Herbs For A Spaghetti Garden
Tim Henry

Herbs are one of the delightful pleasures of life. They add
flavor to your food, scent to the air and beauty to your
garden. In colonial times, no home was complete without an herb
garden for the lady of the house to use in her kitchen, and it
wasn’t unusual for those herb gardens to be separated by use –
savory herbs, tea herbs, medicinal herbs. That’s a tradition
that’s made a comeback in many modern gardens.

One of the more popular types of kitchen gardens is a spaghetti
garden. Oregano, basil, garlic, bay and parsley are such easy to
grow plants that it’s a pity for anyone to use dried and bottled
herbs if they have a sunny patch of ground or a window-box. A
few square feet of garden space can easily yield all the herbs
that you’ll need for delicious Italian meals. They’re even easy
enough to grow in a sunny window for year round use.

Bay Laurel

Bay leaves add a piquant hint of spice to stews, soups and
especially spaghetti sauce. The bay laurel is a small tree that
grows slowly – about a foot per year – making it eminently
suitable for growing in a container. Unless you live in a mild
climate zone (where the temperatures don’t drop below 25
degrees in the winter), you’ll do best to keep the tree in a
pot and bring it indoors during the winter.

Basil

Basil is an annual, but it seeds itself so easily that I’ve
never had to buy another after planting my first year. There
are many varieties of basil, but all grow fast and require
frequent pinching back to keep them from growing leggy and
tall. To harvest: when the plants have reached about 6-8 inches
tall, you can begin harvesting. Simply use your thumb and
forefinger to pinch off the top 1/3 of the plant, just above a
leaf intersection. Be sure to pinch off any flower buds before
they go to seed. Six to eight plants will provide enough basil
to make pesto for the entire neighborhood.

Garlic

Garlic is possibly the easiest plant in the world to grow.
Simply break apart a clove of garlic (yes, right from the
grocery store!), and plant the cloves about 4 inches apart, 2-4
inches deep in light soil. Water lightly, and watch them grow.
Harvest when tips of leaves turn brown – do NOT let them
flower. To harvest: dig up the bulbs, and use them. In the
interests of keeping a fresh supply going, plant one or two
cloves from each bulb!

Parsley

Parsley is easily the most used herb in the world. It comes in
both flat (Italian) and curly varieties, and complements the
flavor of everything from delicate sauces to hearty stews. It’s
often used as a garnish on plates, or chopped and added to
soups, dressings and salads. It adds vitamins and color, and
subtly brings out the flavor of other ingredients in the meal.
The parsley plant is a biennial, flowering in its second
season. It prefers a little shade on a hot sunny day, and
should be kept well watered to avoid wilting and drying. To
harvest: pinch back woody older stems all the way to the base,
allowing new leaves and branches to grow.

Oregano

A perennial ground cover plant, oregano is a prolific grower
that can send out shoots that grow up to six feet in a single
season. If encouraged with pruning and bunching, oregano can
grow into a small border plant. It prefers light, thin soil and
lots of sun, so keep it on the south side of your garden.
Harvesting can start when the plants reach 4-5 inches. Simply
pinch back as you would basil. The young leaves are the most
flavorful part of the plant, and are actually considerably
stronger dried than fresh. To dry, lay the harvested leaves out
on newspaper or drying screens in the sun until the leaves
crumble easily. Dried oregano will retain its flavor for
months.

About The Author: This article courtesy of
http://www.florists-guide.com


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