is much easier. When freezing the base, use a tall narrow necked container, and a pipette to collect the oil that rises to the top of the container as it starts to solidify. Don't let the oil become solid. The alcohol doesn't freeze, so be carefully not to disturb it when lifting off the oil. You can use the alcohol again, but it will retain some oil. Almost all herbs can be steam distilled, using water as the base. Use a very small still, and remember that the first steam contains more of the oils that the steam later. The temperature the water needs to be held at varies according to the plant, and some herbs "scorch" if the water is too hot. It's normally much easier to purchase essential oils, than to make your own unless you have a very large garden and a lot of time. ***** > What's the difference between extracted oils and extracted > tincture. What can you use tinctures for that you can't > use oils for (and vice-versa)? > Simply put, a tincture is an alcohol or vinegar extraction. You basically steep the herb in alcohol or vinegar for a period of time. "Essential oils cannot be made easily at home. They are the pure plant oil, usually extracted by chemicals or hot steam. Hundreds of pounds/kilograms of fresh plant material may produce only a few ounces/cl of essential oil." >From _Healing Wise_ by Susun Weed. This book has excellent descriptions of how to make tinctures, infused oils and lotions. Since you will probably have to special order it the isbn 0-9614620-2-7 (13)*******************************Oregano************************************* >Does anyone out there have experience growing Oregano!.... Yes: I bought an oregano plant in a 2" pot 4 years ago, and have giving the stuff away by the pound for the last three years. The little plant grew to about 12" x 12" the first year and bloomed nicely - ever since the original plant gets over 24" tall and about 30" around, and I have oregano coming up in every bare spot in the area - it doesn't come up in the lawn. The original plant was getting kind of ragged looking this year so I divided it - just chopped out a section with a shovel and gave it away. Both plants thrived. ***** After it gets established here I don't think I could kill oregano if I tried. BTW - this is borderline zone 5/zone 4, it is planted in 3/4 sun we get good water in the spring, but very dry summer the oregano gets watered in summer with other herbs and flowers but stands drought very well ***** I have seen several different types of "oregano", don't know if they were different varieties or different species or what. I haven't tried any others - I have plenty... ***** I just read in Rhodales Encyclopedia of Herbs, that oregano is usually tasteless, and that you really need to get cuttings from a plant with good taste to ensure that you get a good crop. ***** The fresh, succulent growth you get in the spring is low in the oils that give these herbs their flavour. Once the weather gets hotter and drier, and the foliage gets older and tougher, it will have more flavour. (14)********************** Grilling with herbs ******************************** This weekend we grilled a small flank steak with no previous prep. After lightly browning each side, placed a small hand full of w. savory on the coals directly under the steak, and closed the lid for 2 +/- mins., repeat for the other side. The smokey/herby flavor is OUTSTANDING. We have also used Thyme and rosemary on chicken, pork, lamb and beef. If you don't have a cover for the grill you will need to use a little more herb, but it works. (15)****************************Herb names************************************** Hypericum perforatum - St. John's wort. The herb and fruit are sometimes used as a tea. Flowers can be used for making mead. Eurasia. Prunella vulgaris - Self-heal, All-heal. A refreshing beverage can be made by soaking the leaves, either freshly chopped or dried and powdered, in cold water. Young shoots and leaves are eaten raw in salads, cooked with other greens as a potherb, or added to soups and stews. Eurasia, naturalized in N. America. Stachys officinalis - Betony, Bishop's wort. An infusion of the leaves and flowering tops makes a refreshing, aromatic beverage. Europe. >High Joan the Conqueress (or John the Conqueror) root(money) >broom tops (protection) Broomcorn for making brooms? Panicum miliaceum, Sorghum bicolor ... Centella asiatica - Gotu-kola, Indian pennywort. The leaves are eaten raw in tossed salads, steamed and served with rice, or cooked in vegetable soups and stews. In Thailand the juice of the leaves is used as a refershing drink. A tea made from the leaves, called long-life tea, was regularly consumed by Professor Li Chung Yon, who reputedly lived 265 years and married 24 times. Warmer regions of the Old World. >The associations of the author of the book are listed to the right, >though I doubt that they will help. What I need, is some kind of other >identification, either another common name, or a systematic (latin) >name. The above common names are verbatim quotes. >The source of the names is Starhawk's _The_Spiral_Dance_. One last >question, are bay laurel and laurel the same plant? Lauraceae - Juss. Laurel Family. Dicot.; about 47 genera and 2,000-2,500 spp. of trees and shrubs, often aromatic, native mainly to trop. and subtrop. regions ... Among other economic products, members of the family yield camphor (Cinnamomum camphora), cassia (C. cassia), cinnamon (C. zeylanicum), the avocado (Persea americana), and important timbers (Aniba, Nectandra, etc.). So, many plants are called laurels, in fact some aren't even members of the family. THE Greco/Roman laurel is Laurus nobilis, aka laurel, bay laurel, sweet bay, the leaf used to make spaghetti sauce. The California laurel is Umbellularia californica, aka laurel, bay laurel, Oregon Myrtle, the leaf used to make spaghetti sauce. Ref: Cornucopia, A Source Book of Edible Plants, Stephen Facciola, Kampong Publications, Vista, CA, ISBN: 0-9628087-0-9 Hortus III, Macmillan Publishing, NY, Collier Macmillan Publishing, London (16)***************************** Digging out ingrown herbs********************* > - How the HECK do I get those old herbs out? They are REALLY dug in, > not to mention all inter-grown to each other. > - What kind of dividers do you recommend? Redwood? Cedar? How deep do > they have to go? > - Any no-no's as far as one herb living next door to another? > - Are herbs hard on the soil - do I need to do something once I start > with a clean slate again? > - Is there any way to "save" and transplant parts of the existing tangle? Which herbs did you plant? Most can take some root damage without any problem --- especially the ones that have been spreading so well. If you want to dispose of certain herbs completely, it may be difficult to get all of it out but digging is the only solution. I stupidly planted lemon balm in a small herb border, between some thyme plants, & had to be really merciless about digging it all out. I'm sure I'll see some sprouts in the spring, but they'll be alot easier to dig out than the original plant-from-hell. The neighboring thyme plants didnt seem hurt at all. So just get in there and hack away! You're in a much different zone, so I don't know when is the best time to prune or transplant --- check with the local cooperative extension, or maybe another CA resident on rec.gardens. DON'T plant anything from the mint family (including lemon balm) in a bed shared with other plants. In fact, put it somewhere in lousy soil, far from your garden, & HOPE that keeps it in check. I tried the trick of planting it in a 5-gal. plastic tub with the bottom cut out, buried up to the top inch or so, and the darn stuff still got out & infected nearby beds. So I'm not convinced that dividers work with that stuff. The only other pesky herb I've planted was borage, which self seeds readily and keeps popping up in the oddest places (nowhere near its original site). But it has pretty flowers, & is a magnet for cabbage & tomato caterpillars (which can then be destroyed), so it's not really a nuisance. Maybe you should consider pots? especially if you're not going to be around to keep the vigorous growers cut back & out of each other's space. In general, herbs don't need special treatment, and you shouldn't need to do anything special to your soil. Some (like tarragon & rosemary) prefer good drainage, so if your soil is very heavy/clayey, mix in some sand & organic material. Most books say NOT to fertilize, at least not before you're going to pick the plants (otherwise your thyme might taste like fish emulsion, yecch). (17)********************************Purslane********************************** >I appreciate if somebody could answer this. What is purslane, which part >is edible, how do you fix it, and does it have other names (in other >languages, if you knew them). Is it American native or not. It's good. Many people are convinced it's a weed, but what do they know. It self-sows easily if some of the plant is allowed to grow instead of being harvested. Cornucopia, Stephen Facciola, Kampong Pubs, Vista, CA, 1990, ISBN:0-9628087-0-9: Portulaca oleracea - Purslane, Pusley, Verdolaga. Succulent leaves and stems are eaten raw in salads, pickled, stir-fried, sauteed, added to capers or olives, or used in caseroles, stews, omelettes, sandwiches, fritters, etc. Their mucilaginous texture makes them a good substitute for okra in gumbo and other creole dishes. To preserve the plant for winter use put it into salt and dry white wine. The seeds are ground for use in gruels, cakes, breads, and panckaes. Sprouted seeds are eaten in salads. Ash of the burnt plant is used as a substitute for salt. Eurasia, cultived. Cultivars: Golden: (Goldgelber, Pourpier Dore) Large leaves and stalks with a pale green or yellowish cast that constrasts well with the red stems. Much more upright than regular green cultivated purslane. Grown and used in the same manner. When cooked, the leaves do not differ very much in color from those of the green purslane. C53,E83T,J7,J82,K2,N84, ... Multi-Branch: Bushy plant, 12 inches tall and 12 or more inches wide. Produces numerous branches that grow out at an angle, and bend down to the ground somewhat under their own weight. Light to dark green leaves. Grayish-green, pink or yellowish-green stems with good texture and flavor. E83T E83T: Greenleaf Seeds, POBox 98, Conway, MA 01341, (413) 628-4750, CAT FREE (18)************************** insect repelling plants************************* Citrosa is one of the scented pelargoniums (P. graveolens var.) which aledgedly had been developed in Holland by "gene-splicing" techniques. More probably, it is a cross between P. graveolens and P. citronellum. There is a lot of misinformation out there about this plant, not the least of which is the claim that the plant is patented. Does it repel mosquitoes? No one has published controlled studies, as far as I know. We have had some limited feedback, and no negative feedback as yet. ***** Antsie Tansies. Tansies are supposed to repel ants. Not my ants. They just love them. They limb right up and dig their little torsos deep into the the yellow flowers. I had planted tansy by the berry bushes and where the ants were. This year I pulled out most of them. But their are many little ones growing all over. The tansy pest may be worse than the ant pest :-) ***** Wormwood is sometimes grown to repel aphids, but mine is black with