55+ Living Guide Magazine Spring/Summer 2018 Spring 2018 | Page 21

of which are edible. Don’t be afraid to
throw in some thyme and basil for the
colors when they flower. If you don’t have
enough room, they make a great addition
to flower beds and borders. If you’re not
enamored with them this year, switch
them around for a different look next.
Growing herbs in the vegetable garden
is the best way to obtain large quantities
of your favorite herbs and to allow for
successional sowing of fast growing types.
Parsley, coriander, dill and chervil can
be sown directly as well as borage, sorrel,
summer savory and basil, don’t be afraid
to use row covers to gain an extended
growing season.
So, if you don’t have room outdoors for
a garden or enough room for a container
area, even an Urban dweller can grow
Basil, cilantro (coriander),
herbs indoors. Suitable herbs to grow
parsley, dill, chervil,
indoors on the windowsill includes:
chamomile, summer savory,
Chives, parsley, basil, cilantro (corian-
der) marjoram, dill and mint. Treat your
marjoram (sweet), purslane,
window sill herbs as cut-and-come-again
borage, lemon grass,
crops. Harvest regularly to encourage
Mexican marigold
new growth.
and rocket.
Harvesting your herbs. Up to this point
you’ve been watering, feeding, weeding
and now its time for your rewards. When
harvesting herbs, remove foliage from
the outside of the plant, be sure to make a
clean cut. As a rule, don’t pick more than
Oregano, mint, thyme,
a third of the plants foliage at one time.
sage, rosemary, chives,
Herbs are excellent for freezing and of
comfrey, sorrel, fennel,
course drying. If you’re going to freeze,
freeze whole sprigs in a freezer bag or
Russian tarragon, hyssop,
freeze chopped herbs with water in ice
lemon balm, meadowsweet,
cube trays. Herbs are best harvested in
horseradish and lovage.
the morning before any essential oils
evaporate. Please remember that if you
Growing herbs outdoors in a dedicat- harvest rosemary, sage or thyme no new
growth will occur till the next spring.
ed herb garden makes harvesting easier
and will create a rich scent on hot sunny Storing fresh herbs is easy. Before you
store them in the fridge, wrap them in a
days, an olfactory oasis! Some of your
slightly damp paper towel and put them
herbs will be invasive, so watch out for
mint, oregano, chives, hyssop and thyme in a zip lock bag. Make sure the bag has
little air inside and place it in the warm-
in the right growing zone. During a
est part of your fridge. When you are
growing season in my dedicated herb
ready to use, cut away any wilted or dis-
areas I’m always digging up these inva-
colored leaves. Fresh herbs don’t have
sive plants and gifting to a friend or for
a long shelf life so be sure to use them
re-plant in a new area.
as soon as possible. Not having to wash
Your herb garden can be quite orna-
your herbs is a benefit of growing your
mental if you like, by combining the sil-
ver-gray foliage of lavender and sage with own. Water will hasten their demise,
the blue flowers of borage and the orange so if you can, skip this step. Only wash
flowers of Pot marigold, both flowers
your herbs if you’re going to use them
In the winter time, be sure to put them
away if possible and if not, protect them
against icy weather. After a few years of
container growing, be sure to repot. If
you can’t repot simply replace the top
inch of soil with fresh compost and a
slow-release fertilizer.
Seeds of perennial herbs such as sage,
rosemary, chives and fennel should be
sown in spring under the cover of warmth
and then potted when large enough to
handle. Harden off your plants in a cold
frame prior to planting outside.
Annual and
biennial herbs
cd
Perennial herbs
immediately, otherwise store unwashed
in the fridge. Now don’t forget some of
these herbs will go well in a cocktail so
be sure to add them!
Cooking with fresh herbs and spices
have so many benefits other than en-
hancing the flavor of the food. They’re
great to use when trying to amp the
flavor of protein and starches without
adding more fat, sodium and calories.
Plus, many of these, such as thyme,
oregano, rosemary, garlic, ginger, cay-
enne to name a few, assists in cardio-
vascular health and disease prevention.
Oregano has one of thee highest counts
of antioxidants of most fresh herbs.
When you’re trying to add them to your
dishes, consider what you’re cook-
ing and the flavor profile you want to
achieve. Remember that there is power
in numbers, so don’t be afraid to put a
palette of mixed herbs together.
The possibilities afforded by growing
herbs is limited only by your imagina-
tion. If you’ve always desired to grow
your own, but never had the confidence
to do so, there has never been a better
time to get started. Support groups
abound, and social media has helped
people from all walks of life to succeed
at this extremely easy, satisfying and
rewarding hobby.

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