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I haven't tried this recipe but it came from a reliable preserving book
which I have used and like.
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2.10 Feverfew
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2.10.1 Growing feverfew - it does not seem to repel bees.
----- on rec.gardens June 1995:
>I bought a feverfew plant today with high hopes of introducing it to
my herb garden. Now I have read (of course I couldn't research
before making my purchase) that bees can't stand the smell of
feverfew and won't come near a garden with feverfew in it!
From: James Michael Kocher <jk1n+@andrew.cmu.edu>
I watched with delight last evening as the bees visited the heavy
blossoms of my foxglove, which are growing right next to feverfew.
I have never noticed a lack of bees, and feverfew grows all over my
garden.
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2.11 Tarragon
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2.11.1 Growing tarragon
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From: southsky@maui.net (Rick Giese)
... can't grow tarragon in East Texas...
Texas in summer is probably too hot for French Tarragon. You might
experiment with a fall planting. French Tarragon is the preferred
type for cooking, and will not grow from seed.
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2.11.3 Using / preserving tarragon
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From: mrooney@mrooney.pn.com (Michael Rooney)
Tarragon pesto with pecans is a pretty good way to save it.
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2.11.4 Which tarragon do you have?
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From: HeK Hetta.pp.fi
There are 2 kinds of true tarragon: Artemisia dracunculus var.sativa
(French tarragon) and Artemisia dracunculus var.inodora (Russian
tarragon). The French tarragon cannot be grown from seed, it's taste
is finer but it isn't frosthardy. The Russian tarragon can be grown
from seed, it's taste isn't so good but it will survive outdoors in
Finland.
Then there are the Mexican mint marigold and things like that. Anyone
know the latin names?
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2.12 Nasturtiums
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2.12.3 Using / preserving nasturtiums
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>...toss in a few nasturtium pods for false capers.
So are these before the bloom -- the buds? Or after the bloom -- seed
pods? Do you preserve them?
From: baker.325@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (gwen baker)
Nasturtium leaf is wonderful in salad. Slightly bitter but refreshing.
I don't think it preserves very well and should only be used fresh.
If they get aphids - usually after midsummer in zone 5 - simply spray
with a dilute soap. Any kind will work. Then rinse the leaves well
before use.
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2.13 Dill
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2.13.1 Growing dill
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From: kenneth@dicom.se (Kenneth Nilsson)
Here in Sweden dill is the most common herb and there are always
discussions on why it is so difficult to grow. It always (?) dies
when about 3" high and the 'story' here has it that dill is very
susceptible to a root fungus. - By the way, you say "transplanted"
dill into your garden. Does that mean you sow it indoors and plant it
out? - The only solution for ME has been to sow/spread out the seeds
from the mature dill flowers in fall. I take some mature stalks of
dill and walk around the garden shaking them and I have beautiful
dill BUT all over the garden. They just won't grow where I want them
to - in nice rows - THERE! It seems as if the seeds that end up in
non-infected soil thrive whereas the others simply don't make it. If
you don't find that untidy, it's worth a try. I guess you can spread
the seeds in early spring too.
From: mrooney@mrooney.pn.com (Michael Rooney)
First, there are many different dill. The best approach I have found
is to find a dill that that survives the winter wherever you are.
Then, it is one tuned to the environment and will grow better. It
will also self seed, both where you want it :-) and where you don't
:-( or :-) depending. It is perfectly acceptable to seed them very
close together.
It is also a good idea to succession plant dill if you want a
continuous supply of it all growing season long.
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2.13.2 Harvesting dill
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From: Anahita@aol.com (Susan D. Hill):
Dill can be harvested for leaves any time during the growing season. If
you're growing for seeds, wait until the flowers die off and the
seeds are set, then tie little socks around the seed heads. You can
use nylon net, cheesecloth or even old stockings. Any fabric that is
porous. Be sure to tie them on loosely so as not to damage the stem.
Once the seeds are dry, just cut off the stalk and take it inside.
From: mrooney@mrooney.pn.com (Michael Rooney)
To harvest, assuming they are planted very close together, cut the
plants off at their base that are the biggest. Then, let the
remaining plants, which will be more properly spaced, grow larger
until they are crowding themselves and pick them. Then repeat the
process until they are all properly spaced and then pick the fronds
as quickly as they reach their size because they are preparing to go
to seed by then. I pick every frond while the plants are going to
seed and it does not seem to affect the seed production at all and I
get more dill fronds that way :-).
To harvest the seeds, take a pair of panty hose past the wearing stage
and cut them off mid-thigh or mid-calf depending on your preference.
Put the seed head, when it is still green, into the foot of the panty
hose and the leg over the stem. Tie a twist tie around the panty
hose on the stem and wait until the seeds are fully developed and
quite dry. Then cut off the stem below the twist tie, bring it into
the house or somewhere else out of the wind and put it over a big
piece of paper. The seed will pretty much fall off the head as it is
dry enough. Don't forget to shake the seed out of the panty hose leg
too :-).