the beasts this year. It may be useful as a trap crop for them. ***** I've made a smudge for camping of rue, pennyroyal and wormwood, mixed with shavings from candles. Place this in a flat container with sides, and light. It smokes and smoulders, and keeps mosquitos away from your table with a pleasant, pungent scent. ***** Dill and parsley can be used as a trap crop for caterpillars. ***** Having wintered over a variety of herbs and other plants in my little greenhouse, I have become familiar with the dietary habits of whitefly and aphids. As far as the herbs were concerned their very favourite munchies were Lemon Verbena and Pineapple Sage. The whiteflies also rather liked Fenugreek, but the aphids preferred the Swan River Daisies. Both of these bugs really do seem to have a "sweet tooth". I haven't tried it, but I can't see why this preference couldn't be put to good advantage in the garden...your idea of using Pineapple Sage as a trap crop is certainly worth a try. (19)*************************** Herbs A - Z *********************************** It's been a while since I've posted anything of interest. Well, here is a list of all lists: The Common names of herbs, with thier scientific names. I am a very exacting gardener. I like to know exactly what plant I am growing, and it bothers me to no end when I find plants labeled with their common names only. I hope this list will help you out at the garden nursery, and when mail ordering. Allium amelophrasum. . . . . . . . . . . . . Leek, wild in Europe Allium ascalonicum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .shallot Allium cepa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .onion Allium porrum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . leek, cultivated Allium sativum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . garlic Allium schoenoprasum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . chives Allium tricoccum . . . . . . . . . . . . . .leek, wild in America Alpinia galanga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . galangal Angelica archangelica officinalis. . . . . . . . . . . . angelica Angelica atropupurea . . . . . . . . . . . . . angelica, American Anethum graveolens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dill Anthemis nobilis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .camomile, Roman Anthriscus cerefolium. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .chervil Apium graveolens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . celery Artemisia dracunculus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .French tarragon Asperula odorata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sweet woodruff Barbarea verna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Belle Isle cress Borago officnallis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . borage Brassica sinapis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .mustard Brassica sinapis alba. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .white mustard Brassica sinapis nigra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .black mustard Calendula officinalis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . marigold Capsicum annuum linn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . paprika pepper Capsicum baccatum linn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cayenne pepper Capsicum frutescens linn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . red pepper Carthamus tinctorius linn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .safflower Caryphyllus aromaticus linn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .clove Chile ancho var. acuminatum. . . . . . . . . . . . .Mexican chili Chrysanthemum balsamita. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . costmary Cinnamomum burmanni blume. . . . . . . . . . . . .cassia, batavia Cinnamomum cassia blume. . . . . . . . . . . . . Chinese cinnamon Cinnamomum loureirii nees. . . . . . . . . . . . .French cinnamon Cinnamomum zeylaicum nees. . . . . . . . . . . . . .true cinnamon Coriandrum sativum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .coriander Crocus sativus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .saffron Cuminum cyminum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cumin Curcuma longa linn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .tumeric Curcuma zedoaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . zedonary Foeniculum vulgare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .wild fennel Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce. . . . . . . . . . . . sweet fennel Hyssopus alba. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . white hyssop Hyssopus officinalis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hyssop Hyssopus rubra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pink hyssop Illicium verum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . star anise Juniperus comminis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . wild juniper Laurus nobilis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .sweet bay, laurel Lavandula spica. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . spike lavender Lavandula stoechas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .French lavender Lavandula vera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . English lavender Lepidium sativum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . land cress Levisticum officinale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lovage Lippia citriodora. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .lemon verbena Marrubium vulgare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .horehound Matricaria chamomilla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .German camomile Melissa officinalis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lemon balm Mentha citrata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .orange mint Mentha gentilis variegata. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . apple mint Mentha piperita. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . peppermint Mentha piperita var. vulgaris. . . . . . . . . . black peppermint Mentha rotundifolia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . apple mint Mentha spicata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .spearmint Mentha spicata var. crispata . . . . . . . . . . . . . curly mint Monarda citriodora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lemon bergamot Monarda didyma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . red bergamot Monarda fistulosa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .wild bergamot Myristica agentiea warb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . mace Myristica fragrans houtt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nutmeg Myristica malabrica lam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .wild mace Nepeta cataria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . catnip Nigella sativa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .black cumin Ocimum basilicum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .sweet basil Ocimum basilicum santum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . holy basil Ocimum citriodora. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .lemon basil Ocimum crispum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Italian basil Ocimum minimum . . . . . .dwarf basil (green or purple) Origanum marjorana linn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . sweet marjorum Origanum onites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pot marjorum Origanum vulgare . . . . . .wild marjorum (often sold as oregano) Papaver rhoeas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .poppy Papaver somniferum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .opium poppy Pelargonium capitalum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .rose geranium Pelargonium graveolens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .rose geranium Petroselinum hortense. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .parsley Petroselinum hortense var. crispum . . . . . . . . .curly parsley Petroselinum hortense var. filicinum . . . . .fern-leaved parsley Pimenta karst. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . allspice Pimenta officnalis linn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . allspice Pimpinella saxifraga linn. . . . . . . . . . . . .European burnet Piper nigrum linn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . black pepper Radicula armoracia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .horseradish Rorippa armoracia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .horseradish Rosa damascena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .damask rose Rosa gallica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .rose de Provins Rosa chinensis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . China rose Rosa rugosa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .rugosa rose Rosmarinus officinalis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rosemary Rumex acetosa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .garden sorrel Rumex scutatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .French sorrel Ruta graveolens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .rue Salvia horminum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .garden sage Salvia officinalis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .garden sage Salvia officinalis alba. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . white sage Salvia pratensis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .meadow sage Salvia sclarea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . clary sage Salvia splendens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pineapple sage Sanguisorba minor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . salad burnet Sanguisorba officinalis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . great burnet Satureia hortensis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .summer savory Satureia montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .winter savory Sesamum indicum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sesame Sesamum orientale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .bene sesame Sisymbrium nasturtium aquaticum. . . . . . . . . . . .water cress Tanacetum vulgare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . common tansy Tanacetum vulgare var. cruspum . . . . . . . . .fern-leaved tansy Thymus serphyllum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . wild thyme Thymus serphyllum albus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .white thyme Thymus serphyllum cocineus . . . . . . . . trailing scarlet thyme Thymus serphyllum lanuginosus. . . . . . . . . . . . .wooly thyme Thymus serphyllum var. citriodorus . . . . . . . . . .lemon thyme Thymus vulgaris. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .English thyme Tropaolum majus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nasturtium Umbellularia californica . . . . . . . . . . . . . California bay Valerianell lacustra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . salad corn Verbena hastata. