Tangled Branches: Cultivated
happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Herbs and Garlic
I wasn't sure whether this should be posted on the garden blog or the food blog, and so I created a hybrid. I don't grow much in the way of edibles, other than herbs, garlic, tomatoes and chiles. Not enough suitable growing space, unfortunately. But my two rosemary plants have gotten very woody and in need of pruning. I cut them back a bit earlier in the spring, and they could still use more. Ditto for a couple of sage and thyme plants. I now believe it's a mistake to prune them much in the spring - I think they regrow better if I prune them in the summer. And besides, that coincides with grilling season. Yesterday, I planned to rotisserie some chicken wings with sprigs of rosemary between them, but was rained out by our daily thunderstorm. But even so, I ended up pruning a lot more rosemary than I planned, along with some sage and thyme. If you want to read how I cooked with it, go here.
The basil is coming along nicely now - it seems to appreciate all the rain. I have one really amazing cinnamon basil plant this year - the flavor and aroma are just outstanding. But it's the same old story - in the spring rush I didn't bother to label the plants when I put them in the ground, and so now I don't know if the one I like is Mexican Cinnamon Spice from Nichols Garden Nursery or Cinnamon Basil from Stokes. And worse, I seem to end up with a different type of plant every time I order cinnamon basil seed. From what I read at my favorite herb/spice website, I think the one I like must be the Mexican Cinnamon Spice, but if anybody knows a good authoritative source for sorting out all the various basils, I'd love to hear about it. In the meantime I think I should plant some more seeds, and LABEL them CAREFULLY this time.
I haven't planted any garlic for a couple of years, but sometimes they still sprout from forgotten cloves left in the ground. I just used up the last of one such yesterday, along with cinnamon basil and sweet Genovese basil, in a bread salad to serve with the not-grilled chicken wings.
2 Comments:
The best time to prune your rosemary and sage is after blooming will hellp with plant not to get so woody.
Thanks to an anonymous tipster :-) (really!), next year I will prune my rosemaries and sages after they bloom. Thanks again, anon.!
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