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2.13.3 Using / preserving dill
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From: jrogow@ridgecrest.ca.us (Judith Rogow)
I always cut some heads with ~almost~ mature seeds to add to my garlic
dill half-sour jars. Adds extra flavour, and looks so pretty against
one side of the jar.
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2.14 Rosemary
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2.14.1 Growing Rosemary
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From: jrogow@owens.ridgecrest.ca.us (Judith Rogow)
This is an herb you can literally kill with kindness! Rosemary will
die if you fertilize her, or water her too much, or plant her in too-
rich earth. Benign neglect will result in big healthy plants. There
are two basic types of Rosemary, the trailing or protstrate type, and
a bush type that will, in time, become large enought to be considered
a shrub. These plants have been used in England in mazes, and in the
USA as landscape plantings. Prostrate Rosemary is an excellent
ground cover.
Rosemary comes in various shades of blue-lavendar, and there is a
pink version that is a magnet for bees (as is the blue). The leaves
are like miniature pine needles, in a lovely blue-green colour.
Rosmarinus, the herb's Latin name, means "sea spray", and the plant
grows especially well near the ocean.
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2.14.2 Harvesting Rosemary
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From: jrogow@ridgecrest.ca.us (Judith Rogow):
I cut my rosemary back all summer and dry it hung in a closet. This
perfumes my hanging clothing, and keeps it from sunburn.
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2.14.3 Using / Preserving Rosemary
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From: jrogow@ridgecrest.ca.us (Judith Rogow):
I use it for poultry stuffing, and as a tea to soothe stress. Also,
the tea is a wonderful hair rinse for red heads and brunettes. I
also use the tea in a bath when I ache all over from too much
gardening.
Rosemary may be dried by hanging sprigs in a warm place, then stripping
the leaves and keeping them in a jar or plastic bag. Uses of this
versitile herb include teas (infusions of the leaves) that make
soothing tisanes, enhancing hair rinses, and lovely fragrant soaking
baths.
Leaves are used in cooking and for scented oils, the flowers are often
added to a bride's headdress to insure fidelity.
Rosemary is considered an excellent tonic for headaches, and stomaches.
It is also a traditional memory sharpener. Shakespeare said in
Hamlet . . . "There's Rosemary, that's for rememberance." Mourners
in many countries drop sprays of Rosemary in the coffin of a loved
one as a pledge not to forget the person.
Rosemary recipes
From: jrogow@owens.ridgecrest.ca.us (Judith Rogow)
1) A decoction for the bath
Steep several handsfull of Rosemary (fresh or dried) in water for an
hour at simmer. Cool and bottle. Add to bath for soothing and
scent.
2) Rosemary Water
4 TBS Rosemary Flowers
1 Nutmeg, grated
2 TBS Cinnamon, grated
1 QT alcohol spirit (Vodka works well)
Pour liquid over herbs in a clean jar - stand in warm dark place for
two weeks. Strain through cheesecloth or paper coffee strainer.
Use as you would witch hazel, to soothe aches.
3) Rosemary Wine
1 bottle of white wine
1 handfull fresh rosemary (or 2 TBS dried)
2 TBS dried Borage leaves
Steep herbs in wine a week or more, strain as in #2. This is an
excellent nerve tonic.
4) Insect repellant candle
Crumble dried Sage and Rosemary leaves, mix with melted wax, form
into candle (an easy way to do this if you don't have candle molds
is to put a votive candle in a bowl, pour warm herb-wax in the bowl
a bit at a time, and let harden) and use to keep bugs away.
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2.15 Lavender
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This one is on the wishlist. Would you like to contribute? ;)
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2.16 Lemon balm
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2.16.3 Using / Preserving Lemon balm
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From: doliver@minerva.polaristel.net, Northwind Farm Publications
Someone asked about lemon balm tea: should it be used fresh or dried,
etc. We are great lovers of lemon balm tea. We grow a patch of it,
harvesting the leaves all summer for fresh tea. In the fall, we
gather the crop and air-dry it for winter. The flavor is different
depending on whether it is fresh or dried; I prefer the fresh, but
dried is fine. Bruising the leaves before brewing the tea definitely
intensifies the flavor.
To prepare the tea, just steep the leaves in boiling water for a few
minutes. Personal taste will determine the amount to use (don't
skimp) and the brewing time. Try adding some of your other favorite
tea ingredients for a little variety. Chamomile and hops make a
soothing (maybe sedative or soporific for those sensitive to these
ingredients) combination with the lemon balm.
I have never heard of any toxic effects or contraindications to the use
of lemon balm. From personal experience, I'd say it's perfectly
harmless.
