Herb Garden Moves To Top Of Wish List

I am finally going to grow an herb garden. It’s not that I don’t already grow herbs, but the herbs I do grow are for ornamental purposes only. I scatter them about the garden for their interesting texture and form and for their delicious fragrance. Though they’re quite edible, I am too lazy to seek them out. The only way I’d ever get around to harvesting herbs is if I plant them at my doorstep.

As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what I am going to do, thanks to a recent article published by the National Garden Bureau, entitled “A Kitchen Garden.”

Centuries ago, according to the article, plants chosen for their culinary and medicinal qualities were frequently grown in gardens just outside the kitchen door. Those were the words that caught me - “just outside the kitchen door.” What could be easier?

The first two requirements for a successful herb garden have been met: plenty of sunshine (the kitchen faces west) and easy accessibility to water (the hose is about two feet away).

But as with all gardening ventures, there seems to be a challenge. The kitchen door doesn’t open onto a bed of soil. Instead it opens onto a 10-by-12-foot wooden porch. This will call for planter boxes. What a perfect place for a stairstep series of boxes or just a planter tall. Whichever design is chosen, the planters will be wide enough for good plant growth, tall for easy harvesting and filled with rich potting soil for good drainage. By using the same construction material as the deck, it should become one of the focal points in the yard.

Once the planters are constructed, they’ll be filled with a few companions for the herbs. A cherry tomato will go next to the house where it will receive the reflected heat. A batch of carrots, a few green onions and a little leaf lettuce will help fill out a quick salad.

Since I love Italian food, the herb selection must include basil, oregano and parsley. And somewhere there will have to be room for a little rosemary, sage and French tarragon.

I just can’t believe how much fun this will be, stepping outside my kitchen and picking a few fresh leaves to throw into the spaghetti sauce. How delicious that sounds.

Because the herbs are right outside the kitchen door, harvesting should be a joy. If the leaves are the only part of the plant being harvested, they should be harvested before the plant sets flowers. If flower buds appear, pinch them off. That way the plant will continue to produce leaves. If seeds are desired, like dill, the flower should mature first. Try to harvest in the morning after the dew has dried and before the hot sun has dried any of the oils in the leaves.

Thoroughly wash and dry the leaves before chopping them. Chopping releases the flavorful oils in the leaves. Herbs that are not eaten fresh can be preserved in several ways ranging from various drying methods to freezing.

The most common method of drying is to loosely tie the stems of the herbs in bundles and hang them upside down in a warm, dry place out of the bright light.

Some people cover them with a paper bag before hanging them. The bag absorbs moisture and keeps the dust off the leaves. Herbs can also be dried in dehydrators and microwaves.

Plants are dry when the leaves crumble in your hand.

Once they are dried, place them in jars with colored glass, which tends to retard loss of oils from exposure to heat and light.

Many herbs, such as chives and parsley can simply be chopped up, put into freezer bags and frozen. I like an idea mentioned in the “Kitchen Garden” article: Place 1-1/2 cups of water for every 2 cups of leaves in a blender. Finely chop them.

Pour them into ice cube trays and freeze them. The cubes can then be stored in plastic freezer bags for future use. It is said they taste just like fresh herbs. I also like to take the flowers of herbs, such as borage, and freeze them in ice cube trays. These decorative cubes are lovely floating in cool summer beverages.

A kitchen garden. What an ingenious idea.