Plant herbs for fall feasts
It finally feels like fall is here and although you might not realize it, Thanksgiving is just about five weeks away.
Most people probably are not seriously thinking about stuffing a turkey yet, but it may be a good time to consider a fresh change this holiday season. Instead of cooking with dried herbs, consider cooking with herbs grown in your own backyard.
Where to plant: Herbs are easy to grow and can be added to your garden or yard with minimal effort. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need an herb garden. Herbs can be added to your existing landscape, used as border or as filler plants in sunny, well-drained areas. Also, if you failed to get your fall gardens planted, use part of that space for herbs this fall.
You don’t even need a yard. Herbs can be grown in pots on sunny porches and patios. Just find some large pots and good potting mix and you are good to go.
Sun is your first consideration. A bright area is critical especially for fall herbs because days are getting shorter and sun intensity is less. Herbs need the sun for healthy, rapid growth.
Good drainage also is critical for successful herb growing. If an area puddles when it rains, don’t plant herbs there. Look for a higher ground with better drainage. Also, make sure you invest in additional compost in any outdoor planting areas. That will provide good aeration for rapid root growth as well as improved drainage and some nutrients as well.
Plan your harvest: If you want to grow herbs for use in holiday cooking, you need to plant them now. If you wait too long, you won’t have enough leaf growth to provide enough herbs to season your upcoming meal without picking the whole plant. If you expect to cook a lot, then plant multiples of the herbs you use the most. You also can purchase larger plants that have a larger root system to give your herbs an advantage, especially for slower-growing herbs.
What to plant: Many gardeners don’t know where to begin to figure out which herbs to plant. A good place to start is the label of poultry seasoning. The ingredients include thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, black pepper and nutmeg. The first four ingredients all are easily grown in Coastal Bend gardens. Besides these, other good herb standards for any garden are basil and chives.
Thyme is a standard in every herb garden with over 400 varieties in cultivation. It is a small leafed herb that makes a great ground cover or trailing plant down the side of a pot or over the edge of the flower bed. I have noticed that it sometimes takes a little longer for it to get established and really start growing vigorously. I would plant multiple plants to make sure there is enough for your holiday cooking needs.
Sage is a garden favorite and a must in the kitchen. The traditional garden sage, Salvia officinalis, grows relatively quickly into a nice plant ready for harvest. The large leaves can be harvested for cooking while tender new growth remains intact for future growth. There also are other types of sage you can plant to really spice up your kitchen including golden, tricolor, blue, clary and pineapple sage. All are edible but may have slightly different flavors.
Marjoram is similar to oregano, but has a milder flavor. Either one can be planted in our area, but small leaf size may require additional herb plants if you plan to use a lot in November and December.
Rosemary already may be in your landscape, if so, you are ready to cook. Both upright and standard forms can be used for cooking, as well as the topiaries you see sold as little Christmas trees. Just harvest the leaves to spice up your holiday recipes.
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