Category Archives: Herb Everything

Blog posts and herbal experiences

GBBD July 15, 2012

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day July 2012

I got the Morning Glory seed for this beauty for Renee’s Garden.

Containers and hanging baskets are getting water at least once a day now. Every year a few more plants are added to the drip irrigation system under the pergola on the deck. And, below the pergola on the patio, just outside the kitchen.

Senorita Blanca™ Spider Flower Cleome hybrid (Proven Winners trial plant.)

SUPERBELLS® Lemon Slice. Calibrachoa hybrid (Proven Winners Trial plant.)

Lemon slice and Watermelon (Proven Winners trial plants) These hummingbird magnets get watered twice a day. They are looking good despite the heat.

Lantana provides color all summer as long as it is well watered and fertilized.

 

Four o’clock “broken colors” from Renee’s Garden.

This odd zinnia is the result of saving seed produced by last years hybrid zinnias. You never know what you will get when you save seed from F1 hybrids.

Here we are in the middle of summer and gardens that haven’t dried up from the drought, been washed away by flood, burned up by the wild fires or just blown to another location by tornadoes, seem to be doing fine.

Global temperature change is taking it’s toll. I have friend who says, “I don’t have a dog in this fight,” and won’t discuss the matter. There is no joy in “I told you so.” So, lets just do what we can to help each other through.

Many thanks to Carol of May Dreams for Bloom Day. Anyone can participate, visit Carol for details.

There are more blooms around today, but I am really focused on the herbs and vegetables these days.

Vegetable Garden Report

Well, here’s my new pride and joy, Indigo Rose tomato. Just bigger than a cherry tomato, the area that is esposed to sunlight turns blue. The areas of this tomato that do not get direct sunlight are red/orange.

All the cherry tomatoes are producing and the big tomatoes are growing bigger every day. I still have chard in the garden. There are some red onions still in the ground but most of the onions, shallots and garlic are harvested.

Droves of squash bug thugs are in the garden. Squash hardly has a chance this year. A few eggplant, cucumbers and carrots are doing well. Peppers, both hot and sweet  are on their way. If I can keep them watered, it will be a good crop.

Raised beds and high hopes

Tomatoes

I have raised beds and high hopes for Southeast Missouri garden, zone 6A. We are still a couple of weeks away from the juicy giant tomato of my dreams.

“Do you want a tomato sandwich?” I yelled out the back door last summer.

“Tomato sandwich? You mean without the Bacon?” Jules replied.

This was an un paralleled act of generosity on my part. I was offering to share the first big red, ripe tomato of the summer.

Jules won’t come in for a lunch-time tomato sandwich.  He will come in for a Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich.

Let’s share our tomato favorites throughout the season. Leave a comment, please.

Indigo Rose Saladette tomato. photo PBH

I have a new raised bed that is 4 ft square and I plan to see just how much I can produce in this small space. My point is that we can have fresh home-grown produce in the space of an apartment balcony, or a suburban front porch.

I’m growing great tomatoes in a 5 gallon bucket. Plus, there is room to tuck in a basil plant, some thyme or, some chives.

I am also growing a brand new tomato, Indigo Blue. It is a saladette tomato, meaning bigger than a cherry tomato but smaller than a Celebrity. Saladette is a GIANT Cherry or a really small beefsteak.

All my garden seed is from:

Renee’s Garden

Baker Creek Heirloom Seed

Nichols Seeds

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

Green Beans, bugs and bunnies

Garden Report 2012

Green Beans are a summer favorite I seldom eat in winter. Because as you know, everything tastes better home grown and garden fresh.

This recipe is made from last summers dried tomatoes and pesto. This summers green beans and onions. photo: PBH

Green Beans

Green beans are grown from Renee’s Garden seed. I pulled the onions from my garden the last week of June. At first the beans were being eaten up by bugs and bunnies.

The bunnies came and went. Bigger gardens next door or a neighborhood full of cats and dogs sent the bunnies on their way. Repeated Safer’s Soap sprays slowed down the bugs.

I’m growing “Tricolor Bush” and “Tricolor Pole”. Why bush and pole? because the pole beans are ready about a week after the bush beans. I’ll keep replanting beans and hopefully get another crop or two here in Missouri.

We love pickled green beans. These long straight beans are meant to be stuffed into tall skinny jars and pickled. They are refrigerator pickles, meant to be eaten fresh out of the jar. My crisp pickled beans are not cooked by the long process of canning.

Maybe we will have enough to freeze a few of these three colors of long straight green beans. The multi colored beans are beautiful in winter time vegetable soup.

