Gardening: 2013–2015

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Speaking of lavender, mine does not look to have made it through the winter.  The lavender has fooled me before but this time I am not optimistic.  It was a hard winter on my clay pots too.  I was so looking forward to lavender ice cream this year.

 

My grafted Rutgers tomato plants arrived this evening.  I wish they had waited just a bit.  We were under freeze warnings a couple days ago.

[LizD518]

As a lifelong urbanite, I'm always amazed by the pics of Shelby's garden. It's a field with a horizon line.      

 

The severe drought persists here, so I think not twice, but three times or more, before buying any new plants. I've kept the containers on my sunny (but small) front deck, replenishing the marjoram, oregano, and thyme. I'll buy some new basil plants to complete the herb set. My drought-resistant culinary lavenders are doing well and setting bud. So is the kaffir lime tree and the kari leaf tree (Murraya koenigii).

 

SpringGarden2015_3568.jpg

 

A family photo of some springtime plants on my front deck. In the lower center of the pic: leafy sorrel, marjoram (which has already been cut back), English thyme, and an unusual mounding form of oregano (Origanum vulgare 'Compacta Nana'). On the right side of the pic, culinary lavender (Lavandula angustifolia 'Royal Purple'), lemon verbena, kaffir lime tree, and Parma violets. The small blue flowers in the center-ish of the pic are a type of N. American wild iris, named Blue-Eyed Grass. I'm in love with it. The yellow flowers are California poppies, which seem to be going dry right now, like the rest of the state.

 

Meanwhile I've pulled up all the plants off my back deck, due to the water shortage, keeping only the large shrubs, including some camellias and a Mediterranean bay shrub (Laurus nobilis). I've planted a drought-resistant groundcover to hold down the soil. Someday I'll think about landscaping that area again, after the drought.

 

But I did succumb at the nursery and bought a couple cowslip plants. They're English wildflowers with medicinal-culinary properties and mentioned in folklore. Girls used to make balls of them, and toss them around with a rhyme to spell out the name of their future husband. Fairies are supposed to hang out around them. (I haven't seen any yet.) If I had a field of them, I could make cowslip wine. Instead, I'll enjoy them until the deer or the drought knock 'em off.

 

Cowslip_3539.jpg

 

I've started clipping excess growth on my herb plants and making a fresh potpourri from them. The clippings dry on shallow bowls on my dining table (which often looks more like a reading table).

 

Potpourri_3548.jpg

 

Left to right: a potpourri of marjoram, thyme, oregano, rose petals, violet; a tiny nosegay of Parma violets; some dried culinary lavender. I acquired the storybooks at the Bay Area Storytelling Festival last weekend (very enjoyable), and picked up the cookbook on sale during my last visit to SF. --Not a recommendation for the cookbook, BTW, I'm still going through it.

 

Happy Spring, everyone!

I love this idea!  Since I'm only cooking for one most of the time I really don't use much in the way of herbs.  What do you do with them after they dry?  Make sachets, or just leave them in bowls to perfume the air?  I'd have to figure out how to keep my cats away from them...

[Shelby]

Hi guys    I love reading about all of your different gardens and techniques.

 

I've been a busy girl.  I'm trying to weed every day so that it doesn't become an overwhelming job.  26 tomato plants are in.  I'm waiting for 15 more to get big enough to transfer.  I have 5 cherry tomato plants in, too.  The okra came up!  I have a feeling that I planted too many of those......  The only things that haven't made an appearance yet are the corn and the brussels sprouts.      

[djyee100]

I love this idea!  Since I'm only cooking for one most of the time I really don't use much in the way of herbs.  What do you do with them after they dry?  Make sachets, or just leave them in bowls to perfume the air?  I'd have to figure out how to keep my cats away from them...

 

You could make sachets, though I don't. I discard the herbs as the scents fade, and cut some more. I notice the marjoram, oregano, thyme and lavender keep their scents well. The rose petals and violets turn vegetal--they would need a fixative to preserve them. As an alternative, once the herbs are fully dried, you could jar them for your own culinary herb mix.

 

The fresh potpourri doesn't have the strong long-lasting scent of regular potpourri, because it lacks a fixative and essential oils. I crush some between my fingers to get a whiff of scent, and I like the look of it on my table.

 

You could also cut the herbs and keep them in water as small bouquets, especially if the herbs have flowered. They're not showy like garden flowers, but they're very pleasant to have around.