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American vervain Verbena officinalis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . European Vervain Zingiber officinale roscoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ginger ***** I also specialized in and collected salvias and believe you have incorrect information Salvia splendens is usually called Scarlet Sage (Annual) Pineapple sage has a distinct pineapply odor to the leaves and is generally referred to as Salvia elegans, also S. gracilistyla or S. rutalans. It is perennial. Others: Salvia leucantha MEXICAN BUSH SAGE Salvia greggii AUTUMN SAGE Salvia sonomensis SONOMA CREEPING SAGE I was really upset to see a plant in a nursery labeled Salvia greggii, whem it was really Salvia microphylla. It even was the selection with the varigated stems. I pointed it out to the nursery manager and he said it is now being called greggii in the trade. I can see why as it is a more ornmental shurb than greggii, but the flowers are very similiar. Salvia microphylla is native to Mexico and Salvia greggii is native to texas and Arizona (20)******************Poisonous/Dangerous Herbs********************************* Please be sure to mention somewhere that many herbs are poisonous, even in supposedly medicinal amounts. I just read a report in today's or yesterday's Boston Globe about 7 Europeans (I forget the nationality) who developed hepatitus from taking Germander in some herbal diet plan. When they ceased taking the herb, they recovered. Much as I revile homeopathy as fraudulent, homeopathic herbal remedies are not likely to be toxic because of the extreme dilution. ***** >>I have had very good luck repelling Japanese Beetles with Rue. My Rue >>plant is quite large - about 3 feet tall. I have never see a Japanese >>Beetle within 15' of the thing, although my neighbors have the little pests. >>Rue is also supposed to be good as a tea, but I have never tried it. > >Please be careful with rue if you are pregnant or trying to get >pregnant. It is said to be able to cause miscarriage. My local >plant store even has a sign warning pregnant women not to handle >it. I don't know if they are being alarmist or not. It is very >hard to get true information about herbs and fertility because >of the whole abortion thing, I think. My wife had a horrific blistering rash from handling rue last year when she yanked out an overgrown 7' tall rue bush. She was on steroids for a while and has permanent scars from the blisters. Rue does not generally have a reputation for being poisonous. Use caution. She does rue her lack thereof. ***** >|> Now that it is brought up. There was a drink (that hemingway wrote of >|> in france) that was made from anise (anisette?). Somewhere I remeber >|> that is was banned due to intoxication effects or other. >|> Any other info? \subsection*{Wormwood} {\it Artemisia absinthium} or Roman Wormwood ({\it A. pontica}), a perennial that yields a bitter, dark-green oil which is a flavoring component of absinthe. This plant has branched, firm, leafy stems that are almost woody at the base and reach a height of two to three feet. Its flowers are tiny, greenish-yellow and globular, and its indented leaves have a silvery-grey sheen. Contains thujone, a convulsant stimulant related to camphor. Because thujone stuns roundworms, wormwood got its name from its use as an antihelmintic, a use for which it has been known since Pliny's {\it Historia Naturalis}. Its use as a narcotic, however, dates from modern times, and it is extremely habit-forming. Also contains absinthin (a dimeric guianolide that is responsible for the bitter taste), and anabsinthin. May cause GI disturbances, nervousness, stupor and convulsions in excessively large doses \footnote {Absinthe, William Niels Arnold, Scientific American: June 1989.}. Modern absinthe is flavored with anise, and offers no other advantages over any other 40\% solution of alcohol. See {\it camphor} (21)*************************To flower, or not to flower************************ In general, annual herbs such as Basil, which are grown for their leaves, will stop growing and die after flowering, and the flowers should be removed by pinching, to prolong leaf production. Herbs which are grown for their seeds, such as dill, coriander, etc, are allowed to flower. Perennial herbs such as oregano which are grown for their leaves are allowed to flower, but there are specific times when the leaves should be harvested, either before flowering or after, for optimum essential oil content. (22)***************************Pruning woody herbs**************************** my key observation about herbs (the "little woodies") is that they should be chopped, nearly down to the ground, every winter. this applies to stuff like thyme, oregano, sage - not to large woodies like rosemary, or slow growers like lavender. almost any perennial herb can tolerate chopping back, and most are improved by it whether used mainly for cooking or appearance. (23)**************************Groundcover herbs******************************** Every year I try a new herb in the garden or landscape. If I find it useful or beautiful I keep it, if not, out it goes. Some of the ground cover herbs I have kept include: Roman Chamomile - Very short, sometimes used as a grass substitute. Has pretty little white flowers that smell heavenly. You can use them in potpourri or as a tonic tea. Tastes awful! But this likes sun. Very invasive plant, but easy to pull out. Corsican Mint - Again, very short, can grow in dense shade. It has very tiny round leaves and a small purple flower. Also smells nice when you trod on it. Great between stepping stones. Not recommended for tea. Too pungent. Also, very invasive and likes water. Mother of Thyme - A very short prostrate thyme with beautiful long lasting purple flowers. Not as flavorful as garden thyme. Wooly Thyme - Pretty greenish gray color, only grows about 2-3" high. Not good for between stepping stones, tends to grow over the top of them. Not a culinary thyme. Lemon Thyme - Beautiful green/yellow varigated leaves. Grows about 3-4" high. This is an herb I use for just about anything you want to give a fresh lemony taste to; fish, chicken, tea etc. Likes sun. Any mint - Wintermint, peppermint, spearmint, apple mint can be grown in shade. They don't have to be allowed to grow tall either, pruning has no detrimental effect on them. You could keep them cut down to about 5" if you wanted to. Prostrate Artemisias - Artemisias are feathery leaved, usually silver or light green plants that can be used for potpourris, teas etc. Some types of artemisia include Southernwood, Wormwood, and Silver Mound. Make sure the variety you are buying are prostrate. Non-prostrate varieties can get up to 4' tall. I grow artemisia in a semi-shaded spot, although they are suppose to be sun-lovers. They seem to grow okay in semi-shade. ***** |I'm searching for nice big rocks to use as stepping stones, and I'd like a |nice, short variety of thyme to use in between the stones. I don't have to |use thyme, but I'd like to use something interesting and for some reason I |picked thyme as my first choice. The top choice right now is woolly thyme, |but if anyone has any other suggestions please let me know. How about chamomile? I understand that in England they sometimes love to grow beds of chamomile instead of grass. When you walk on it you are re seeding it and causing a rich sweet aroma to come up. ***** I'm testing out various creeping thymes (T. praecox arcticus varieties, mostly) in pockets between flagstones in my garden (Maryland, zone 7); all except one came from Well Sweep Herb farm, which offers a bewildering range of choices (fun to pick from but bad for the budget). So far the "alba" kind did OK, but a red creeping thyme of the T. pulegoides (??) type died rather quickly so i'm not buying more of those. A locally purchased woolly thyme seems to be doing well, so far, so i just ordered a variant of that plus a couple others that sounded intriguing. So in a year or so i can give a better assessment of which ones work for me. There's a range of flower colors, leaf shapes, and foliage color/texture, and they do smell nice, so i'm quite happy to stick to the thyme family for now. Besides, they are quite hardy, which should be important to someone in your climate! (24)****************************Sages****************************************** >I bought a "honeydew melon sage" herb plant a few weeks >ago. It smells >great and, to my surprise, it has now broken out in hundreds of tiny >crimson flowers. On my last trip to the nursery, I ran across a "pinapple >sage" plant, and I bought it as well. >Besides these two plants and, of course, ordinary sage, are there any other >unusual varieties of this herb that I might collect? Just curious. Would you happen to know what the botanical name of that "honeydow melon sage" was? As you will see from the following, there are loads of different sages. Here is the list that I have managed to cobble together so far but I know that it isn't complete... Ordinary sage/Garden Sage (Salvia officinalis) Sage, African (Salvia aethiopis) Sage, Apple-Bearing (Salvia pomifera) Sage, Arizona Creeping (Salvia arizonica) Sage, Autumn (Salvia greggi) Sage, Balsamic (Salvia grandiflora) Sage, Black (Salvia mellifera) Sage, Blue (Salvia clevelandii) Sage, Candelabrum (Salvia candelabrum) Sage, Cardinal(Salvia fulgens) Sage, Ceder(Salvia roemeriana) Sage, Central American (Salvia Cacaliaefolia) Sage, Chia (Salvia hispanica) Sage, Clary(Salvia pratensis) Sage, Clary(Salvia sclarea) Sage, Clary, Wild English (Salvia verbenaca) Sage, Whorled Clary (Salvia verticillata) Sage, Cleveland (See Sage, Blue) Sage, Creeping(Salvia repens repens) Sage, Dwarf (Salvia officinalis nana) Sage, Eastern European (Salvia forskahlei) Sage, Forsythia (Salvia madrensis) Sage, Fruit(Salvia dorisiana) Sage, Gentian (Salvia patens) Sage, Greek (Salvia fruticosa) Sage, Indian (Common name for Boneset-Eupatorium perfoliatum) Sage, Lyreleaf (Salvia lyrata) Sage, Mexican (Salvia blepharophylla) Sage, Mexican Bush (Salvia leucantha) Sage, Mexican Hallucinogenic(Salvia divinorum) Sage, Mexican Red (See Sage, Cardinal) Sage, Peruvian (Salvia discolor) Sage, Painted (Salvia viridis) Sage, Pineapple(Salvia elegans) Sage, Pitcher (Salvia spathacea) Sage, Purple (Salvia officinalis purpurascens) Sage, Roseleaf (Salvia involucrata) Sage, Scarlet (Salvia coccinea) Sage, Silver Clary (Salvia argentea) Sage, Superba (Salvia superba) Sage, Tarahumara Chia (Salvia tiliaefolia) Sage, Thistle (Salvia carduacea) Sage, Transylvanica (Salvia transylvanica) Sage, Tricolor (Salvia viridis) Sage, Tropical (See Sage, Scarlet) Sage, Wild Blue (Salvia azurea) Sage, Winter Blooming (Salvia uglinosa) Sage, Wood (Common name for Sage-leaved Germander-Teucrium scorodonia) Sage, Yellow (Salvia glutinosa) If you decide to collect sages, you will be busy for a long time. Incidently, that pineapple sage you bought is incredibly easy to root from cuttings -not true of ordinary garden sage at all. The down side is that whitefly and aphids absolutely love it. Have fun. ***** More on sages: Salvia involucrata -no common name, beautful fuzzy pink flowers Salvia guaranitica Nutmeg Sage Blue Salvia canariensis tall, with purple and mauve flowers Salvia microphylla-red Salvia chaemadroides pale blue flowers Salvia cardinalis fuzzy red flowers All of the above and many on the previous list are excellent plants for hummingbirds-the flowers have lots of nectar. Salvia sonomensis Sonoma Creeping Sage ***** My favorite sage is *Salvia dorisiana*. It has big velvety leaves that