Herbs [NOT 17/7/21]

I had a chance to get into the yard today and do some maintenance. The kitchen garden was looking a little tired and needed a refresh. The old basil plants came out and were turned into pesto. New basil plants were put in, the mint was potted up, and the remaining plants got shifted around.

We have been using a lot of basil this year, and hoping the new crop lasts into the fall. What is your go to herb or spice? I know @butcherbakertoiletrymaker favorite is cilantro.

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38 Comments

  1. maybe rosemary…  I like it as a plant, for landscaping, in food (especially bread), and the Suzanne Vega song:


    cute little blue flowers and so many bees…

  2. I’m growing basil, thyme, oregano and dill on purpose.  There is some invasive cilantro in some of the beds because cilantro is proof of the existence of Satan.

    I’d say basil is my favorite herb because it is the most versatile.  You can use it in leaf form, fresh or dried, or you can make pesto.  You can use it in Italian and various Asian cuisines.  I have it on good authority that Myo will be making pesto and putting it on his poached salmon.

  3. I love how bright and zippy that fresh parsley is. My parsley came back this year (it’s a biennial I believe) and set off some volunteers in three other spots. Which, oh no, darn, more flat leaf parsley. Oh no, the horror. 

    I also planted lemon balm for some reason this year. I think I thought I would use it to infuse water to drink more water. I should go trim some stalks and toss them in the pitcher in the fridge and see if that works. 

  4. Unrelated, my backyard has ridiculous amounts of mosquitoes and I don’t know what to do about it. Today around 3:30 I was out doing some light yard work and I looked down to cloud of at least 6 swarming around my lower legs. And those are just the ones I saw. I’ve also been a choice steak for mosquitoes, it’s a running joke in my family, but this is excessive even for me!

    There’s no standing water. I put in rainscaping to drain the bottom part even better. I’m at a loss for what I do to prevent them. 

    • It won’t help you this year, but I would recommend getting some DynaTraps for early next Spring, along with some mosquito bait that works with the traps.  We live on a lake and used to have insane numbers of mosquitos, but this year there are none to be seen at our place.  But, we had to start early in the season to break the breeding cycle.

    • fuck mosquitos.
      they are the one group that is making my question my general “extinction is bad” stance.
      Unfortunately, I’m not sure there is much you can do locally to reduce adults – ensuring that standing water is minimized is good for reducing the next batch, but that doesn’t help now…
      I live in dry-ass Oakland, we haven’t had rain in literal months, and I still get a mosquito in my apartment a few times a month/week

      • The other problem I have is given some of the neighbors around me, I don’t doubt that there’s plenty of standing water or very damp areas that they could happily lifecycle through. 

        • given what you’ve mentioned about your area before, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of your neighbors were deliberately maintaining pockets of stagnant water just because someone asked them not to…

    • Eliminate any hostas? 
       
      (Mosquitoes are the primary reason for my burning hatred of hostas in gardens–it’s not that I hate the hostas, it’s the fact that they make such a perfect place for the little bloodsucking to hide & multiply!🤬🤬🤬)

      • I have no hostas nor do any of my neighbors.

        But I have giant mounds of coneflowers and other plants in the rainscaping, so lack of hostas doesn’t mean no place for the bloodsuckers. 

  5. I very rarely use herbs. I grow chives but they come back whether you eat them or not. I add tarragon to my chicken salad, but otherwise find most herbs too….. something. Not sure if I’m too British, genetically, or might actually be a super taster. But they yuck my food up. 

  6. I love basil and rosemary the most. Can’t pick between the two. But I lost my years old rosemary & lavender plants and my oregano & mint plants to this spring’s ice storm & the new seeds didn’t take. ☹️ Also I grow parsley & chives. I put lots of herbs & spices in just about everything I cook.

  7. ever wake up with a random phrase of norwegian in your head?
    i just did
    du som hater gud
    you who hate god
    welp that suits me….maybe if i listen to the song ill feel sleepy again


    okay…maybe thats not how that song works…..guess ill go chase garden slugs then

    • just so you know….slugs are why shoes got invented
      some caveman way back when stepped on one and went O.o
      ICKY!
      and invented shoes right there and then
      then he got mocked by his mates for the rest of his life (which wasnt very long) for always wrapping his feet in leather
      genius is never apreciated when you are alive

  8. One year I grew herbs in those topsy turvy planters on the back porch, that was a good year, the basil loved those planters and it was really convenient to harvest and use them while cooking.
    Lately though I just buy dried herbs from Penzeys. The bay leaves imported from Turkey are amazing.
    Mint is an invasive weed in my garden, at least it smells nice when I run it over in the driveway!

    • Yes! Their Turkish bay leaves blew my mind the first few times I used them. One of the most obvious examples of when paying more for something than whatever the grocery story has is worth it!

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