Earlier this summer I grew a great crop of French, “Rolande” bush beans. Extra-slim,

“Roland” is a “haricot vert” of filet bean. Pick them and cook them. These straight, skinny beans are tender and need very little cooking.

long and deep green filet or “haricot vert” snap beans. These are a long, skinny French bean that does very well in my zone 6A home garden.

They grew in a square 4′ x 4′ garden. Every week for four weeks I planted another quarter of the garden. It kept us in fresh beans and a bit more to share with Neighbor Patty.

They are extra-crispy, making it possible for Jules and I to come to a middle ground in the kitchen. One of us likes Southern style “cooked to death” green beans and the other likes the California style “crispy and full of vitamins” version.

Green Beans are meant for sucession planting. Planting one patch and a little later planting a few more beans will stretch out fresh green bean season spring to fall. The best way is to plant a few beans, or part of a row every week.

When the first plants are finished producing beans, cut them down, mow them or, snip off the plants. Replant that spot again with more green beans.  If you want to freeze or can a lot of beans at once, this method is not for you.

If I have a few too many green beans, I can share them with the neighbor. Or, it is quick to blanch and freeze a quart size plastic zipper lock bag of green beans. Next, I’ll plant cow peas.

Onions

Had to do a little research on how to harvest and store onions because I’ve never had much luck growing them before. It was not a great crop. But the variety of onions were so much more successful than ever before.

Red onions are still in the ground. As are the leeks and shallots. Garlic was lifted mid June.

Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis

There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance.” — Shakespeare’s Hamlet to Ophelia

RosemaryRosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis) – Christians referred to rosemary the “Holy Herb,” associated with Mary, who, according to Spanish legend, draped her cloak over a rosemary bush on the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt, turning the color of the blossoms from white to blue.

Rosemary was once used by the poor or lower classes as a substitute for expensive frankincense or myrrh-based incense in ancient Greece and Rome. Before the advent of modern medicine rosemary was burned, along with juniper berries, as a disinfectant in French hospitals.

Romantically, rosemary’s legend grew in the 14th century, when 72-year-old Queen Elizabeth of Hungary used rosemary as a medicine for her rheumatism and gout. Her potion of rosemary and lavender supposedly so enhanced her health and beauty that it fanned the passions of the 26-year-old King of Poland, who requested her hand in marriage. The potion became known as Budapest or Hungary water and was the beauty aide of choice for women for hundreds of years.

Rosemary for cooking, a favorite winter herb, I use it fresh and dried. One of my favorite ways to cook with rosemary is to put a sprig in the body cavity of a game hen before roasting. Or, drizzle a little olive oil over new potatoes or whole fingering potatoes, then sprinkle a little salt, and a few crushed rosemary leaves before baking.

Rosemary tea is made by steeping a short sprig in hot water for about 5 minutes. Or, put a teaspoon of dried rosemary in a warmed teapot and add a cup of boiling water. Steep for 5 minutes.

Medicinally, rosemary tea is said to be good for colds, flu, indigestion, headache and fatigue. It is an antioxidant, antiseptic, antidepressant, a circulatory stimulant. Rosemary is a rich source of vitamin A and vitamin C, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, and zinc. 

Growing Herbs in Winter

fresh cut herbs

fresh cut herbs brought indoors, will stretch your fresh herbs by about two weeks.

I’m starting seed in the Aerogarden this week.

Aeroponics is a soil-free growing method where plant roots are suspended in air within a 100% humidity, highly-oxygenated growing chamber. Because the roots are bathed with ideal levels of nutrients, water and oxygen, plants grow significantly faster, are healthier and have a higher nutrient content than plants grown in soil. It’s like having a little green house on the kitchen counter.

I’ll grow bright green lettuces and herbs all winter. The 70 million Americans buy organic products weekly will appreciate the simplicity and convenience of Aerogrow.

This little table top garden is a defiant cabin fever cure for us die hard gardeners. AeroGarden is not promoted to help with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or “cabin fever.” Still anything that tricks my plants into believing the sun is shining, has a positive affect on my attitude.

Gardening is America’s #1 hobby with more than 70 million active gardeners. There are 18 million fresh herb gardeners which is up 41% since 2000.

Small, sweet as candy, little strawberries that you can grow from seed. photo PBH

This little table top garden provides fresh herbs for my cooking all winter. A sprig of fresh basil or parsley will add sparkle to any dish.

In the spring, I start seeds in the AeroGarden. Last spring I had great success getting tiny sweet strawberries to grow from seed. Picking these tiny French Alpine strawberries (fragaria vesca) are like finding candy in the garden. Buy strawberry seed at Renee’s Garden.