smell STRONGLY like fruit salad. Maybe this is the same as your "honeydow melon sage". *Salvia clevelandii* is known for retaining its scent even years after it has been dried, but to me it smells pretty much like ordinary sage, but a little stronger. It might okay be okay in a wreath in the kitchen. Pineapple sage also has scarlet blossoms. ***** >My sage appears to be about to flower. I planted it two years ago, and >this is the first time I have seen buds on it (one large reddish bud at >the top of each stem). Should I pinch them off, or allow them to flower? >(This is just ordinary garden sage, Salvia Something-or-other.) Ordinary garden sage is Salvia officinalis. My books suggest harvesting the leaves before the plant flowers, but quite frankly I have grown the stuff for years and never noticed that the timing made all that much different to the strength of the leaves. I just pick them when I want them. As for flowers, you are in for a treat. I would grow this sage just for the flowers even if I never used the leaves. Right now my sage is also about to flower. I have it planted in a bed where it is next to a big clump of Snow-in-Summer (Cerastium) and those purple sage blossoms above the white is lovely. I do dead-head the sage after flowering and give it a bit of a prune just to shape it. ***** Salvia officinalis. If you're growing it for harvest, spring is the time to harvest--the essential oils in most herbs are strongest just before they flower. (A two-year-old plant may not provide much to harvest, though). I let my sage bushes flower. They have beautiful blue spikes which are attractive to bees. I prune them back firmly after they've flowered, and the branches put out new growth pretty quickly over the summer. (25)**************************** Tarragon ************************************ >I am growing tarragon and it has no flavor at all like what I can buy fresh in >my grocery store. Is there something I must do special in cultivating this? There are two types of tarragon. One, which can be grown from seed, is sometimes called "Russian tarragon", doesn't have much flavour, and is probably what you've got. The other kind is called "French tarragon" (or "true French tarragon"). It doesn't bloom and is propagated vegetatively. If you like the stuff you get at your grocery store, you can try rooting some of it to get your own plants. ***** There are several varieties plant sold as tarragon. From what I've heard, the Russian tarragon has little or no flavor, but the French tarragon is the one to use. Less than reputable nurseries tend to sell the former. Perhaps it's easier to propagate. ***** The flavour of Russion Tarragon is different from French Tarragon. French Tarragon is stronger and has a slight Anise (liqourice) flavour that Russian Tarragon lacks. If you want to use Tarragon in the kitchen you want the French variety. The way you check a specific plant is to rub a leaf and then smell your fingers. If you don't catch that Anise scent it probably isn't French Tarragon. As for the difficulty of growing the French variety from seed, I have also heard this, but have no personal experience on the subject. Certainly all my herb books suggest increasing your supply by cuttings or root division. I have tried both of these methods and find that taking root divisions in either spring or fall is the easiest. >I have sprouting a tarragon which was labled "Armetisia dracanculus". >Does anyone know what common names are associated with this Latin >name, or what Latin names belong to different Tarragons? Russian and French Tarragons are the same genus, same species but different cultivars. In other words they are both "Artemisia dracunculus" and the difference happens at the cultivar level: Tarragon, French Artemisia dracunculus sativa Tarragon, Russian Artemisia dracunculus inodora You may also run across something called "Mexican Tarragon", but this really isn't a Tarragon at all. It is just a common name for "Sweet Mace" (Tagetes lucinda). ***** Sweet Mace, that's a great name for it. I had a tagetes for about 2 years. It was supposed to bloom throughout the year and be very drought tolerant. Well, it was drought tolerant, but it hardly ever bloomed. It was a very floppy plant about 4 feet tall (if it ever stood upright). Anyway, you could always smell the plant whenever you were in the front yard. This must be one of those scents that smells differently to some people. Some people loved the fragrance. I hated it. It reminded me of the taste (The smell was so intense I could taste it.) of the stuff the dentist uses to numb your gum right before a shot. I finally pulled it. ***** French Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus sativa): Tarragon likes full sun, average soil is fine. The real key to keeping Tarragon thriving is to make sure that it is in very well drained soil. This herb can stand a fair amount of cold weather, but it will not stand the combination of cold and wet feet. Once I had discovered the importance of good drainage my plants ceased to have any problem with even quite severe winters in our area. Tarragon is easy to propagate by division, so it is worth dividing your clump and planting out a few in different areas just to see where it will grow best. Tarragon will die away to ground level in the winter but it should pop up again in early spring. I usually stake my tarragon as it grows to about three feet and has a tendency to be floppy. (26)***************************** Herb journal list *************************** American Herb Association - Qtrly. newsletter American Herb Assn. 14648 Pear Tree Lane Nevada City, CA 95959 (916)626-5046 Information on the many uses of herbs. Quarterly, individual subscriptions $20.00 American Journal of Chinese Medicine Institute for Advanced Research in Asian Science & Medicine Box 124 450 Clarkson Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11203 Tel # (718)270-1629 Basic scientific and clinical research in indigenous medical techniques, theraputic procedures, medicinal plants, medical theories and concepts. Quarterly, Individual subscription, $50.00 Coltsfoot Route 1 Box 313A Shipman, VA 22971 (804)263-4817 In appreciation of wild plants with focus on reader contributions. Bimonthly, individual subscriptions, $10.00 Herb Companion Interweave Press, Inc. 201 E. Fourth St. Loveland, CO 80537 (303)669-7672 Addresses the varied interests of herb enthusiasts, from horticulture and history to cooking and crafting. In-depth articles, recipes, and craft how-to's are enhanced with full color photography. Bimonthly, Individual subscriptions $21.00 Herb Quarterly Long Mountain Press, Inc. 1271 Kuhn Rd. Boiling Springs, PA 17007 (717)245-2764 A magazine for herb enthusiasts covering all aspects of herbuses. Turn fennel into a face mask, use ginger in a cold remedy,cold violets into an ome Quarterly, Individual subscriptions $24.00 Herbal Connection Herb Growing and Marketing Network 3343 Nolt Rd. Lancaster, PA 17601 (717)898-3017 Trade journal for herb businesses and for serious hobbyists. Growing, marketing, medicinal uses, book reviews, calendar of events. Bimonthly, individual subscriptions $24.00 Herbal Green Pages Herb Growing and Marketing Network 3343 Nolt Rd. Lancaster, PA 17601 (717)898-3017 Directory of Herb industry, including manufacturers, retailers,wholesalers, associations, periodicals and educational programs. Annual. Individual subscriptions $15.00 (Second reference for Herbal Green Pages - more recent than first) Herbal Green Pages The editor is Maureen Rogers. Published by: Herb Growing & Marketing Network POB 245, Silver Spring, PA (yes, PA not MD) 17575-0245; phone & fax 717-393-3295 Herbarist Herb Society of America, Inc. 2 Independence Ct. Vineyard House Kirtland, OH 44094 (617)371-1486 To further the knowledge of useful plants, notably herbs. Annual, individual subscriptions $5.00 New England Wild Flower Society Newsletter (Wild Flower Notes) New England Wild Flower Society Garden in the Woods Hemenway Rd. Framingham, MA 01701 (508)877-7630 Contains information about native plants, botany, conservation, horticulture. Annual, individual subscriptions, $30.00 North American Flora New York Botanical Garden Scientific Publications Dept. Bronx, NY 10458 (212)220-8721 Monographic treatment of plants native to North America. (unsure of frequency or price) Organic Gardening Rodale Press 33 E. Minor Emmaus, PA 18098 (215)967-3144 A handbook on how to grow food, flowers and landscaping with great success, without chemicals. Monthly, Individual subscriptions, $25.00. Organic World Lott Publishing Co Box 710 Santa Monica, CA 90406 (213)397-4217 Covers the news of organic gardening. Quarterly, Individual subscription $15.00. Over the Garden Fence Box 386 Lake Dallas, TX 75065 (this may be just a misprint and it's really just Dallas, TX) (817)497-4634 Organic gardening, natural foods, dairy goats, herbs. Bimonthly, individual subscriptions, $10.00 The Palmetto Florida Native Plant Society Box 680008 Orlando, FL 32868 (305)647-8839 Articles on florida's native plants and habitats. Quarterly, individual subscriptions $20.00 Seed Savers Exchange (True Seed Exhange) Kent Whealy RR3 Box 239 Decorah, IA 52101 (319) 382-5990 A grass-roots genetic preservation project whose members worktogether to save our vanishing vegetable heritage. (not sure of the frequency of issue) individual subscriptions $25.00 Western Canadian Society for Horticulture Report of Proceedingsof Annual Meetings University of Saskatchewan 272 Administration Bldg. Saskatoon, SK S7N OWO Canada (403)422-1789 Papers on horticulture topics; councils and reports. annual, $10.00 a copy Wildflower Canadian Wildflower Society 90 Wolfrey Ave. Toronto, ON M4K 1K8 Canada (416)466-6428 Dedicated to the study, conservation and cultivation of North America's wild flora; includes material from Central America and coast to coast. The use of native plants in the garden is a secondary focus. Individual subscription, quarterly, $25.00. To find a practioner (naturopathic): *********************************** American Holistic Medical Association 2002 Eastlake Ave E Seattle, WA 98102 206-322-6842 American Association of Naturopathic Physicians P.O. Box 20386 Seattle, WA 98102 206-323-7610 Herbal medicine information: **************************** The American Botanical Council P.O. Box 201660 Austin, Texas 78720 The Herbal Reseach Foundation 1007 Pearl Street Suite 200 Boulder, Colorado 80302 Both of these organizations publish the Herbalgram, they have a 1-800 # for subscriptions: 1-800-748-2617 (27)***************************Herbs for shade********************************** Parsley, lovage, angelica, sweet cicely, chervil, sweet woodruff are herbs that do well in shade. Monarda and lemon balm, and mint also -mint being less invasive in shade.Heartsease (violas, johnny jump-ups add a touch of color, and scent if planting viola odorata. -All viola flowers are edible. (28)*******************Small list of books on herb garden design.