Let’s get everyone up to speed, shall we? So last post I had was tracking Hurricane Sandy (well, I guess it was technically Halloween, but I’m pretty sure I actually wrote that one a few weeks ahead of time) and although we lucked out with no damage to our property or surrounding area, we lost power for 7 days, and internet for about 10. Then, it got cold. We had just about wrapped up for the year anyway — as made apparent by my lack of posts. To be fair, too, I was also in Germany for 10 days prior to the hurricane, pretty much leaving most of the month of October unaccounted for, and November was shot with the power outrage, then there was Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc., and then it was full out winter. My husband was awesome enough to clean up our community garden plot without me, too, to close out the season.

A couple things I missed..

• Happy 2013 – this is going to be a fabulous year! Had a rough start but ready for it to turn around.
• Happy 1st Birthday to Herbthis.com!  March 1st 2012 was my first post. At this point last year, we already had a ton of really nice days that made me ready for planting. This year, the cold weather has kept me a bit in hibernation.
• First day of spring equinox 2013… YAY!  We had a decent enough winter this year that I hope will bring the bugs back in check for the upcoming planting season (because seriously, last year was just ridiculous). I’m seriously ready for some nice weather though. Really hope all the snow is behind us now.

At the beginning of the month, I was in Germany again for work, and my hotel had these awesome samples that just kept staring me in the face reminding me of what was ahead (and it was gorgeous weather, too)!  ”Pure Herbs” smelled so good. I took a few bottles home with me!

And finally, for the big reveal… I’m finding out first hand (or belly) just how much fun it is to ‘grow stuff’.. my husband and I are expecting our first child over the summer!  So, that explains why my husband did the clean up himself this fall — I was newly pregnant and utterly exhausted just from existing.

This year, we are still planning on community gardening– we’ll probably go a little simpler with the tried and true veggies, but might be light on the posts and creative thinking at times.  Also, nothing crazy in the yard, just clean up & maintain, maybe a couple minor improvements.

Before the winter break, I did discover the fabulous world of Pinterest where I have an “herbthis.com ideas” board, which I am hoping to be able to test out over the summer — at least the simpler ones!

Alright, now that I have kicked off the planting season for 2013, I should get some of my seedlings started (I”m already behind — I need to get the tomatoes & peppers in THIS WEEK!!!). Unfortunately, that is going to have to wait until tomorrow — time for sleep.

Happy spring & happy planting!

I LOVE chives! I’m actually surprised I went this long without featuring them. Chives seriously spruce up just about any savory dish; adding them to salads is awesome (my favorite is chicken or tuna salad for a little oniony zing), and we can’t forget about chive cream cheese.

I’ve had regular chives since we had the house. These chives actually started out in one of the long containers with fellow perennials thyme and oregano. I pretty much just dumped the entire packet of seeds in the 1/3 section and left it. The next year, the chives came back, but the other two herbs didn’t, so I tried to transplant the chives section into the container shown below, and dumped another packet of seeds around it to fill in.

That seemed OK for last year, and we got a decent amount of chives, but this year, when the chives came back, they were really suffering. I was very much looking forward to some flowers to try in a salad, but we only got two (both kinda dinky), and didn’t really look very appetizing.

I had already decided that I needed more chives, so I started a new container. And then I saw Garlic Chives, and had to try them, too. Both are doing fabulous in their larger containers (the regular chives look a little overwatered, but in general, still pretty healthy).  Garlic chives are a little flatter (more like grass) and the regular chives are definitely like little tubes.

Garlic Chives

Regular Chives

Unfortunately, I’ve discovered that I’m not really a huge fan of eating garlic chives (kinda grassy to me). I haven’t totally given up, maybe there is a recipe out there where they are perfect. I just haven’t found it yet! Oh well, I have plenty of chives now regardless!

Even though I love the smell, I really haven’t tried to make anything with my lemon verbena. Making lemon sorbet is one of the suggested uses on wiki.

It is technically a perennial, but only in warm climates. I’m fully expecting to lose it over the winter, but maybe it will survive if we have another winter like this past one!

Sehr schön.

But does it taste good? Uh, YEAH!  The best thing I’ve had it in is actually just chopped up with a little bit of butter, a lightly sauteed shallot, pearl cous cous, and a little bit of parmesan cheese. DELICIOUS!