Bread and Soup: Using Herbs in Winter

My favorite fast food during the hectic holidays? Bread and soup.

BBQ Rosemary

BBQ Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis 'Barbeque' has especially good flavor and aroma, great choice for cooking. photo PBH

Throw the soup or stew ingredients in the crockpot. When you come home from work or Christmas shopping, a hot, healthy meal can be mere minutes away. Now add biscuits, because hot fresh biscuits are fast and easy to make. In the time it would take to get drive-thru on the way home, you’ll be sitting down to a bowl of bliss that will warm your heart and soul.

Before the holidays, replace your old herbs. Saving dried herbs for special occasions is a bad idea. Begin using dried herbs as soon as you buy them so you will get a taste of the herb at its best. Then, you will be able to judge when herbs should be replaced because of age, light or heat exposure. Rub a little dried herb on to the palm of your hand and if can not smell or taste the flavor, empty the jar and replace it with new. If your jar of dried herbs tastes like paper dust or a dried front lawn, it’s time to replace the herbs.

Refresh spices. If your spices are not fragrant, don’t waste the time and ingredients of a recipe by using flavorless herbs and spices. Before baking season, buy a new box of baking powder and baking soda. Hot from the oven herb biscuits are the perfect accompaniment to winter stews and soups.

tomato soup and grilled cheese

Creamy tomato soup with mini grilled cheese toast. photo: PBH

My favorite cheese biscuit recipe comes from Simply Recipes: Cheese Biscuits recipe. I use 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped chives instead of scallions and sharp cheddar cheese. Best thing is, you can double the recipe and freeze the cut biscuits before baking. Later, retrieve the frozen dough and bake while the stew is simmering. They are so good and so easy, you will always want to keep a few in the freezer.

Though buying herbs in bulk is economical, it may not be the cook’s choice. Herbs tend to lose their flavor when exposed to air and light. Buy small amounts of herbs and refresh your supply regularly for the best flavor. The economy comes from using less of the dried herb when it is fresher and more flavorful.

Do not store your herbs above the stove. Heat will quickly deteriorate their flavor. Store dried herbs in a cool, dark, dry, air-tight container. If you keep them out on the counter, use a dark tinted glass container or a tin.

Guaranteed Herbal Magic

1/2 teaspoon of rosemary. I’m not kidding. Add rosemary to your favorite biscuit recipe. Or add a bit of rosemary to beef stew, vegetable soup, chicken and dumplings. It’s magic.

Everyone will love your cooking and you will become an herbal goddess of the kitchen. (Tiara not included.)

cheese soup

Make a double batch of soup, freeze half. A good quick meal will always be on hand.

Terra Nova Trial Plants

Look For This Plant

I loved these well behaved, mounding  plants. Mine were not given the attention they deserved for best color and growth. They are charming. The containers were full and the small starter plants grew to fill their 12 in pots.

Terra Nova Vienna
Heuchera ‘Vienna’ from Terra Nova.
  • Heuchera ‘Vienna’ says that it has reblooming dark pink flowers. Vienna had only one bloom time in my garden and they were beautiful and long lasting.

Heuchera ‘Vienna’ is amazing in its color, habit, and blooming. With veiled leaves orange to rose orange, a compact dense habit, and reblooming rose pink flowers in short wands. Vienna would be pretty in a collection of Heuchera or a standout in a garden where there is part sun, geat choice for containers. One of the City™ Series which bloom and bloom and bloom.

 

Heucherella 'Solar Power' Photo: Terra Nova

 

  • Heucherella ‘Solar Power’ is more sun tolerant than most Heucherella. The lobed yellow gold to lime green leaves are splattered with deep red. It forms a large mound of color in sun or part shade. This Heucherella takes higher light levels than any yellow Heuchera or Heucherella. Good choice for an area that has more sun

In my garden, Solar Power had more sun than shade. If it had more shade than sun, it would stay lime green with centers of deep red. I enjoyed the golden yellow color that looked as though it was trying to soak up all the sun.

 

Yellow Stone Falls

Heucherella 'Yellowstone Falls' photo: Terra Nova

 

 

  • Heucherella ‘Yellowstone Falls’ is the second in the trailing Heucherella series and has lovely chartreuse lobed leaves with deep crimson markings. The stems will trail 3 feet in a container making a wonderful hanging basket or a super ground cover.

In my garden Yellostone Falls did not trail at all. I love the vibrant color, next year: less sun, more water.

