07/21/2000

Hints for Herb Gardening

Bobbie Searles, upstate New Yorker and cook of local renown, grows most of the ingredients for her gourmet delights, including the herbs. If you have a green thumb and love to cook, here are Bobbie's instructions for starting an herb garden. Bon Appetit!

"Vegetable gardeners, chefs or anyone who enjoys good food, can enjoy growing and using herbs. You might grow a few kitchen herbs like chives and parsley in small containers in the dooryard or use companion planting in the vegetable garden [planting garlic near roses to repel beetles]. Keep an aloe plant for skin care, mild burns or insect bites. Grow mint varieties for tea, or lavender, for its fragrance. Herbs are the most USEFUL of all plants, whether culinary [used in cooking, sauces, salads], or aromatic [the old fashioned fragrant garden, for sachets, etc.], or medicinal [chamomile as a digestive aid; pennyroyal to repel fleas].

"Their history and lore offer a treasure of information and tell a fascinating story as old as gardening itself. Your herb garden may be as simple or as elaborate as you choose to make it. [You don't need an English "knot" garden with manicured hedges to grow herbs.]

"Soil conditions for herbs are not demanding, as long as soil is well drained and has sunlight for most of the day. [A rare few herbs, such as sweet woodruff, do well in shade.] Select a location close by the kitchen door, for practical reasons, if you grow culinary herbs, such as basil, oregano, dill, savory, tarragon, or thyme.

"Begin by listing the kinds of herbs you enjoy in your cooking or sauces or tea. [Nothing compares with the fresh taste of parsley in winter you harvested and kept by drying in the microwave.] Or consider even a few herbs for dying fabric, or use for medicinal purposes [cranberry, tansy], or grow merely for their fragrance-- lemon balm, southernwood, and scented geranium.

"You may wish to start small, then expand later. A space 10 by 10 feet is enough for a large herb garden; 6 square feet, or even a simple border row is adequate for a small number of herbs; even a few pots provide for kitchen herbs.

"Consider other variables, such as, which are annuals; which self-sow, like dill; and which are perennials, like mint and thyme varieties. Mint tends to spread, so should be potted to control roots.

"You may also want variety of size, or shape: taller herbs like ferns and lovage might be best planted behind smaller ones like mints and parsley. Even color scheme may be important, so consult an herb book with photos.

"Finally, be aware that some herbs begin best indoors, in a windowbox or greenhouse or peat pots [parsley, dill], and that some should be kept away from certain vegetables in your vegetable garden [keep dill away from carrots, fennel away from beans].

"Whether you want to create an elegant design, or a simple informal "cottage garden", draw up a plan first, which may include raised beds separated by paths of old brick, or mulch [cocoa is the best], or low hedge borders, or a pie shape, in which the "slices" are each a different herb planting.

"Even an informal garden is not entirely random. Often, an ornamental birdbath, or sundial, or unique garden sign, or stone, or figure, or even a small bench adds a focal point.

"Herb gardening satisfies in many ways-- taste, fragrance, color, but not least of which, it is food for the psyche, balms for the skin as well as the soul."

Web sites

Herb Gardening

Herbs for the Garden

Books

• The New Age Herbalist, by Richard Mabey, Simon & Schuster, NY;

• Park's Success with Herbs, by Foster and Louden [Park Seed Co., Greenwood, S.C.]

• Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs, Rodale Staff, Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA.

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.