Unfortunately, the plant I bought at the beginning of the summer really isn’t doing well in the back porch sun (neither are many of my herbs for that matter — this heat wave is really hurtin’ the gardening folks that can’t water 3x/day). Plus, it keeps starting to flower, which I promptly remove as soon as I catch them, otherwise, it will lose its flavor and become bitter. Apparently, after a quick bit of research, just now, while I’m blogging, I am not USING it enough. It’s safe to cut basil back to the bottom 2 layers of leaves. I guess I will have to try it!

Even though my herbs in the back aren’t doing well, while shopping at my local Shop Rite, I found they actually have Lemon Basil, too! I couldn’t believe it. It was only $2.99, so I just bought another plant, so I wouldn’t be too upset if my plant bites the dust (literally! seriously, back off sunshine would ya?)

I love me some Lemon Basil!

Happy American Independence day!

I can’t blame the Tarragon, it’s my fault. I didn’t do the research. I was watching a cooking show last year, and saw a recipe for Lemon Chicken Soup that called for tarragon. Maybe it was the garlic, maybe it was the lemons, but I HAD to try this soup, and instantly decided I needed to grow my own tarragon (I couldn’t just buy it from the store, like most normal people). I bought some seeds, and the tarragon popped out of the soil, no problem!

Of course, there was actually a problem. One I was not immediately aware of. Once it came out, the tarragon was not as fragrant and delicious smelling as I hoped it would be. I thought, ok, just needs to grow a little bigger. Then, it grew bigger… still not appetizing. Ok, it just needs to have a winter, and come back in the spring and it will be super fresh. Nope! This spring, it’s still kinda ‘eh’ & I finally looked it up to see what the problem was.

Apparently, I have the WRONG tarragon!  The really good tarragon (the kind you are supposed to use in cooking) is French Tarragon, and it’s very hard to get from seeds, and most often “real” tarragon you must get from cuttings or division of existing plants. Although you CAN eat the tarragon that I have (likely, Russian Tarragon), it’s definitely not something that I felt I wanted to do.

Here is my gross Tarragon that doesn’t look so healthy these days anyway. Maybe it feels my resentment.

Now, to get me some real tarragon (probably just from the grocery store this time) so I can finally make that soup, and see if it’s even worth all the effort! If it is, I’ll have to try to find some French Tarragon.

Happy Friday!

Typically the flowers are used for culinary and scenting purposes as the most potent part of the plant, but fresh leaves can also occasionally be used (older leaves / branches are not very potent at all).

I really haven’t tried it in enough foods to decide if I like it to eat or not (I know it can be one of the herbs in a few variations of herbes de provence), but I know I love the aroma. One of my goals is to be able to us it for making homemade soap… someday. For now, I will need to  settle for having some in a bunch on my table in a cute little vase.

It’s really a neat plant, with grayish green leaves, it almost looks like its in the evergreen family (it’s not though). The curry dwarf actually smells like curry. Of course, if you are any type of food connoisseur, you know that real curry is just a mix of different spices, it does not come from a plant. It’s still pretty neat, and it can be used to flavor dishes. However, it is not really recommended for culinary purposes, because although the aroma is strong, the flavor is not, and once any heat is applied, the curry flavor becomes completely non-existent.

This plant also attracts butterflies, and within an hour of putting it outside I did catch one on it (of course, by the time I got my camera, it was gone!). I couldn’t wait to get it planted in the garden to attract more, but then a couple weeks went by before I actually got to it, and now I am having second thoughts. Apparently, those butterflies also like to lay eggs on it, and it was covered (seriously, COVERED) with little black caterpillars, about 1/3 inches big and tents that they hatched in. Super gross. I did not touch it. Then, a couple days later they grew into big caterpillars. Grosser.

As of yesterday, the plant is now caterpillar free, but it looks like they might have done a bit of damage and the leaves are looking a little weak. I’ll see if it recovers, but the curry plant may not be all its cracked up to be! I still might plant it in the ground and hope for the best.

Turns out, the fuzzy leaves are one of the key identifies for Apple Mint. The mint flavor is definitely dominant, but there is an additional subtle sweetness here. I actually originally thought this was spearmint and the spearmint was peppermint, because the additional sweetness was so obvious.

Apple mint seems to be just at hardy as its cousin spearmint — growing right in the middle of the rocks, not getting eaten by animals, and spreading its roots like wildfire. 

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