Cool Herbs for Spring Meals

Cool Herbs for Spring Meals

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These herbs may thrive in cooler temperatures, but some seeds, such as those of parsley, can take up to a month to germinate, especially in cold spring soils. Soaking the seeds overnight and covering newly seeded beds with clear plastic help speed germination of direct-sown seeds.

If you start the plants indoors, make sure the plants' growth hasn't been hindered and that the transplants go into the ground when quite small, and take are not to disturb the roots during the planting process.

Most of the herbs can be sown outdoors six to eight weeks before the last frost.

Note: If you have poor soil, applying aged manure or granulated organic fertilizer to the soil during the seedling stage helps get plants off to a healthy start.

Parsley
Two different forms include the familiar curly parsley and the more flavorful flat-leaved Italian version, with leaves like celery and cilantro.
Sow: Direct-sow seeds or set out six- to eight-week-old transplants about a week before the last spring frost, spacing seeds or seedlings 8 to 10 inches apart.
Grow: Tolerates full sun or partial shade.

Cilantro
The emerald leaves have a distinctive flavor that combines parsley, sage, and citrus; and its seed (coriander), which is reminiscent of citrus and spice.
Sow: Direct-sow seeds a week or two before the last spring frost and again in late summer.
Grow: Best in full sun, with some afternoon shade in hotter regions.

Chervil
The leaves resemble parsley in appearance and taste, with delicate overtones of anise.
Sow: Sow seeds directly into the garden about three to four weeks before the last spring frost and again in late summer; thin seedlings to 6 to 9 inches apart.
Grow: Prefers part shade.

Dill
Dill combines well with fish, mild cheeses, and vegetable dishes.
Sow: Best sown directly into the ground four to five weeks before the last spring frost; thin seedlings to 6 to 18 inches apart.
Grow: This aromatic annual thrives in full sun.

Chives
Regular chives have a delicate onion flavor; garlic chives are milder.
Sow: Grow by seeds, transplants, or divisions, with plants spaced 8 to 12 inches apart. Sow seeds in clumps or set out six-week-old transplants about four weeks before the last spring frost; divide existing clumps every two to four years.
Grow: Likes full sun to part shade.

Healing Holiday Herbs

Healing Holiday Herbs
Aside from lending visual and symbolic appeal, many of the holiday herbs historically used to ring in the season have medicinal benefits as well.
By Brigitte Mars

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No matter what holiday tradition you celebrate this winter, chances are you'll incorporate a fir tree, a potted poinsettia, or other significant plants in the festivities. Aside from lending visual and symbolic appeal, many of the holiday herbs historically used to ring in the season have medicinal benefits as well.

Take pine (Pinus species), for instance, which appears in cough syrups. This expectorant and antioxidant helps lung-related complaints such as asthma and respiratory infections. For this reason, Dr. Alfred Vogel, the late Swiss herbalist, used pine syrup in his popular cough formulas. Pine tea added to a bath relieves sore muscles, while pine sap in a salve benefits eczema and psoriasis and draws out splinters.

We can clearly see why gold figured as a valuable gift in the age of the three wise men. But what about frankincense and myrrh? In the Middle East, people burned these resins to help purify the air, especially in public places of worship, where airborne disease presented a particular health threat. Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha), a plant native to the Red Sea region, served as a disinfectant, destroying bacteria and stimulating white blood cell production. Small amounts of the resin, usually used in tincture form, also treat gum infections, candida, impetigo, lung infections, and arthritis. (Use only small amounts of myrrh for brief periods of time, as excessive use may be toxic.) In traditional European and Ayurvedic medicine, the pale-colored resin of frankincense (Boswellia carteri) taken internally helped treat dysentery, fevers, vomiting, and menstrual cramps. Topical applications improve arthritis, athletic injuries, bruises, acne, and tumors.

Mistletoe ( Viscum album in Europe and Phoradendron serotinum in America) appeared as far back as 200 B.C. in the winter celebrations of the Druids, who gathered sprigs of the plant and hung them in their homes for good fortune. Herbalists today use small amounts of the herb to lower blood pressure, promote menstrual flow, and as a diuretic. (Mistletoe, especially the American variety, can be toxic, so use only under an herbalist's supervision, and always keep the plant away from children.) In the anthroposophical medicine of the Austrian philosopher and educator Rudolph Steiner (1861-1925), mistletoe even factors as a cancer treatment in a formula called Iscar that works as an immuno-modulator. Like many holiday herbs, its cultural significance as a winter-celebration plant endures in tandem with its healing benefits.

November/December 1999

Bring Herbs Indoors for Winter

Source: Lighter Footstep

Bringing herbs indoors before the first freeze is a great way to add greenery and freshness to a long, cold winter. It will also jump start next year’s garden.

If you’re up a little before dawn these days, you’ll notice the constellation Orion hanging high in the eastern sky. The winter stars are on their way — and with them, cooler weather. In just a few short weeks, gardeners will wrap up their beds for the season.

But that doesn’t mean you need to give up fresh herbs until spring. There’s nothing quite as pleasant as a little green around the home during the winter months. If you start now, you’ll have a vibrant and useful stock of herbs at hand through the holidays and beyond. They’ll freshen your cooking — and your indoor air — until next planting season.

Use what you have

You can buy new plants, of course. But you’re in great shape if there are already got some herbs in your garden. Mint, parsley, thyme, rosemary, and chives are all good candidates for relocation indoors. Mix a rich batch of potting soil. Equal parts of commercial potting soil, sand, and peat moss should do well.

Taking care not to damage roots, transfer some healthy plants to pots and set them aside in a deeply shaded area such as a porch. You’ll want to allow your herbs a week or to become acclimated to the reduction in heat and sunlight before bringing them indoors part time. After another week or two, your plants will be ready to stay inside for good.

Stay green all winter

Locate your potted herbs where they’ll get plenty of light, but are away from heating ducts and major appliances. Don’t over-water, but remember that indoor environments are substantially dryer than outside.

Take care of your plants well, and they’ll survive for replanting (or propagation) once the weather warms. Reading from the Southern Hemisphere? Bookmark this article and come back again in March or April. And we’ll all swap seasonal places again.

Have you had a great indoor plant experience? Please share your tips in our comment section!