*************** Rodale's Illustrated Ency. of Herbs / ed. by Claire Kowalchik -- Rodale Press. (Ithink it comes out every year) and "The Herb Companion" a magazine she claims is great. ***** My favorite picks are: Classic Garden Design : how to adapt and recreate garden features of the past / Rosemary Verey -- 1st American ed. -- New York: Congdon & Weed, c1984. Its a particularly fine book on garden design, (perhaps you've read it already?) There is a special chapter on putting together herb gardens, as well as info. throughout the bokk on ornaments, paths and other features which might suit. Plus its got lovely pictures. Herb Garden Design / Faith H. Swanson & Virginia B. Rrady. -- Hanover: University Press of New England, c1984. No photos to speak of but, lots of really delicious drawings to scale for herb garden plans and nifty ideas. Some of the best (almost cute) plans are for smaller gardens "for the novice" There are both formal and informal designs and an out line of design basics. This book may be out of print but, is worth the trouble to find at your local library or through an interlibrary loan. (29)***************************Thymes***************************************** >I have an herb that I bought because I loved the lemony smell when >I crushed the leaves! I was told it was thyme--is this a special >variety of thyme? Is it normally used in food/drinks? Any info >appreciatied. If your plant is a thyme, the most likely candidate is Lemon Thyme (Thymus citriodorus). Another possibility is Doone Valley Lemon Thyme (Thymus pulegoides). (Regular old garden thyme is Thymus vulgaris). According to one of my herb books: "Herbs, Their Cultivation and Usage", John & Rosemary Hemphill, Bladford Press, London, lemon time is used for culinary purposes. They say that "Lemon thyme, with its milder flavour, is excellent with fish, chicken or turkey mornays, steamed carrots, omelettes and in all kinds of food with a delicate or bland flavour. It is sometimes used as an extra ingredient in a "fines herbes" blend, with chervil, chives, parsley and tarragon." If you like lemony smelling herbs, you might also want to check out Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) and Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla). ***** When lemon thyme blooms, try sprinkling boiled, halved new potatoes with the blossoms and a little salt and cracked pepper. No butter needed. Can't wait! My thyme is still far from blooming. Lemon thyme is also good in vinaigrette on blanched green beans or lettuce. ***** Some creeping thyme sources are: COMPANION PLANTS [CATALOG $2] 7247 North Coolville Ridge Road [MINIMUM ORDER] Athens, OH 45701 [$15 Plants] (614) 592-4643 [$5 Seeds] THE SEED SOURCE [CAT $4] Rte. 68, Box 301 [M.O. $25] Tuckasegee, NC 28783 NOTE: Has seed of more than 7,000 unusual plants. Previously known as Maver Nursery. WELL-SWEEP HERB FARM [CAT $2] 317 Mt. Bethel Rd. [M.O. $5] Port Murray, NJ 07865 [NO telephone orders] (201) 852-5390 NICHOLS GARDEN NURSERY INC. [CAT FREE] 1190 North Pacific Hwy. Albany, OR 97321 (503) 928-9280 ***** A good source of thymes is the nursery someone posted yesterday: Companion Plants, 7247 N. Coolville Ridge, Rd., Athens, Ohio 45701. Phone (614) 592-4043. Most of their thymes are prostrate ("creeping"). My favorite thyme is orange-balsam. It has a warm, almost nutty, citrus scent. It is one of the more upright growing thymes. ***** Creeping thyme source: COMPANION PLANTS [CATALOG $2] 7247 North Coolville Ridge Road [MINIMUM ORDER] Athens, OH 45701 [$15 Plants] (614) 592-4643 [$5 Seeds] THE SEED SOURCE [CAT $4] Rte. 68, Box 301 [M.O. $25] Tuckasegee, NC 28783 NOTE: Has seed of more than 7,000 unusual plants. Previously known as Maver Nursery. WELL-SWEEP HERB FARM [CAT $2] 317 Mt. Bethel Rd. [M.O. $5] Port Murray, NJ 07865 [NO telephone orders] (201) 852-5390 NICHOLS GARDEN NURSERY INC. [CAT FREE] 1190 North Pacific Hwy. Albany, OR 97321 (503) 928-9280 ***** A good source of thymes is the nursery someone posted yesterday: Companion Plants, 7247 N. Coolville Ridge, Rd., Athens, Ohio 45701. Phone (614) 592-4043. Most of their thymes are prostrate ("creeping"). My favorite thyme is orange-balsam. It has a warm, almost nutty, citrus scent. It is one of the more upright growing thymes. ***** >I have _Thymus citriodorus nana_ (nana means miniature) bought at a local >nursery about a month ago. When I bought it, it had an apt yellow tinge to >its leaves, but now it's just green, all over. It seems to be growing, so I'm >not very worried, I was just wondering why it wasn't yellow anymore. I just checked my plant and about half the growth on it is green. My guess is that the new growth comes in green and turns more yellow later. As long as your plant is growing and looking healthy I wouldn't worry about it. >I've bought _Thymus serpyllum_ seeds. What is it, if not regular thyme? Culinary usage? Not that it has germinated, but it may still... Thymus serphyllum is Mother-of-Thyme. Other common names for it are Wild Thyme, Creeping Thyme and, just to be absolutely confusing, Lemon Thyme. This plant has a more prostrate habit than Garden Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and is really beautiful as a ground cover or flowing over a rock wall. It is pretty compact so it looks good all year but when it flowers it is absolutely stunning (pinky-purple carpet time). The bees absolutely love it. Normally it is not used for culinary purposes because T.vulgaris has a stronger and more pronounced flavour, but you could use it as a substitute if you didn't have any T.vulgaris. ***** I don't know why, but every time I've grown lemon thyme it has turned all green in hot weather/long days and its yellow markings have returned in cool weather/ shorter days. It just seems to grow that way. (30)************************** Herbs by e-mail ********************************* People who are into growing herbs can now access Richters, the excellent Canadian purveyor of fairly unusual plants and seeds by e-mail. Their internet address is: richter@gpu.utcc.utoronto.ca "Customers can place orders, inquire about orders or ask questions about any of Richters products." I guess you can ask for their catalog too. (31)************************ Flowering chives ********************************** > I have some chives in my garden that are growing like crazy and > producing lots of purple flowers. I know it's generally not a good idea > to let herbs go to seed, but at what point should I cut off the > flower/seed head? Now? When they start producing seeds? And what will > happen if I don't? Chives are vigorous enough that flowering won't diminish the growth of the plant. I left mine to go to seed last year, now I have a million unwanted chive plants springing up everywhere around the main plant. So you might want to consider removing the heads when the flowering is over. Personally, I find chives so mild tasting....read BLAND... that I ONLY grow them for the flower display. ***** This is an interesting question. I have one herb book (only one) which says that if you leave the flowers on it weakens the plant. I have left the flowers on plants a number of times just because they are so pretty, and I haven't really noticed that my plants became significantly weaker. I have noticed that the flower stalks are tougher (too tough to be terrific in the kitchen) and that the plants which produce flowers tend to put their energies into producing flowers and seeds rather than into producing succulent new leaves. I think that the best plan is to have several chive clumps and to cut one or two for the kitchen and let the other(s) flower for show. It is really easy to end up with lots of chive clumps, because they are so easy to divide. (Best time is spring or fall). Don't worry about the chive clump dying if you let it flower and go to seed. It won't. ***** According to my mom, who had lots of these also, chive blossoms are edible, and make a nice garnish in salad. She is also making chive blossom vinegar (it's a lovely pink color right now). ***** My daughter has chives in our herb garden - she is letting it go to flower - it has blooms like a clover - she takes the blooms and puts them into our salad - they are delicious - why not try that - be careful because they are sort of strong tasting... ***** Just the other night, I had a nice pesto sauce which was garnished with chives flowers. Adds color and flavor. Keep them on the plants until you use them. (32)************************A quick, living fence******************************* How about some Rosemary, in warmer areas. I planted some a few months ago at the front of my house. The nursery claim that it will grow to 6-7 ft in 2-3 seasons. It certainly seems to be on it's way to that at the moment. You can use it in cooking, and it has very nice pale blue flowers at this time of year too. (33)******************************Curry plant********************************** >>I bought a plant this weekend, called a Curry plant. Smells just like curry. I >>know, however, that curry does not use this plant. I forget the scientific >>name, starts with an "H". >>Does anyone know if it *is* edible? I don't think so: nothing with it to >>indicate such. Apparently, it is a moth repellant. But wouldn't be worth >>smelling like curry, in order to protect woolen sweaters. Not to me, anyway. >According to my book on herbs, it is not edible, but ornamental. I too >bought such a plant, thinking I could use it for curry, but I was wrong. Helichrysum angustifolium is generally regarded as inedible; but here is perhaps the first author to suggest otherwise: D. Hewer (1941; Practical Herb Growing) writes that the plant "has a strong smell of curry, which is retained on drying so that it is worth trying in soups." This always struck me as an example of the kind of hopeful justification a commercial herb grower (Hewer owned a herb farm) might make to sell plants; clearly Hewer never actually tried it. However, here is a more recent suggestion: L. Bremness (1989; The Complete Book of Herbs) writes: "Add a sprig to soups, stews, steamed vegetables, rice dishes and pickles for a mild curry flavour. Remove sprig before serving." ***** > >You probably are purchasing a Helichrysum species. I would be VERY > >careful about using it in cooking since several species of this genus > >are quite toxic, especially when used in quantity. The fact that > >the plant smells like a common spices seems to give people a false sense > >of security (based upon several followups to this post). Not to worry, in particular. There are several species of Helichrysum that are THOUGHT to be poisonous but I think there is little to worrry about from occasional useage. Lots of commonly used herbs and spices are quite deadly taken in large enough quantities (nutmeg, tarragon, etc). I just wouldn't make a habit of pigging out on the stuff. > > Anyway, I brought the scientific name of my plant in. You are right: > it is a Helichrysum. The *plant*, ie, the plastic stuck in it, is > labelled "Helichrysum congustifolium (curry plant)". The greenhouse's > catalog lists it as, "Curry: Perrenial/12" (Helichrysum > angustifolium). The gray wooly leaves have a delightful curry > fragrance. It produces clusters of yellow flowers in summer that are > excellent dried. Good rock garden plant." NOTICE that the scientific > names are not the same. I assume that the "con" is merely a typo for "ang" [which is the proper name, as I recall] ***** The curry plant is Helichrysum angustifolium. All the information that I have come across says that sprigs may be added to soups, stews, steamed vegetables, etc. to impart a mild curry flavour. The key here is the word "mild". This isn't a strongly aromatic plant. ***** Curry vs the curry plant: I have no idea where in your area you could get a "curry plant" so I can't help with that, but just to avoid confusion please note: 1. The word "curry" is used to describe a mixture of spices. Many Indian families have their own blends and the mixture may be anything from 5 to 25 different spices. Commonly used ingredients are tumeric, coriander, chilies, fenugreek,cardamom, nutmeg, etc. 2. There is a "curry leaf" used in Southern Indian cooking and in Madras Curry Powder. These leaves come from a small tree indigenous to the lower slopes of the Himalayas. Botanically it is called Chalcas koenigii or Murraya koenigii. 