Can We Talk 2

Anticipating The Herb Garden

         My herb garden is in pots on the back porch. I can't wait to get started again. I love cooking with fresh herbs. In fact, I like just playing with the fragrant plants so that I can smell them or smell my hands when I go back inside.

         CHIVES: I discovered by accident that these come back on their own. In fact, they were more prolific in the second year. They have already started springing up in their pots, the new green shoots with the old dead plants I pruned back. I had to baby them. Every day in the summer they had to be watered because they get the sun all day long. I had to cut or pull out the dead pieces regularly, making room for new pieces. I grew more than I could use. I tried giving them away, but most people don't know how to make use of fresh herbs. They're accustomed to the dried version. So I froze them, not wanting to waste them. Well, the season was much longer than I expected, so I didn't need them. I'll have to toss what is left, once the new crop is in.

         Chives have a beautiful purple flower, a round ball that reminds you of dandelions, only not so delicate. You can eat the blossom. My cousin and I tried. They taste like strong onions, but have a very big bite. Your mouth will burn. Perfect for Mexican food. You should not cook chives. Use them as garnish on prepared dishes.

         SAGE: Good for poultry, sausage, stuffing, and vegetables. These, too, grow back on their own. In fact, they don't die off like chives. I've had fresh sage all winter. Snow and ice do not kill them. So, I'm still learning about this one.

         DILL: It's easy to grow. You can mix it in almost anything. All parts of the plant are usable. If you know how to preserve the seeds, you wouldn't have to buy more. I'm not good at that. They grow very tall and need a deep pot for roots. They die off in early autumn.

         BASIL: Also easy to grow. It also dies in early autumn. Mine have never gotten very big, probably due to small pots. But in the store, the fresh leaves are huge. So, I plan to use a new pot for them this year. I could store these, since I bought some for a recipe, and put the leftovers in the freezer.

          ROSEMARY: We haven't had much success growing this, although it's supposed to be easy. But this is great used on any meat dishes. I've added it to vegetables and casseroles.

         PARSLEY: I've failed at growing much parsley. But it's on my wish list, as well as cilantro.

         I have grown mint when I lived at another place. It's prolific and takes over like a weed if you put it in the ground. I don't like mint, and I don't cook with it.

         So that's my plan. I'll be babying them every day and enjoying their perfumes.