[helenjp]

What to do with herbs, LizD? The answer is...make friends! Ever since I was a single girl with a stately avenue of parsley plants, I've had "cut and come again" friends who know they are welcome to drop by with scissors and a plastic bag!

In my single days, having herbs in my garden made it no chore to cook my way through a family-size pack of fish, meat, or vegetables. Apart from the usual suspects, I like to grow hyssop. It's easy to grow, and interesting to add to both vegetables and meats.

These days, my interests are focused more on low maintenance. In summer, I'm particularly fond of mini-tomatoes and yard-long beans, because they are so resistant to disease and pests. Salad greens are more of a challenge, but nasturtiums are a good start!

[radtek]

I've harvested the coriander. Hung on the fence it dried well. Getting the seeds off the bush is a bit tiresome but the reward is there.

 

Onions look good and have filled out. Not as big as wanted but then again I used no fertilizer or pesticides- 100% organic and tasty. Their harvest is imminent.

 

Also started a bunch of my favorite herbs. I'll be giving the bulk away most likely. 

 

I have a great deal of work ahead of me with this garden.

[Darienne]

Congratulations, radtek.  But then we in East Central Ontario are just grateful that the snow is finally gone.

[radtek]

Long days but short season! Glad the snow has melted.

[huiray]

I've harvested the coriander. Hung on the fence it dried well. Getting the seeds off the bush is a bit tiresome but the reward is there.

 

 So what are you doing with the roots?

[radtek]

They are dry now. Not sure. Is there any sort of medicinal quality to coriander root that I can take advantage of?

[huiray]

They are dry now. Not sure. Is there any sort of medicinal quality to coriander root that I can take advantage of?

 

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/145733-gardening-2013%E2%80%93/page-5?p=2015460#entry2015460

[radtek]

Pad kee mao? Tulsi? Holy basil? I was thinking powdered root make a man strong...

[huiray]

I was thinking powdered root make a man strong...

 

Umm, that's a different sort of powdered root...or a powdered, uh, organ of certain animals, at least as the proponents of same declare it to be so... :-) 

Y'know, STIFF, HARD, potent, that sort of thing...  :-D

[kayb]

My gardening is limited to a dozen or so pots of herbs. My sage, thyme, oregano, rosemary and mint overwintered pretty well. I've planted basil, tarragon, chives, parsley and cilantro. Thinking about adding marjoram and lavender -- have never cooked with either, What are some uses for them? I've mostly had lavender in pastries and such. Not sure about marjoram.

 

This fall, I plan to do the prep work for a "straw bale garden." Allegedly one uses bales of straw, which can be framed around loosely and used for a couple of years. Over the winter you add compost, and in the spring, break up the decomposing straw a bit and add potting medium. It's allegedly a good way to grow tomatoes, peppers, melons, cucumbers, squash. Think I will give it a try. I'm fortunate to have a lawn that gets a good deal of sun.

[radtek]

My SIL tried a hay-bale garden last year. This spring my brother built a large and sturdy raised garden for her. They were not impressed with the hay-bales. As I expected there was some other stuff growing out of the bales that robbed the plants of water and nutrients. And most likely a degree of operator error. 

 

I'd stick to containers of good soil over hay-bales.

[huiray]

Picked up some tomato plants today – Black Krim, Black Russian, Cherokee Purple, Chocolate Stripe.

[djyee100]

...Thinking about adding marjoram and lavender -- have never cooked with either, What are some uses for them? ...

 

I like lavender with a mix of other Mediterranean herbs (e.g., rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram) on grilled or roasted meats. Think herbes de Provence. You can also make infused sugars, vinegars, and cooking oils with lavender.

 

My favorite lavender recipe is a drink, Lavender Ginger Lemonade, in Sharon Shipley's Lavender Cookbook. Adapted recipe here (same ingredients, different instructions):

http://www.citymarket.coop/recipe/lavender-ginger-lemonade

Shipley suggests a shot of vodka or gin in this drink for the grown-ups.

 

Not all lavenders are suitable for cooking (too much camphor), so be sure to grow the right kind. Lavandula angustifolia is the species most mentioned by cooks. Shipley liked Lavandula xintermedia 'Provence'.  But the other L. xintermedia cultivars--'Provence' is the exception--are not recommended for cooking.

 

I've found Lavandula angustifolia 'Buena Vista' to have a remarkably sweet flavor and fragrance. It's my favorite lavender cultivar for cooking.