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2.17 Garlic
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This one is on the wishlist, too. Contributions welcome.
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2.18 Thyme
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2.18.1 Growing thyme
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From: skifast123@aol.com (SkiFast123)
Transplanting thyme: a suggestion made by Adelma Grenier Simmons (of
Caprilands, CT fame) in one of her many herb pamphlets is to bury
one-half of the plant along with the roots in the soil. In other
words, you will only, after transplanting, be able to see 1/2 of the
plant that you had formerly. The other 1/2 will be underground.
Since thyme is tricky to transplant bc its roots are so fine and in
my experience, easy to sever from the main plant, this method has
worked with good results for me.
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3 Gardening
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3.4 Herbs for shade
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From: eberts@donald.uoregon.edu (sonny hays-eberts)
sweet cicely and woodruff are two i've had good luck with, in heavy
shade. most culinary herbs prefer full sun. those that are shade
tolerant, as a general rule, are not as heavy on flavor.
From: mrooney@mrooney.pn.com (Michael Rooney)
Many of the broader leaf herbs will grow in the shade, especially the
ones that tend to bolt. A good example of this is cilantro or
parsley.
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4 Processing herbs
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4.1 Vinegars
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Please check at least 2.4.3 / Chive Vinegar, 4.6.3 / Rose Vinegar, and
2.9.3 / Mint Vinegar.
From: mrooney@mrooney.pn.com (Michael Rooney)
Basically, if you like it as an herb, put a good sized sprig of it in
some white vinegar and wait a couple of months and try it. This
works with sage (don't leave it too long), oregano, tarragon, thyme
(may have to leave it longer) and chives that I can think of.
Rose petal vinegar
From: Baker.325@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Gwen Baker):
1 c rose petals
3 whole cloves
2 c white wine vinegar
Trim away white part of rose petals. Wash and drain thoroughly.
Slightly bruise petals and place with cloves in a wide mouth canning
jar. Place vinegar in a medium saucepan bring to a boil. Pour
vinegar over petals, cover at once with metal lids, and screw bands
tight. Let stand at room temp for 1 week. Strain vinegar into
decorative jars, discarding rose petals. Seal jars with a cork or
other airtight lid. Makes 2 cups.
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4.2 Herb oil
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From: edbw@unixg.ubc.ca (Edgar Wickberg)
All homemade herb or vegetable flavoured oils have doubtful safety if
they are not refrigerated immediately and kept in the refrigerator.
The reason for concern is botulism. Clostridium botulinum, the
organism that makes the deadly poison that results in botulism, grows
in airfree environments. It is only when it grows that it produces
the toxin. Putting anything up in oil produces a really great
airfree ( oxygen free) environment and therfore the risk of toxin
production. Clostridium botulinum is a very common organism in all
of our environments, but the orgamism itself isn't dangerous to us.
It requires, besides the airfree environment, a low acid one and
temperatures above fridge temps. This is probably more than you ever
wanted to hear about why not to make garlic flavoured oil. Why not
dry most of your garlic so it will last and make just a little oil
and keep it in the fridge. To make the kind that you store in the
fridge, just heat a small quanitity of oil ( of your choice), put a
few peeled cloves of garlic in a small bottle, pour the hot oil over,
cool for half an hour, cover and refrigerate.
-----
From: baker.325@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (gwen baker)
Take the cleaned herbs and place into a jar (a mason jar will do).
Heat the oil to just warm (too hot and you will cook the herbs
instead of extracting the taste), pour the warm oil over the herbs
and let set. Check every 3 days to once a week, straining and
adding additional herbs until the desired flavor is reached.
HeK comment to above: keep in refrigerator until desired flavor is
reached and thereafter.
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4.3 Drying your herbs
-----
From: aks3@cornell.edu (Amy Smith):
You don't need anything terribly high tech to dry herbs...
For leaves you can use old window screens in a DRY DARK place (like the
attic). If you are growing seedlings, place the screens on the top of
the fluorescent lights.
For roots you might want to use the oven on low. Chopping the roots
first helps. Food hydrators are better for roots.
Flowers are like leaves but you MUST be careful about keeping it dark.
(the sun leeches the nutrients out of herbs and they disintegrate
too.)
You can also hang bunches of leaves on string in a dark place outside
(if you are in a fairly low humid climate) Or put flowers or leaves
in paper sacks and hang them to dry (shake them or stir them
periodically so they don't stick together inside the sack.)
From: ?:
Never store herbs in completely airtight containers unless you have
access to a dessicant (like you get in pill bottles) to store with
them since you will never perfectly dry them and therefore they need
to breath.
From: jrogow@ridgecrest.ca.us (Judith Rogow), in response to above:
An old remedy - tie a few grains of rice in a bit of cheese cloth and
add it to the bottle if you must keep it tightly closed.