The Brussels Post, 1979-05-07, Page 3WHITE T-110
LAWN. TRACTOR
NEW 11HP YARD BOSSTM
SMOOTH AND EASY TO HANDLE
HOME & GARDEN IMPROVEMENTIWEEK'OFM0 7,1974- 3
Tasty herb gardens
very easy to grow
Many cooks like to grow their own herbs and spices. Harvesting
and preserving these plants is easy, according to the new Ortho
' book, "The World of Herbs & Spices." With most herbs the
proper time to harvest is when the flowers are almost open and
the oils heavily concentrated. There are a number of ways to
preserve herbs and spices, the classic method being to dry them.
Flavour vinegars yourself
BY BOB HAMERSMA
As food prices increase,
the need to economize our
meals and seasonings be-
comes more apparent. This
need can be met partially be
establishing a vegetable or
herb garden in your backyard ,
Vegetable gardening has
become tremendously popu-
lar in recent years, but herb
gardening has lagged be-
hind. This may be due to the
misconception that these
`exotic' seasoning plants are
Once you've discovered
that herbs and spices can be
used for everything from
tasty seasonings to fragrant
potpourri, you'll want to
keep them on hand. •
Preserving these versatile
plants is easy, according to
the new Ortho book "The
World of Herbs & Spices," if
you know how to harvest,
dry and freeze them.
With most herbs, the
proper time to harvest is
more difficult to grow. This is
unfortunate because growing
,herbs, as a rule, requires no
more than most vegetables.
Generally speaking, herbs
grow best in full sunlight, in
a protected location, on well-
drained, sandy-loam soil,
away from competing plants.
The plot need not be large -
only a few plants are needed
for most home requirements.
High fertility is not neces-
sary. In fact, most herbs
produce more of the essential
when flowers are almost
open and the oils are heavily
concentrated. Harvest time
should be early in the morn-
ing, after dew drops have
disappeared but before hot
sunlight brings out the oils.
The first time around, cut
herbs several inches above
the ground; for the second
major harvest, you may snip
all the way down.
Flowers should be clipped
for drying or fragrances when
toils needed for flavor and
fragrance, on less fertile
soils. If you wish to feritlize,
apply an organic compost,
such as well-rotted manure,
to the soil at planting time.
Also add a superphosphate
fertilizer, at a rate of 0.5 kg
per 10.square meters, mixing
it thoroughly into the top 15
cm of soil.
Once the herb garden is
,growing, it requires only
minimum care. The reason
many herb gardens are not
as successful as they might
they have just opened and are
still fresh. Seed heads should
be cut once they have taken
on color but before they have
opened and seeds are scatter-
ing. Pick a warm, dry day,
cut off the entire heads or,.
stems, and put them in a
paper bag.
Cut herbs should be taken
out of the sunlight im-
mediately. after harvesting,
separated, and rinsed clean.
Then drain them and remove
bad leaves or petals.
Preserving the herbs
you've so 'carefully har-
vested is the next step, and
the classic way to save most
leaves, seeds, and flowers is
by drying them. To quick-dry
herbs, spread them on a
cheese-cloth covered rack
and bake them in your oven
at its lowest temperature,
leaving the oven door open.
To keep flowers and
foliage colorful, bury them in
a drying medium like borax
powder or fine-grained
builders' sand, according to
directions in the Ortho book.
Tender herbs like 'basil,
fennel, dill and parsley can
also be preserved by freezing
the leaves or salt curing—
packing them down in salt.
Simply remove the leaves
from their stems and place
them in a container between
layers of salt filled to the top.
Store in a cool dark place.
be, may be because they
have been treated too well.
Once planted, herbs require
no fertilizer, very little water,
no spraying, and only an
occasional weeding, To over-
winter hardy perennial herbs
mulch with straw to protect
the roots. Some tender
perennials, such as Rose-
mary, will not survive the
winter"outside. These plants
should be dug up in the fall,
plotted and grown inside in a
sunny window for the winter.
The leaves and seeds of
most herbs contain the flav-
oring oils. Example of 'leaf'
herbs include mint, parsley,
savory, marjoram, basil,
thyme and roemary. 'Seed'
herbs include anise, dill,
caraway. coriander, and
fennel. Harvest leafy herbs
just before, or as the flower
buds open. Collect seed
herbs when the seeds are
just ripe.
After harvesting, herbs
should be properly dried, to
concentrate and preserve the
flavoring oils. Seeds can be
dried in almost any warm,
dry place. Dry the leaves by
hanging bunches of the cut
stalks, upside down, in a
warm, dry, well-ventilated,
preferably dark room. When
leaves are dry and crisp, they
can be finely ground through
a wire mesh, packed in dark
glass containers or air-tight
tin cans, and stored in a dry
place, away from direct light..
Growing your own herbs is
a very satisfying way of
reducing food costs, and
adding extra flavor to your
meals.
One pleasureable thing
you can do with herbs and
spices is create your own pri-
vate collection of flavored
vinegars.
Colorful and varied vin-
egars in interesting bbttles
are a visual asset to kitchen
shelves as well as tasty addi-
tions to salads and other,
dishes. Pretty bottles with a
sprig of herb immersed in the
vinegar make welcome gifts.
The flavoring procedure is
simple', according to Ortho's
new book "The World of
Herbs & Spices."
Just add four ounces fresh
herb or spice, or two ounces
of dried, to each quart of cold
vinegar. Lea-Ve it for five or
six weeks to develop flavor.
Then strain the vinegar into
clean bottles, or leave fresh
herb twigs in for show.
You can use any .store
bought vinegar—white,
wine, cider or malt. White
vinegar will let the flavor of
.the herb or spice shine
through. Other vinegars ^dd
their own characteristics to
the end product.
If you want flavored vin-
egar in a hurry, bring the vin-
. egar and spices to a boil and
simmer for 20 minutes. Pour
into bottles and cap. It's
ready to use.
Growing tomatoes in containers is an excellent idea if you have
proper sunlight. The accepted minimum requirement of sun-
light for tomato plants is eight hours.
Harvest and preserve
your own herbs and spices
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