By: Donna Wormser
As you are well aware I think each and every one of you need to step outside or go to your favorite window sill and pick your fresh delightful herbs for your juices, smoothies and food!!!! Fresh picked herbs are awesome…..You can have a small herb garden, you can use an earth box or even just your window sill. I will give you some pointers for the next three weeks and hopefully I can talk you into entering your own herb garden.
BASIL is one of my favorites and you can use basil to add zest to anything from juice to pasta sauces. This herb has more than 30 varieties, but sweet basil is the most common. If you are planting outdoors space the plants one foot apart; they can grow 1-2 feet high. Pinch off growing tips and blooms as they appear to promote bushiness. If you are growing basil indoors, trim your plant frequently and give it plenty of light!!! In the summer outdoors you will need shade and in fall, winter and early spring semi shade would be great!!!!!
OREGANO this drought tolerant Mediterranean herb typically grows about a foot tall. It’s the ultimate low maintenance herb, as it requires little to no water. In fact you don’t even have to cover the seeds with dirt just mist them and watch them grow. Pinch off blooms as they appear to maximize flavor and to keep plants compact.
MINT is a hateful plant so it needs its own container, grow box or space because it will wrap its root around anything and slowly strangle the neighboring plant until it is dead. Mint also takes little or no care and grows better than most weeds.
FENNEL is one of my favorites as I love to juice the leaves. If you love Monarch butterflies leave the caterpillars alone that also love this plant and you will have some beautiful butterflies that you allowed to hatch from your plants. Fennel bulbs is what it is grown for but use the leaves as they add a sweet and licorice like flavor!!!
Next week we will learn about making the vinegar and how to store herbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Floating around is the new caution of “FRESH CILANTRO FROM MEXICO’ yes it is true….FDA has banned Cilantro from Mexico after human feces and toilet paper were found in the fields!!!!…………..Personally I am very careful with anything from Mexico and or China and that is another reason why you should grow your own herbs!!!!!!!!!! Growing your own herbs is very easy and very rewarding!!!!!!!!!!