3. There is a curry plant, botanically Helichrysum angustifolium. The sprigs have a very mild curry aroma and flavour, but I don't think that they are used in Indian cooking at all. (34)***************************Types of catnip********************************* >So, what, if any, is the difference between catNIP and catMINT? I'm >sure I've seen "catmint" on a seed package of plain ole' catnip, but >last year a local garden store had "catmint" plants, that had blue flowers; >otherwise, the plant looked very similar (I think I remember that the >foliage was slightly more or less grey-ish). I couldn't bring myself Nepeta cataria is usually referred to as catnip, the one most people (and cats) know. But to confuse the issue, some books also refer to it as catmint. Nepeta mussinii and N. x faassenii are smaller, greyer, somewhat sweeter smelling plants which are often called catmint (mint probably because they are lower and they spread). They also have blue flowers. (We call the latter "Faassen's Catnip" just to confuse the situation further). According to articles posted here earlier, the catmints seem to attract certain cats, though not all. Many, but not all, are attracted to the true catnip, and even to the lemon version (N. cataria ssp. citriodora). The cat thyme (Teucrium marum) is a different animal altogether. Some cats, apparently, thinV{ the world for this one, though I have never seen any go after it. ***** Catmint and Catnip are the same genus but different species, as follows: Garden Catmint is Nepeta faassenii, Perennial Catmint is Nepeta mussinii and Catnip, also known as Wild Catmint, is Nepeta cataria. There is also a Lemon Catnip, Nepeta cataria citriodora. >Anyone done a feline comparison? I got some "thyme cat" (not cat thyme, >don't ask me why) this year; they like it enough for me to put the >plant in a hanger (i.e., out of reach). Anything else for kitties? >I think I've read that valerian also attracts them; true? Your Cat Thyme is probably Teucrium marum, and yes, Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) is supposed to be attractive to cats. A common name for it is "Cat's Valerian". It is also supposed to be very attractive to rats...the Pied Piper's secret. According to anything I have read on the subject cats go after catnip but aren't nearly so interested in catmints. I can't tell you a thing from personal experience because I seem to have defective cats (gad!). This spring I planted a patch of catmint and have also been growing several catnip plants from seed and even started a valerian. Both of my cats are completely ignoring the whole lot. Bring out a bowl of icecream however and they will fight you for the spoon. Perhaps when my plants get bigger they will receive more attention... (35)****************************Garlic***************************************** Do you still have a window receiving sunlight in the winter time? Have you bought any garlic lately to cook with. (If you haven't, time to upgrade your dinner menu) Anway, drag out a couple of those disposable nasty green plastic pots that nurseries sell you houseplants in, pop in a couple of cloves of garlic, well spaced, with the pointed end up. Water as you would any houseplant and stand back while the green tips shoot up. I planted a couple of cloves last week while my stir fry was sizzling and one week later the stalks are roughly 8-10 inches high. OOPS, make that were 8-10 inches high. I whacked them in half, diced them and used it to season the soup. ***** : Can somebody enlighten me on the tricks to growing garlic? : : 1) how deep do you plant the bulbs? Just under the surface. Pointed end up!!! : 2) Does garlic grow on the surface like onions do, or does it : remain submerged? Half / half. : : 3) How much water do they require? Not too much, but enough. : : 4) Sunlight conditions? Don't over do it. : 5) Do you plant in the spring or fall? Or later on in the winter. ^^^^ possibly very, very early spring. Light frost doesn't hurt. : 6) How much space is required? 9" between plants 12" - 18" between rows. : 7) Feeding?? Rotted compost in light loamey soil. Not too much of the mulch. : let 5 of the plants remain in the ground through the winter. The : plants now look like vigorous young corn stalks (2 feet tall). : However, I'm already beginning to see yellowing on some of the : lower leaves. Any hints?? Don't worry they do that. Harvest middle July or later. Most green leaves will have died back. I made the mistake of harvesting too early. 8) Good for health? Definately! 9) Companion plant for roses? ditto! Keeps Aphids away. (36)****************************Herb Sources*********************************** The following sources are from the book _CORNUCOPIA: A Source Book of Edible Plants_ by Stephen Facciola (ISBN 0-9628087-0-9), but before I list them, here is a list of abbreviations used. CAT - Catalog CC - Credit Cards ENGL - English Language Catalog M.O. - Minimum Order OVER - Overseas PC - Personal Checks OC - Other Currencies SASE - Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope NTO - NO TELEPHONE ORDERS SOME HERB SEED SOURCES BERRY TREE (THE) 15368 Mowersville Rd. Shippensburg, PA 17257 717-423-6701 (telephone) CAT $1, PC/CC, OVER --- CAPRILAND'S HERB FARM 534 Silver St. Coventry, CT 06238 203-742-7244 CAT SASE, PC, OVER, M.O. $5, NTO. --- CASA YERBA GARDENS 3459 Days Creek Road Days Creek, OR 503-825-3534 CAT SASE, PC, OVER. --- CATNIP ACRES HERB FARM 67 Christian St. Oxford, CT 06483 203-888-5649 CAT $2, PC/CC, OVER. --- CEDARBROOK HERB FARM 986 Sequim Ave. South Sequim, WA 98382 206-683-7733 CAT FREE, PC. --- COMPANION PLANTS 7247 North Coolville Ridge Road Athens, OH 45701 614-592-4643 CAT $2, PC/CC, OVER (SEEDS ONLY), $15 PLANTS, $5 SEEDS. --- CRICKET HILL HERB FARM, LTD. Glen Street Rowley, MA 01969 508-948-2818 CAT $1, PC/CC. --- DACHA BARINKA 26232 Strathcona Road Chilliwack, BC V2P 3T2 Canada 604-792-0957 CAT SASE, PC, OVER, NTO. --- FOX HILL FARM 444 W. Michigan Ave. Box 9 Parma, MI 49269-0009 517-531-3179 CAT $2, PC/CC, OVER, M.O. $15. --- FOX HOLLOW HERBS P.O. Box 148 McGrann, PA 16236 [no telephone number listed] CAT FREE, PC. --- FRAGRANT FIELDS 128 Front Street Dongola, IL 62926 1-800-635-0282 CAT $1, PC. --- GREENFIELD HERB GARDEN Depot & Harrison P.O. Box 437 Shipshewana, IN 46565 219-768-7110 CAT $.50 + SASE, PC/CC. --- HARTMAN'S HERB FARM Old Dana Rd. Barre, MA 01005 508-355-2015 CAT $2, PC/CC, OVER, M.O. $10 --- HERB GATHERING 4000 West 126th St. Leawood, KS 66209 913-345-0490 CAT $2, PC/CC, OVER. --- HILLTOP HERB FARM P.O. Box 325 Romayor, TX 77368 713-592-5859 CAT FREE, PC/CC, M.O. $20. --- OF THE JUNGLE P.O. Box 1801 Sebastopol, CA 95473 [no telephone number listed] CAT $1, PC, OVER. Rare & ethnopharmalogical plants, seeds & botanical products including tribal medicines, vegetables, herbs & fruits. (37)******************************Controlling mint****************************** > I am suprised that nobody mentioned the mentha group in > the list of invasive/obnoxious plants. Personally, I love them, and > have been collecting various different types over the past couple > of years. I think I have 8 or 9 at the moment. Well, I would like > to get them out of their restrcitive pots and plant them, but I > do wish to keep them under control. So > 1) How much room should I give each of the plants As much as you want. They'll fill it in. > 2) How deep a barrier should I put in the earth to stop > the runners 1/4 armor plate sunk at least to the frostline? Honestly, I don't know. I do know that 12" corrugated aluminum sunk 8" doesn't really phase some of my mints. > 3) Should I continue the barrier up above the soil to help > stop the creepers Helps, but doesn't prevent it entirely. > 4) Should I dead head the plants after flowering to stop > the seeds spreading > 5) Can you get intersting new varieties, scents or variegation > from seed Yes. In fact, the variation you can get from a batch of seedlings is pretty astounding. Sometimes you get good stuff, most of them are no better (and may be worse) than what you started with. Some hybrids won't seed at all. The perennial menthas can be pretty troublesome. I've "solved" the problem growing the friskier ones in 1/2 whisky barrels, which they don't seem to escape, and others where they are likely to be trod on. I kid you not, some of my mints are growing in crannies near the sidewalk, so I can step on them as I walk by. Smells good, keeps 'em from taking over the neighborhood. My lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is planted under the hose bibb, so I walk through it whenever I disconnect or turn on the hose. It doesn't seem to mind, and I always have plenty, without having it turn into the "Lemon Balm That Ate Slater". It likes the hose drips, too. ***** Years ago, I had a beautiful herb garden at my folks' house. The secret, I found, to it not becoming an exclusively MINT garden was to plant the mint in clay pots and plant the pots in the garden. Every few years I dug up the pots and "rejuvenated" the environment. I found that this worked really well. Hope this is useful. (38)**************************Growing Herbs Indoors**************************** Parsley - grows well; I have found curly parsley doesn't bolt as quickly as Italian parsley indoors Sweet Basil - not unless you have a lot of light and warm temps; if all you want is a few leaves now and then it will work but if you want to make pesto with it, forget it Oregano - grows well Dill - gets too big and leggy, tends to go to seed quickly too Borage - never tried it Thyme - grows well Summer Savory - never tried it Mustard - never tried it Chives - grows well Anise - same problem as dill Herbs tend to take a while before they get big enough to harvest if you grow them from seed. Your friend will have to be patient. The exception to this is basil. It grows quite fast under good conditions. ***** Basil is an annual and once it has flowered and set seed it will die. However if you keep cutting off the flowers and don't let it set seed it will keep going for quite a long time. I have brought basils into the house in the fall and kept them going until February (when fresh pesto is a thing to dream of). I find that at some point (usually Feb.) they get so stressed out by their artificially long life that they start to look very ratty and are invariably victims of whatever kind of insect attack is currently going on (aphids, whitefly, etc.)