Herbs for food and pleasure
Herbs are easy
to grow!
Where? It is possible to grow herbs indoors, so
long as you provide sufficient light intensity. But outdoor growing conditions
lead to healthier plants and better flavor. Kitchen herbs can be grown out in
the sunny part of your garden, mixed in among flowering perennials and annuals,
or at the edge of the vegetable garden. Or they can be crowded together in pots
of nearly any size. The smaller the pot, the more often you'll have to water
it. But a full kitchen herb garden can be grown in a half-barrel. Or several
small herbs can be crowded into a strawberry pot. Just water often, and replant
as needed.
Most herbs grow
best in full sun: that produces the greatest quantity of the volatile oils and
resins that we use them for (which is why they have less flavor when grown
indoors). But partial shade will give adequate results, and fresh-picked herbs
have better flavor than the dried stuff in bottles that you buy at the store.
So don't be discouraged if you don't have perfect growing conditions.
Which? The key to selecting them for long-term
success is knowing what the growth habit of the plant is. Shrubby forms such as
rosemary and sage are permanent, tough, attractive landscape plants. Basil and
dill are annuals and must be replanted seasonally. Many are soft (herbaceous)
perennials, meaning they provide foliage year after year but die down to the
ground (or mostly so) in the winter.
Some are
particularly tolerant of shade: lemon balm, mint, oregano and marjoram, sorrel,
sweet woodruff, and even French tarragon can tolerate shade. A bay tree can
grow in full shade - or full sun!
Here are some of
the kitchen favorites.
Annuals:
grow one season. Includes tender perennials which grow until frost.
Basil!
Basil is by far
the most popular kitchen herb! There are lots of different types, including
some which smell and taste like lemon, lime, clove, or cinnamon.
These are some
of the types we cook with:
* Genovese
The basic
Italian pesto basil, with spicy flavor and fragrance.
* Italian Large Leaf
Very sweet
basil for pesto, with extra large leaves.
* Sacred
Musky
(skunky) scent, aromatic.
* Spicy Bush
Hot, spicy
basil on a compact plant. Great for pots!
* African Blue
This
interesting basil is a cross between two species. It has large leaves, tinged
purple, and has strong flavor. Sterile (no seeds), but can overwinter with
protection.
* Thai
Strong,
spicy flavor and scent resemble anise, cloves.
Other
annuals herbs:
o Chervil
A green leafy herb,
used similar to dill (fish, sauces).
o Cilantro,
Coriander
Aka Chinese
Parsley. Basic to Mexican and Oriental cooking for those who like it (not me!).
Cool weather plant; goes to flower instantly in summer here. Just buy it in the
store.
o Dill
Goes to flower
and seed very quickly in hot weather. Good food plant for butterflies and
beneficial insects.
o Epazote
Used in Mexican
and Caribbean cooking, said to reduce flatulence. Weedy: grows fast, reseeds,
killed by frost.
o Savory,
Summer
Peppery,
distinctive flavor, good for bean dishes (said to reduce flatulence). Fast
growing.
o Stevia
This interesting
plant has leaves which are said to
be 100 times sweeter than sugar - but with no calories!
Biennials:
grow one season, then flower and seed the second season.
o Fennel,
Bronze
Pretty feathery
purple leaves, smell and taste like anise.
o Parsley,
Curly (Triple-curled)
Curly leaves on
a very attractive, compact plant. The 'garnish' parsley.
o Parsley,
Italian Flatleaf
Flat, glossy,
dark green leaves have strong parsley flavor. Big! To 2' or more. The cooking
parsley.
Perennials: grow year after year. Some die back
to the ground in winter, others have leaves year-around.
o Burnet,
Salad Burnet
Pretty plant
resembles parsley. Easy to grow, reseeds happily around your yard. Taste like
cucumber. Leaves are added to salad, vinegar.
o Chives
Easy to grow
onion relative. Pretty pink spring flowers are edible.
o French
Tarragon
Slender stems of
green leaves, distinctive fragrance like anise. Plant never flowers, is propagated only by division, so
availability is limited. Good drainage important in winter.
o Garlic
chives
Broad flat
leaves, strongly flavored of garlic. White summer flowers are edible. Self sows
freely.
o Lemon
Balm
Very attractive
plant with bright green leaves. Lemon scent and flavor. Used for a calming tea.
Happy in sun or shade.
o Lemon
grass
Big clump of
grass with lemon scented leaves. The leaf stem is used in Asian cooking.
Tender, but usually recovers from winter damage.
o Lovage
Looks and tastes
like a giant celery. Give it room! Good in salad, soup, stew.
o Marjoram,
Sweet
Soft green
leaves, tolerant of sun or shade.
Italian/Sicilian marjoram has more pungent leaves.
o Mint,
peppermint
The tea
mint. Fast growing, spreads freely
by runners which root. Nice ground cover for sun or shade if you have the
space. Otherwise, plant in pots.
o Mint,
spearmint
The mint for
cooking and drinks. As vigorous as peppermint, and taller. Plant with caution.
There are many variants of spearmint, with different scents, variegated leaves,
etc. All are rampant.
o Oregano
Italian oregano
has soft green leaves and pretty flowers on a plant which spreads steadily but
not rampantly. Greek oregano has stronger flavor.
o Oregano,
Mexican
Used in Mexico
as a substitute for Oregano, with much stronger flavor.
o Sorrel,
French
Easy to grow
plant makes a spreading clump. Cut off flowers, or it will reseed! Unusual
lemony flavor used in soup. Pick the tender new leaves.
Shrubs
and trees: woody evergreen plants. Most are excellent landscape plants.
o Rosemary
One of our best
landscape shrubs! Pretty blue flowers in winter. Lots of named varieties, all
with usable leaves for cooking but with varying intensity. Trailing forms are
great in containers, upright varieties make shrubs to 4' or more ('Tuscan Blue'
is one of the best). Tolerate heat, drought, poor soil.
o Sage,
Common
Another great
garden or landscape plant, with the added bonus of usable leaves for cooking.
Makes a tough shrub to 3' or more. Flowers attract butterflies. Tolerant of
heat, drought. There are forms with golden and purple leaves, one with green,
white, and pink foliage. Another has extra-large leaves.
o Savory,
Winter
Shiny thick
leaves with peppery flavor, used as a substitute for the more delicate Summer
savory (which is annual). White flowers in summer.
o Tarragon,
Mexican; Sweet Mace
(not the spice
mace, which is part of the nutmeg plant)
This is a giant
marigold shrub! Pretty yellow flowers in winter and strong licorice-scented
leaves. Sometimes used as a substitute for French tarragon, which is dormant in
the winter, but much less delicate in flavor. A nice easy-to-grow garden shrub.
o Thyme
The basic
cooking one is English thyme, a small shrublet with delicate flavor. Plant 2 -
3, as it is a slow grower, Silver thyme is more vigorous, has attractive
variegated leaves, and more pungent flavor. The creeping thymes have some
scent, but are not used for cooking.
The true bay
leaf of cooking, not our native bay tree. Evergreen large shrub or tree (I know
of a 40 ft. specimen on Plum Lane!).
Can be pruned to keep at any size. An unusual shrub
we get asked about. Sprawling shrub
with pretty, fragrant flowers. The flower buds are the source of true capers.
Hard to propagate, so it is very rare in the trade.o Bay
Laurel, Bay tree
o Caper
bush
top of page
Return to Home Page
www.redwoodbarn.com
Feel free to copy and distribute this article with attribution to this author.