 

Oregon Trail

Oregon Trail from the American Trail series by Terra Nova. Photo by Terra Nova

 

 

  • Tiarella ‘Oregon Trail’ a strong trailing form with bold markings says Terra Nova®. For others, it is a rapid trailer or a wonderful ground cover in a shade garden. The leaves are deeply lobed and well marked. A very clean habit with a few, short spikes of white flowers. Works great in a hanging basket.

Oregon Trail prefers much more moisture than it got here. In fact, I thought I had the wrong plant because it didn’t look like the picture I had of Oregon Trail and it wasn’t trailing. But, only recently, with cooler temps and a bit more rain, I see that new growth is bright and vivid. I really like Oregon Trail, next year, I will move it to where it will get less sun and more water.

My favorite? Heuchera ‘Blackberry Crisp’ These tiny flowers seemed to last for ever.

Blackberry Crisp

Heuchera 'Blackberry Crisp'

Heuchera ‘Blackberry Crisp’ – sweet curly-leaved beauty. The first in our Crisp™ series with seriously crinkled and crisped margins. ‘Blackberry Crisp’ is also the first ruffled summer purple. It has a tight mounding habit with leaves that change for deep burgundy in the spring to deep purple to purple black.

Now, in mid October, the Blackberry Crisp is beautiful, dark and deeply colored. I think it would make a great accent in fall decorations, a color pop near the pumpkins and corn shucks.

About these plants:

  • The plants were sent to me for trial in my southeast Missouri garden. The 2011 Terra Nova® Trial Plants arrived bright and healthy, just as yours should when you find them this spring at the garden centers.
  • Mine received morning sun and late afternoon shade. We had record breaking heat in our very humid, zone 6 garden.
  • These five plants were container grown with morning sun and late afternoon shade. Though they would have done better with more fertilizer and water, these plants are tougher than they look. All summer they showed no sign of insect damage or disease.

Terra Nova® are the plant geniuses who brought us tomato soup  and ‘Mac’n’cheese’ echinacea.

You may recognize some of these outstanding Coreopsis introductions by Terra Nova®:

Coreopsis ‘Cherry Lemonade’, Coreopsis ‘Pineapple Pie’, Coreopsis ‘Pumpkin Pie’ photos: Terra Nova.

Coreopsis-Cherry-Lemonade

Coreopsis Cherry Lemonade

Coreopsis Pumpkin Pie

Coreopsis Pumpkin Pie

Coreopsis Pineapple Pie

Coreopsis Pineapple Pie


Terra Nova® Nurseries Wholesale Only

Blackberry Crisp

Heuchera 'Blackberry Crisp' leaves that change from burgundy in the spring to deep purple to purple black. photo:PBH

My Garden Bloggers Food Day

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day shows off all the blooms in my garden on August 15 2011. Even more than blooming, this month is about what happens after the bloom. The produce, fruit or seed that is created after the flower.

Rosa Bianco eggplant, tomatoes, Clairimore zucchini

I am trying to stay ahead of the of the zucchini production by picking them small, like the two little ones on the right. The blossoms are still attached to these Clairimore variety. The bigger ones became chocolate zucchini cake or zucchini and black walnut cake with lemon glaze.

This year, is not a good year for my garden. I couldn’t water enough to keep up hardy production.

Rosa Bianca Eggplant

Rosa Bianca Eggplant, a mild italian eggplant

The garden plants are stressed and more suseptible to insects and disease. Flea beetles are eating up the plants faster than the plants can produce eggplants.

I only got in a couple of pickings  of green beans before a gang of bug thugs moved in and trashed the bean patch.

I’ve planted a few more beans, hoping to get in a late crop of  haricots verts (skinny and tender French

Flea beetle damage. The little tiny holes in leaves and roots.

green beans) And a couple more cucumbers and squash to replace the ones killed by insects. It’s just a gamble to see if they produce before a killing frost. The space was empty and I had extra seed. We shall see.

Tomato plants did not set blooms because it was so hot. So, I will have a smaller than anticipated harvest. I’ll make some tabouli and a batch of gazpacho. Plus, I have enough to share with neighbors.

I won’t have enough to can or put up as salsa. But I did have enough for a couple of taste testings with the nine different varieties of heirloom tomatoes.  I’ll eventually review them all in my HubPages. There is a lot of good tomato information.

Best Home Garden Tomatoes: Paul Robeson

Best Home Garden Tomatoes: Royal Hillbilly

Next year, I’ll grow a few of the best tomatoes from this summer. And, I’ll grow some heirlooms I’ve never tried before.

The real reason I grow thin skinned, rich flavored, juicy heirloom tomatoes is simple:

BLT

Sourdough bread, crisp lettuce, oven baked thick sliced bacon.

Bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches and

Insadada Caprese

Heirloom tomatoes, mozzerella cheese, balsamic vinegar, olive oil.

Insadada Caprese.

GBBD August 2011

GBBD – Garden Bloggers Bloom Day arrives when I have lots of blooms this month. By this time of the year it’s been a long hot and dry summer. Most blooms are moving onto their next stage. The blooms are  producing fruit and seed. (tomatoes, for example.)

So, with a nod to Carol and GBBD, I humbly submit GBFD or Garden Bloggers Food Day. Because it so seldom  happens, that I have an abundance of both blooms and produce.

Black Swallowtail Butterfly on pink zinnia

Pollinators, like bees and butterflies are key to producing seed.

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)  It is the state butterfly of Oklahoma.

After mating, small, yellow eggs are laid on garden plants from the carrot family, Apiaceae, including dill, fennel, Queen Anne’s lace, and parsley. I always grow extra parsley happing to create an attractive area for Black Swallowtails. This year the worms helped themselves to the carrots growing near the zinnias.

The most noticable blooms in my garden are the sunflowers.

sunflowers

"Musicbox" but I call these my mailbox sunflowers.

Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are blooming their big heads off and making sunflower seeds. Nothing can make a gold finch happier.

"Chocolate Cherry"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big Sunflower

"Van Gogh" with half runner bean vines.

"Valentine" pale lemon flowers about 5" across.

Giant Heirloom, "Titan" Sunflower

 

These native sun-worshipping North American native flowers turn on their stalks to follow the sun. The name Helianthus is from the Greek words for sun and flower.

Direct sow seed into the garden. Sunflowers have long taproots that are easily stunted, so wait until the ground is warmed and plant seeds into the garden soil.

Several of these sunflowers are pollen free, making them ideal for bouquets. They don’t drop messy pollen on the table.

"Musicbox" Sunflower

 

 

 

I have a couple more sunflowers this year.One has already bloomed and is gone. Another is a perennial sunflower that is a late blooming variety not yet blooming.

I got all these sunflower seed from Renee’s Garden seed.

Thanks for stopping by.

GBFD is my way of sharing my garden this month, August 2011.

GBBD is a way to share what is blooming in my garden on the 15th of the month.

Carol from May Dreams Gardens sponsors Bloom Day each month. Thank you, Carol.

Fried Green Tomatoes (or not)

This Paul Robeson tomato could have stayed on the vine another day or two if the vine hadn't broken off.

A friend, clearly not a gardener, asked for this recipe in the summer.

“Are you nuts?” I said.

“No self respecting gardener sacrifices a good tomato to make fried green tomatoes in the summer!”

Fried green tomatoes are fall food. They are what you do with tomatoes that haven’t ripened by the first killer frost of the season.

This friend was an Eastern Transplant, not familiar with Midwest or Southern culture and cuisine. I also had to introduce him to tomato sandwiches this year. “You mean without bacon?,” he said with trepidation.

When vines are too heavy with multiple tomatoes, it is better to pick a few while still green, rather than risk a broken vine and losing all the tomatoes.

Prepare fried green tomatoes like you do fried Okra. Slice, dip in a milk and egg wash and then in cornmeal or flour.

Uncle Ed says, “Well you know how to fry catfish, don’t cha? Well it’s the same thing, dip the tomato slices in milk and eggs. Then pat fish fry mix (four, cornmeal, salt, pepper) on both sides”. Then deep fry, pan fry, or, oven “fry”

A heavy tomato vine, loaded with tomatoes, broke off in a storm.

The cafe in Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café is modeled after Irondale Cafe in Birmingham, AL. Novelist Fannie Flagg said her great-aunt operated Irondale Cafe for almost 40 years.

If it weren’t for the book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, I believe this recipe would have remained a Southern delicacy. Just like fried pie.

There are two reasons a home cook prepares Fried Green Tomatoes.

  1. At the height of summer tomato production, some tomatoes are removed from the plant to keep the weight of the tomatoes from breaking the vine. (Not that I am bragging, but I had to do this twice this summer.)
  2. At the end of the tomato season, just before the first frosts hit the garden, all tomatoes are picked. Any tomatoes with a hint of color will be left to ripen slowly on the counter. Then, “waste not want not” happens. The most popular way of using up green tomatoes are fried green tomatoes, and green tomato relish.
sliced tomatoes

Insalata caprese (literally, the salad from Capri)

If I can have this: garden temperature juicy ripe tomatoes in a Tomato and Mozzarella Salad,

I’ll choose it everytime over fried green tomatoes.

These are heirloom tomatoes, Red: Paul Robeson and Yellow: Gold Medal

 

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