...but it is still worth the trouble for those few extra months of fresh basil. ***** It's not too late to get small plants of things like thymes and rosemarys and lavenders. Seeds of basils, coriander will need a bit of bottom heat to germin- ate well. Tarragon will go dormant in winter and so doesn't make a very good container plant. Chives and Chinese chives will do well. So will scented geraniums. Lemon grass may need more heat than your window sill will provide, but you can grow it under lights and on a heating cable. It will also need a LOT of room. (39)********************************Lemon Grass******************************** >I recall reading here once that one could sprout and plant lemongrass >from the stalks you buy at the grocery store. How does one do so? I >would love to have fresh lemongrass this summer! I just get some from the store, making sure that they have some stem on the bottom. (You need that - if they cut too much off there is nothing there to root). Then I just put them in a jar of water. They take about a week or two to root. When the roots are an inch or so long, (or even less), you can plant them. Give them lots of warmth and light. ***** 1) Get some lemon grass from an oriental grocery. Make sure that it has been cut low, i.e., the cut does not show the concentric circles but rather has a solid appearance. 2) Chop off the lower 1.5 to 2 inches. Use the top for favorite food. Use the bottom to start a new plant. Note: Just leaving the chopped off pieces in a glass with some woter at the bottom may produce roots, but in my experiments, the rooting was erratic (perhaps depends on how old was the grass?). I got 50% rooting in water, with a really disappointing and unusual 0% survival after planting the result. The remainder describes the method I use now, with maybe one or two cases (out of ~30) when the cutting died insetad of taking root. 3) Slice off just a tiny bit of the bottom of the chopped off portion of the stalk, to get rid of the dried out surface layer. 4) Dip the exposed surface in 'Rootone' (rooting hormone powder, available in garden stores). Without the hormone, the rooting is slower and not as reliable. 5) Stick in a rooting medium (I use Jiffy mix). Keep moist and warm (e.g., put the whole thing in a plastic bag. Use a plastic pot, not a Jiffy pot - the latter seems to stunt the growth rate somewhat, and removing it before planting is likely to damage the roots. 6) When the shoots appear, start fertilizing. Transplant into bigger pot soon - the roots are very vigorous. When you have a couple of stalks, plant outside. Add lots of compost into the hole. Water deeply each time you see any signs of drought stress (the blades will curl lengthwise and the clump will assume spiky/spindly look). 7) If you're in zone 7 or 8 and are lucky, it may overwinter if the clump is cut down just before the first frost and covered with mulch. While lemon grass is not supposed to survive hard freezees, three, out of the four I left outside, survived the last winter in NC (with the temperature dropping into the teens a couple of times). 8) Best, start the plants for the next year in the fall. Or dig up a part of the clump and bring home. However, lemon grass seem to like humidity, and dry indoors air does not help it at all. While misting now and then helps, it is happiest outside (the ones I planted 4 weeks ago have put on more growth than I saw on them through the winter). Also, note that it does not seem to mind standing in 1-2 inches of water - I keep the overwintering pots (2-3 gallon size) in deep trays and water each time the water in the trays is just about to disappear. ***** Lemon grass harvested fresh can be just chopped up and put in the food. Be aware that the leaves and stalks have very different textures and flavor characters. Yes, you can use it green or just bind it up with twine and dry it. CAUTION!!! Once lemon grass is planted in a bed, it is close to impossible to keep it from continuing to grow there. It is like bamboo, and it will also spread like bamboo. This is also true for horseradish. Best to plant these in containers and be sure to never empty the soil from these containers into any planting bed. (40)****************************Citronella************************************ > At a local hardware/nursery -- but not at any of the usual nurseries and > greenhouses I do business with -- I've seen a plant advertised called > "Citronella." Allegedly the smell from the plant clogs the noses (?!?) > (breathing passages?) of mosquitos and drives them away -- hence, it's > advertised as a natural mosquito repellent for gardens. The price, per > tiny potted plant, was astronomical -- about $12 for a tiny seedling. > When I asked about this, I was told that there were only two growers in the > U.S. who were "licensed" to grow them, that they were rare and hard to get. > What can anyone tell me about Citronella? True citronella is a grass, _Cymbopogon citratus_. A limonene-rich oil can be extracted and was used as a mosquito repellant for many years-- citronella candles used to be common. I suspect the plants you're talking about are 'Citrosa' pelargonium, a selection of scented leaf geranium that is supposed to be rich in limonenes. I believe it's patented, so production is controlled. If you crush 'Citrosa' leaves and rub them on your skin, you'll have a short-term mosquito repellant. They won't do anything as mosquito repellants if you don't crush the leaves, but they are kinda pretty... Some of the other lemon-scented geraniums should work in the same way, at much less cost, should you want to experiment. Me, I'll stick with DEET. (41)********************Harvesting/Drying/Using Mint**************************** >>I have a few young mint plants growing - spearmint and orange mint. >>What's the right procedure for trimming/cutting leaves for making teas >>or jellies? I assume I'll be doing this in late summer or early fall, >>and I would like to not kill the plants if I can avoid it. When your plants are spreading like wildfire -- and they will -- dig up the ones that are growing where you don't want them. Strip the leaves off the stems, rinse them in cool water, pat them dry, and spread them out on dry paper towels or cake racks. Set them in a dry place out of the sun and wait a few days (you can speed the process by putting the rack in a gas oven with only the pilot light on). When the leaves are crispy, slightly crumble them and store in a canister. Use just like regular tea leaves. If you are VERY careful, you can start the drying in a microwave, just a few seconds at a time. It's extremely easy to cook the leaves, though, especially if there is any dampness left, so I recommend patience and natural drying. Check any good general cookbook for mint jelly recipes (Joy of Cooking, etc.). ***** Making another sort of jam, I noticed that the flyer in the pectin box had a recipe for mint jelly. I haven't tried it, so I don't know if it's any good or not, but it calls for 1 1/2 c. of packed mint leaves, crushed or chopped and boiled to make 3 c. of infusion, 4 c. of sugar and your standard box of powdered pectin. Hope this helps. (42)**************************Lemon Balm (growing)****************************** Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis): Prefers a dry, well-drained soil, but isn't a fussy plant. I have grown it in full sun and almost full shade without difficulty. Although lemon balm dies down in winter the root is perennial. The square stalk of lemon balm is a dead giveaway that the plant is related to the mints, and when I first started growing it I was all prepared for the invasive root system that is one of the less enjoyable characteristics of the mint family. Instead, I discovered that the root system was not particularly invasive but that it was necessary to keep a sharp eye on the territory directly down wind from each plant. Lemon Balm is a prolific self-seeder. Without some watchfulness this herb can become a self inflicted weed. Because of lemon balm's prolific habits, I have never found any need to take cuttings to increase my supply of plants. A brief exploratory trip down wind will supply all the young plants that I am ever likely to want or need. Why would anyone grow something that could be described as a "self inflicted weed"? Just wait until the first grim rainy miserable October day and make yourself a big pot of lemon balm tea. It will all become clear. (43)****************************Mint Flavor Fades?******************************** >When different flavored mints grow in close proximity to >each other, do they blend flavors? No. But mint is said to "fade" if grown in the same place several years. It looks the same, but is said to lose some intensity of flavor. Personally, I have not noticed that. What I have noticed is that mint tends to vary by season. In early spring, my orange mint is VERY orange. By end of summer, it is less orange, more mint. ***** >Mints are also known to cross pollinate, but, unless you are >growing mint from seed, I can't imagine that having an effect on your >garden. Oh but it can. Sensible people grow their mints in pots, I know, but at one point I decided to grow an entire bed of mints (no excuse -too much room and too little sense). I planted Peppermint (M.piperita officinalis) and Eau-de-Cologne Mint (M. piperita citrata) in the same bed and soon became the possessor of an offspring which I call "Ghastly Mint" (M.piperita horrabilis). I certainly understand why no one has been in a hurry to invent peppermint perfume! For a time I thought this development was quite interesting and left things alone. Then I discovered that "the youngster" was rather more vigorous and aggressive than either parent and was rapidly taking over all the territory. The only solution was to dig out the entire bed and start over. If you have ever tried to dig "all the mint" out of anything you will appreciate what fun that was! As long as you are keeping an eye on your mints and growing them in separate pots you shouldn't run into this sort of thing but if they are in a circumstance where they can self-seed you may be less than delighted with the results. ***** You may want to cut back on fertilizing your mint. Sometimes when they are grown in a "rich" medium, they loose flavor. If the growth is really lush, the flavor won't be. (44)*******************************Cumin Plant************************************ I checked my books, and apparently only the cumin seed, whole or ground, (Cuminum cyminum) is used for culinary purposes. This is a very tender annual and the growing conditions are as follows: 1. A hot, mild climate and a long growing season (3-4 months). It is grown commercially around the mediterranean, particularly on Malta and in Sicily, also along the west coast of Africa. 