Eagle Lake Nurseries Gardening Tips July 2008 Gardening With Herbs Do not overlook Herbs in your perennial beds, not only are they tough, versatile plants but have wonderful scents when brushed up against or walked on ! The butterflies and bees flock to their flowers and are wonderful additions in your everyday cooking. For those who have the smallest of gardens, or live in apartments or condos , Herbs can be grown in containers large or small, plant a variety of Herbs together in one container, so you can keep them closer to the kitchen. Gardening in containers, requires very little, most any container will do, even a window box is a handy way to grow herbs. If the box has southern exposure, you will find the herbs will grow well into the fall months, maybe even into winter, as the heat reflecting off the house will keep the soil warm longer. If the pots are too small they have a tendency to dry out too quickly, and the herbs can become ‘root bound’. Wood containers hold moisture better than clay pots, but for ‘Mediterranean Herbs’ that prefer drier soil, clay pots work best. Use a water soluble fertilizer suitable for vegetables and fertilize once every 3-4 weeks, during the growing season. Constant snipping of the herbs will prevent them from flowering and going to seed, so reach out and snip those Herbs from your garden! Cut some chives for your baked potato with sour cream, add a sprig of fresh mint to your lemonade, some Lemon Thyme and other herbs to sprinkle in your salad, or you can just nibble a fresh sprig of Parsley while you barbeque! Chives (Allium schoenoprasum / Allium tuberosum) The round, hollow leaves form a bright green, well-behaved clump in early spring, bringing a breath of fresh color to the garden after such a dreary winter. Common chives and Garlic Chives fit wonderfully into any border, they have a unique look to the flowers and a long bloom period, the perky little purple ‘pom-pom’ like flowers of the common chive work well in rock gardens, while the delicate white papery blooms of the Garlic chive are edible ! Let a few flower heads go to seed and ripen, the shiny black seed heads are a peppery delicacy and the flat grass-like foliage has a delicate garlic flavor. Although they do like rich moist soil, once established Chives can be very hardy, and drought tolerant. They should be divided every 2-4 yrs, and a portion potted up to be kept indoors during the winter months. When harvesting Chives to store for winter, simply cut the whole clump down to about 2 inches above the soil. (use scissors), take all the greens indoors and pick out any dead material, a quick rinse under cold water, pat dry and cut into small pieces. Store in freezer bags in the freezer and use them thru the winter months ! Catnip (Nepeta cataria) A hardy, upright perennial with gray-green foliage and light lilac colored flowers, a member of the mint family and will grow in most any soil, with little care. Some for you, and some for your cat! Although catnip is known to make cats very happy! It can also help us with many things. For instance: want to keep the neighborhood cats out of your yard? Just scratch up a patch of soil out in the back alley and toss in some catnip seeds, they’ll be so busy with their new treat, they’ll forget all about your garden and the catnip you’ve planted there! In fact, it is said that a cup of catnip tea every night, is better than ‘an apple a day’ ! Catnip has been used at one time or another to cure practically every ailment known to mankind. Upset stomach, morning sickness, colds, flu, fevers, stomach cramps and the list goes on. It is also full of vitamin C, and actually tastes pretty good ! Catnip tea before bed can actually help you sleep better , or just get a little ‘catnap’ if you catch my meaning. Simply, bruise a handful of fresh leaves with a spoon and pour boiling hot water over top. To store catnip for winter use: collect the leaves once they have grown to be a good size, but before they start to turn brown, simply snip ‘branches’ from the plant, tie in small bundles and hang upside down in a warm dark place with good air circulation. Do not dry any herbs in the sun or all of their essential oils will be lost. Label and store the leaves in air tight containers (such as canning jars) HINT: always add the boiling water to the tea, never boil the water with the herb in it. Another interesting fact: Although Catnip may attract cats, it repels mosquitoes! Lemon Thyme ( Thymus citriodorus) A robust, compact, sweetly scented perennial herb, that is an invaluable element in the kitchen, and can be used in any recipe to add a hint lemon flavoring. It grows 8-12 inches tall, and prefers well drained soil and full sun. Tiny little dark pink flowers appear in summer. Lemon Thyme can be made into a tea as well, and is good when you have a cold, flu, or indigestion. It is said to boost the immune system and promote relaxation. To make a Lemon Thyme Tea, use ¼ cup of fresh Lemon Thyme or 2 tsp of dried Herb, pour boiling water over the herbs, let sit for 5-10 minutes or so, then strain, you may add honey to sweeten your “Lemon Thyme Tea’. Harvest this herb thru the growing season as needed, then cut back well in the fall, and dry the small branches indoors. Be sure to give your Lemon Thyme some winter protection, a good layer of mulch in the fall, just after the first frost. Just a few other plants that are considered Herbs : English Lavender, Yarrow, Valerian, Sweet Woodruff, Chamomile, Echinacea, Joe Pye Weed and Catmint. If you have not had the pleasure of growing any of these interesting plants, as well as many others, do give some thought this season to adding them into your garden or try them in containers. They are worth growing to use in cooking, for their aromatic foliage and some of them for the beauty of their flowers. Connie Webb Eagle Lake Nurseries Ltd.