If the gardening bug has bit you during the novel coronavirus pandemic and you’ve loved growing fresh herbs in a garden or planter box, the end of summer when everything starts to wilt and dry may feel like the end of that experience, but it doesn’t have to be.
Now is still a great time to plant new herbs, even amid the heat. And then there are cool season herbs that are perfect for planting in November and beyond.
And you’re not just stuck with the standard green basil, Italian oregano or thyme.
What to grow now
Some herbs love heat and humidity, which means you should keep them growing mainly in the spring and summer, said Carrie-Anne Parker, owner of nursery stock grower Rolling Hills Herbs and Heirloom Annuals in Redlands.
One of those is basil, but you can plant basil from seeds and get more than one harvest over the warmer months, Parker said.
She said that basil that you sow in March or April might be getting tired at this point: their stalks are getting woody and they’re starting to make flowers, but it’s still warm enough through the fall that you can plant another crop now.
“It’s going to germinate so quickly because the soil temperature is perfect,” she said.
There are many different varieties of basil. In addition to the more traditionally known green Genovese basil that’s standard at plant nurseries, there’s Thai basil, Persian basil, lemon basil, cinnamon basil and even a “lettuce leaf” variety with big crinkled leaves.
Parker said there are also basils that are not for culinary uses, but work great in teas such as the “holy basil” varieties Kapoor and Krishna.
Basils also come in different colors. You might consider a basil that’s bright purple, speckled with purple dots or variegated with white stripes to add a pop of color in your garden.
Leah Beattie, a manager at Laguna Hills Nursery in Santa Ana, said that some popular summertime plants that her nursery offers are alternatives to cilantro, including Bolivian cilantro and Vietnamese coriander. These plants grow better during the hot summer months than cilantro does. Neither plant is related to cilantro, but they’re similar in taste profiles.
Beattie said the Vietnamese coriander is the most similar to actual cilantro. She said the Bolivian cilantro has a much stronger flavor that will remind you in part of cilantro, but also of arugula and rue.
Beattie said there are some important considerations that herb growers need to keep in mind for this hottest part of the season.
“Watering is the most important thing,” she said, adding that plants need to be watered well and often.
Beattie said that for herbs in containers and even in the ground, it’s not a bad idea to put some mulch around them to help seal in moisture.
She said trimming potted herb plants to a smaller size is another trick to keep them from drying as quickly in the heat.
Plan ahead for the fall
Start thinking about your fall herb garden now.
Parker that the plants that are often springtime plants in other parts of the country are fall plants here in Southern California because our weather is warm year-round and we hardly ever freeze.
“Our climate will be more spring-like in the fall,” Parker said.
That cilantro that doesn’t do so hot in July or August and makes flowers right away? There’s a reason for that: It needs it to be cooler.
“Cilantro will thrive in November all the way through March of next year, maybe into April or May,” Parker said. She recommended planting in November to give the plants the optimal root establishment and growth through the start of spring.
Aside from cilantro, there are more unique herbs that are optimal for those cooler months, including chervil and unusual varieties of thyme.
Chervil, common in French cooking, is lacy and similar in shape to a parsley. It has an anise-like characteristic that imparts a slight hint of black licorice, Parker said.
“It’s amazing in peas or eggs; the lighter dishes,” she said. “It gives a wonderful green note and a really nice flavor.”
Thyme is also a cooler season herb and there are many variants. In addition to the traditional variety, other options include lemon thyme and spicy orange thyme, the latter of which Parker said has a citrus note that makes it perfect for dishes such as braised carrots.
Parker said that mint, a perennial herb that comes in many different varieties, can be grown year-round but it’s best to plant it in the fall to let it get established. However, she warns that it’s pretty hard to remove mint from your garden once you plant it because it propagates from even tiny root hairs underground.
Where to find unique herbs
If you’re looking for some of the different herbs that are good choices for this season or the fall, local nurseries will often have unique additions to their regular stock of more common herbs.
You can also find seeds for many of the herbs from seed companies that offer less common varieties, including Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Kitazawa Seed Company, Renee’s Garden and Burpee.
Keep up the momentum
Parker said the important thing is to remember that if you’ve gotten through summer, you’ve already gotten through Southern California’s hardest growing season and as the next few months, Mother Nature will cool down and water for you, and the selection of plants that you can actually grow will be greater.
“If you’ve been bitten by the gardening bug, don’t think you need to stop,” she said. “Know it’s going to get easier.”
The Link LonkAugust 31, 2020 at 10:08PM
https://ift.tt/3lzz6xV
How to spice up your garden with unique herb varieties - OCRegister
https://ift.tt/3eCf9lu
Herb
No comments:
Post a Comment