2. Prefers a rich well-drained sandy soil. 3. Likes full sun. 4. Can grow to 2 ft. and produces a stem with many branches and small flowers which can be white or pink. 5. You harvest your seed crop when the plants begin to wither. The seeds must then be dried and threshed. (45)*******************************Lavender*********************************** >Does anyone have any tried and tru techniques for drying lavender and >separating the buds. I just clipped a far amount of stalks off my >plants just as they were starting to bud, and I was hoping to use >them in potpourri or something else....Will they just shake off >after they're dried. >Also, anyone have any favorite things to do or make with lavender? I put the lavender, stalks and all, on big trays to dry. You can also bundle them up and hang them to dry if that is more convenient. I also make a few bouquets for the house and treat them just like cut flowers except that I don't give them any water. The flowers will separate easily from the stalks once they are thoroughly dried so don't bother trying to separate them until then. As for making things, as you mentioned Lavender is a great ingredient for potpourri. I usually make lavender sachets...just a plain cotten baggie tied at the top and stuffed full of lavender. Even without a fixative, lavender will stay fragrant for about a year. These sachets are great for popping in any drawers where you have clothing -smells good and also acts as a bug repellant. Lavender, in small quantities, can be added to herbal tea blends and it goes particularly well with the mints. As a culinary item lavender has gone out of fashion, but Queen Elizabeth I was very fond of Lavender Conserve. You can also make Lavender Jelly, Lavender Syrup for desserts and Lavender Sugar for sprinkling on cakes and cookies. A rather nice old English custom was to serve small sweets on lavender stalks much the same way we might serve a bite-size savory nibble on a toothpick. LAVENDER CAGES: These "cages" are made when the lavender is freshly cut and the stalks are still flexible. Cut about 25 stalks of lavender to the same length and as long as possible. Rub off any leaves so that each stalk is bare other then for the lavender flowers at the top. Bundle the lavender flowers together and tie them tightly just under the flower heads. Then hold the flower bunch upside down and carefully bend down each stalk so that the lavender flowers are enclosed in a "cage" made by the stalks. Tie the stems together tightly at the bottom of the cage and trim them so they are even. Make a loop in the string so that you can hang up your cage until the lavender is completely dry. Although simple cotton string is perfectly serviceable, there is nothing like a piece of slim satin ribbon to make lavender cages as beautiful as they are fragrant. Try using the cage "bars" as weft threads and weaving the satin ribbon through them. CONSERVE OF THE FLOWERS OF LAVENDER: The following recipe is from "The Queen's Closet Opened" by W.M., the Cook to Queen Henrietta Maria, 1655. "Take the flowers being new so many as you please, and beat them with three times their weight of White Sugar, after the same manner as Rosemary flowers; they will keep one year." ***** > As for making things, as you mentioned Lavender is a great ingredient for > potpourri. I usually make lavender sachets...just a plain cotten baggie tied > at the top and stuffed full of lavender. Even without a fixative, lavender > will stay fragrant for about a year. These sachets are great for popping in > any drawers where you have clothing -smells good and also acts as a bug > repellant. I put my dried herbs in plastic bags when I use them for sachets. The plastic is somewhat less elegant, but the fragrance is released much more slowly through the plastic. (46)*************************Miscellaneous Yummy Stuff!************************ >I just found out that my wife uses lemon thyme (and equal amount of parsley) >as a substitute for Basil, in pesto. Tastes great, too! Sounds good. Cilantro works well too. And you can make a great dip by mixing the cilantro pesto with sour cream. It's a good way of dealing with all that cilantro you get all at once just before it dies in the heat. ***** >Now I have to harvest the rest of the herbs, the ones that can take a >little cooler weather. Anybody got any ideas beyond the usual oils and >vinegars for herbs like sage, thyme, chives, anise hyssop, savory, lemon >balm, etc.? I've made herbal jellies before, but they're a lot of >trouble and nobody but me likes them. Sage: excellent on meats and sausages, also try this little treat: take some sage leaves, dip them in batter, and fry them! I'm serious... it tastes great! Thyme: goes great with any other herbs, especially italian herbs... also good on meat if you grow lemon thyme, use that in cookies and baked goods for a lemon flavor (lemon thyme jelly is yummy too) Chives: salads... anything you want an onion flavor on... the flowers are also a great edible garnish Savory: is it winter or summer savory? Winter savory has a much more pungent flavor and is good for dishes that can use some good strong seasoning, like game... summer savory is better for vegetables and dips Lemon balm: same as lemon thyme... use in candies, cookies, baked goods, and it also makes a very nice tea ***** Or ravioli in sage butter...I don't have a recipe but it's generally clarified butter with sage leaves which have been cooked until crisp. ***** Another thought for the flowers: my chive plant is next to the gas grill. On a lark, I picked a cluster of flowers and hung them over the grill rack, cooking them until warm and slightly crisp and browned on the edges. When I ate them, they had the most wonderful nutty flavor - almost like peanuts. It was delicious. (47)********************************Savory**************************** For starters there are two different savories: Summer Savory (Satureja hortensis) and Winter Savory (Satureja montana). Summer Savory is an annual and Winter Savory is a perennial. I grow both and both can be used in recipes -there is a slight flavour difference between the two and gourmets tend to insist that Summer Savory is the better culinary herb. Frankly, I think that the difference is pretty minor. Being a perennial, I find that Winter Savory is less trouble to grow but in your climate it might not be winter hardy so maybe you would be better off with Summer Savory. Growing conditions: full sun, normal well-drained soil. Summer savory is larger, growing to about 1 and 1/2 feet high. Winter savory has a growth habit similar to garden Thyme. Savory tastes like...savory. If you had to substitute another herb, I would try a bit of Thyme. You may find that a lot of recipes for beans call for Savory -this sometimes isn't just for the flavour -the Savories have a long standing medicinal reputation for aiding digestion and helping with gas pains. (48)**********************Aztec Sweet Herb******************************* >I recently bought something called the Aztec Sweet Herb (Lippia dulcia). >It's a perenial member of the Verbena family. The tag says that it was >used by the Aztecs as a sweetner and is 1000 times sweeter than sugar. >I've tasted a leaf and it did taste sweet. In a catalog that I have, it >says that it's the flower that is used to sweetener. Does anyone know for >sure what part of the plant is used? Is there any harm in using the leaf >(since it is sweet)? >No where have I seen much of a description of the conditions that this >plant preferrs. Does anyone have any info on sun and soil conditions? Aztec sweet herb prefers cool mountainous areas that get plenty of rain and fog. It likes well-drained soil with a high mix of limestone pebbles, I was told by my botany teacher. It grows mostly in the mountains of places like Colombia and is becoming endangered due to overharvesting. The leaves are usable but the reasons flowers were traditionally used is that flowers are sweeter and leaf removal often kills the plant. Also, if you buy leaves chances are the plant was uprooted or lopped off at ground level, preventing its reproduction. The plant is indeed much sweeter than sugar and is a safe traditional sugar substitute. Due to its threatened status I would recommend trying to grow your own or using other more readily available sweeteners, unless you are a diabetic or are allergic to the usual sweeteners. The plant likes full sun if you live in a foggy cool climate like Britain or Oregon, partial shade or indoor plant otherwise. It is a close relative of _Lippia graveolens_, Mexican oregano. Beware as this plant is not very hardy and will freeze if you are colder than about Zone 6 supposedly. Indoors and out it likes average soil of a neutral pH to a very slightly basic pH (6.8-7.5). If you grow it inside try a sunny south-facing window and mist occasionally. Divide or regrow from cuttings every few years or it will get woody and lose potency. ***** _Cornucopia: A Source Book of Edible Plants_, Stephen Facciola, Kampong Pubs, Vista, CA, 1990, ISBN:0-9628087-0-9: Lippia dulcis -> Phyla scaberrima Phyla scaberrima - Aztec sweet-herb, Orozuz, Sweet lippia. The aromatic leaves are occasionally eaten in salads, or used as a condiment. More often they are chewed for their intensely sweet flavor or used to sweeten teas and other beverages. The licorice-flavored roots are chewed. Central America, Caribbean. _Hortus III_, ISBN:0-02-505470-8: Phyla: Lour. Frogfruit. Verbenaceae. About 15 spp. of procumbent or crepping per. herbs, native to warm and trop. regions; plants glabrous or with 2-armed hairs; lvs. opp., toothed or lobed, fls. small, violet, blue, pink, or white, in dense spikes on axillary peduncles, calyx 2-lobed, enlarging and enclosing the fr., corolla 2-lipped, stamens 4; fr. dry, of 2 nutlets. P. scaberrima not listed. (49)**************************Companion Planting With Herbs******************** Growing garlic, chives and onions around the roses has kept aphids off my roses and given me healthier Alliums. Probably because they really like the rich soil mix provided for the rose bed. Also, it is an efficient use of space! Growing rosemary mixed in with the mint seems to keep mint pests away too. (rosemary is mostly pest-free) Growing pennyroyal at various intervals in the herb garden has kept ants from moving into the loose, sandy soil they like so much for tunneling. It even kept out fire ants! (50)*************************Medicinal Uses******************************** Hyssop is used in a lot of herbal throat lozenges, and has good throat and cough soothing properties. (51)****************************Questions seeking answers********************* I know pretty much zilch about herbs, but as for suggestions for content, I'd like to see a breakdonw by common/easy vs not-too-difficult vs hard- to-grow/esoteric. (I'm in the first category both for how I garden and how I cook!) An idea of about how many plants are reasonable to grow for one family would be nice. (Heavy users could adjust from there...) An indication of whether to dry or freeze or bring pots inside for winter, etc. would be nice. Lists of books for general information and cooking tips. ***** General interest: I'd be interested in cultivation tips, pest eradication, and recipes. How about putting together categories of which soil types are good for which herbs? Right now my poor French Tarragon is INFESTED with foliar mealybugs! Safer's soap doesn't seem to be working... ***** We are interested in insect control for the garden, and the thing we have tried is the "whizzes." A whiz is a food processed mixture of garlic, some sort of hot pepper, some olive oil, a few drops of soap and anything else herbal that might be bug repellant. We added in several sprigs of wormwood. We mixed this with water, put it in a spray bottle and sprayed anything that is susceptible to being nibbled on, with some success. We need to be increasing the dosage but are having good results keeping the flea beetle from decimating our eggplants. Is there anybody else that have tried some unusual or different bug controls like the garlic whiz? ***** Also, as far as herbal-medicinal cures, we have fiddled around with some, but we would like to hear if there is anyone who discovered a very effective remedy to something. For example, we feed our old labrador Lou (nonstinky) garlic capsules for her arthritis. She went from a fairly painful hobble 2 years ago to 100% cure. The only thing is it takes at least a month of the treatment to even notice any improvement, but persevering will see long term miracles. *****