 

Marjoram is a friendlier version of oregano--it doesn't have that edge. It goes great with grilled or roasted lamb with jus. My favorite herb for that kind of preparation with lamb. Add some fresh chopped marjoram to the jus at the last minute, heat slightly, and serve.

Edited May 3, 2015 by djyee100 (log)

[CatPoet]

The "wild" strawberries didnt survive winter, not due to lack of care but due to birds adding seeds to the pot, trampling the plant and mating on top of them.   How ever  we have two tomatoes plants going out of 6 seeds  and  1 plant of  cayenne  chili out 10 seeds.   I hope my lettuce will do better and I might buy strawberry plants for my  balcony  unless  the "wild" strawberry suddenly comes to life.

[Dave W]

Today I discovered the unique satisfaction derived from dumping a 30qt stockpot of boiling water on a patch of field bindweed. You simply must try this on your most hated invasive weeds.

Huiray, black krim is one of my favorite tomato strains and I have a few seedlings of that and some San marzano started this year. I've read that the Cherokee purple is amazing too.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

This afternoon I pulled up the dead lavender.  I plan to repurpose the lavender pots for dwarf okra, whose seeds I shall sow tomorrow, Lord being willing.  I worry that by midsummer the okra may be over shaded by my grapevine, but this is life on a small apartment balcony.  I saw a strawberry but it is not yet ripe.

 

I pruned the blueberry bushes and got one tomato planted in a large cedar tub, but ran short on potting soil and had to order more.  The other two tomato plants (all grafted Rutgers this year) I'm installing in rather high tech self watering Lechuza plastic containers.  I hope I don't regret the expense.  (And as long as I harvest lots of tomatoes I shan't.)

 

The rosemary bush lives indoors in the dining room because there is no space for it outside, and it would not fit through the doorway anyhow.

 

This leaves one largish broken clay pot in a spot under the air conditioner that does not get much sun.  Not sure how I will be using it.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Dave W,

 

Congratulations on your revenge on the bindweed, but as an older female, I'd love to hear the story about how you successfully manhandled 7-1/2 gallons of boiling water. I remember having some trouble with five gallon buckets of cold water for our stock as a kid and eventually grew into quite a strong canoe-paddling young woman, but I'm having a hard time picturing this scenario. I'm just glad you're okay. Are you really Arnold Schwarzenegger masquerading as Dave W on eGullet? 

 

Please indulge me with the story. I imagine I won't be the only one interested. If doable for us mere mortals, this could be an effective and eco-friendly method of weed control. I have copious amounts of poison ivy, for instance. 

[Dave W]

Thanks for the Crepes: sure

 

I used my outdoor turkey fryer/crawfish boil propane burner and a couple aluminum pots I have. I eschewed the 60QT crawfish boil pot as that thing is a bear when it's full of water.

 

I put the burner and the pots up in the garden, and then filled the pots with my hose from the spigot across the yard to minimize carrying. Once boiling, I used my leather gardening gloves to carefully dump it out. on the patches of bindweed. 

 

The smell of cooked vegetation fills the air, it's glorious. Each piece of plant touched by the boiling water died back. I tried to hit the crowns of bindweed and dandelions, and time will tell if that will kill the branches that I didn't hit with the water.

 

I'm not sure if using this size container is that big of a benefit - since the mass of water tends to slosh out, it's hard to be precise or to spread the large amount of water over a large area. 

 

The large pot is super satisfying though. It's like dumping boiling oil from the ramparts. I bet if you could get a hose and a portable induction hotplate and a steel tea kettle out to your weed site, you could cover more ground while being more surgical with your applications in the same amount of time.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Thanks Dave W,

 

I will try this on a much smaller scale. I despise the poison ivy that grows so prolifically in my yard, and this sounds like a good way to kill the roots without creating a permanent biohazard.

 

I'd never thought of this before, but at least in theory, it sounds like a really good idea. Once the water cools, it should have killed the unwanted roots, and pose no hazard at all to more desirable vegetation growing back.

[radtek]

I like the kettle idea. Get real surgical with it without manhandling a heavy pot full of scalding liquid.

[Deryn]

One of the delightful things about this village in Nova Scotia is that no one seems to spray or otherwise kill off the spring dandelion crop - although some ambitious souls do mow once in a while. It is magnificent when in full bloom - every front yard on the street is a lovely yellow for a month or so. And they are edible to boot.