new herbs
hi everyone! how are you doing? I love cooking and I also love to use fresh herbs to do it. however, I have got only three of them: mint, basil and rosemary..what others would you recommend for me? are they easily available? is it better to grow them from seeds or buy some seedlings?
- applestar
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Doesn't “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme.” Echo in your head as soon as you start thinking about herbs?
Parsley and celery overwinters here, and I always let them grow in their 2nd year and bloom. Beneficial insects love the flowers, and they self seed so I have a patch of tiny babies growing to plant elsewhere or grow in spring. I also harvest the celery seeds for spice. I find dried parsley rather weak and like to always have fresh plant growing in a pot during the winter. Dried celery actually has great aroma.
Most rosemary varieties won’t overwinter. I keep mine in the garage for insurance during the winter, mostly because I have “regular” rosemary which doesn’t tolerate freezing temperatures and ‘Arp’ which is supposed to be winter hardy but sometimes dies anyway.
Greek oregano and Sweet marjoram. Oregano is winter hardy here but marjoram needs to be overwintered indoors. Easily grown from seeds. Thyme, too.
Just grew 2 kinds of sage from seeds this spring to restock since I had been sage-less for several years. Easy.
I also have Chervil which overwinters and selfsows.
I treat garlic chives like weeds — it is so prolific. Same for Japanese parsley (Mitsuba), Japanese green as well as red perilla/Shiso (always get and plant the Asian variety, be it Japanese, Korean, or Chinese, not the native American one which is not culinary).
...do you like herbal teas, too?...
Lemony herbs — lemon balm and lemon verbena. Lemon balm is like mint and will take over. Some are more citronella than lemon. Lemon Verbena has more of the clean lemony scent — it’s not cold hardy here. My lemongrass died this winter — it got too cold/freezing where I put it in the garage, but it’s easy to grow from fresh stalk from the store as long as enough base of the stalk is available and not trimmed to just leaves.
Lavender.
...What about spices? In addition to celeryseed and coriander —
Ginger and turmeric — also grown from storebought. Need to be kept in the house for winter, 50°F or above.
Parsley and celery overwinters here, and I always let them grow in their 2nd year and bloom. Beneficial insects love the flowers, and they self seed so I have a patch of tiny babies growing to plant elsewhere or grow in spring. I also harvest the celery seeds for spice. I find dried parsley rather weak and like to always have fresh plant growing in a pot during the winter. Dried celery actually has great aroma.
Most rosemary varieties won’t overwinter. I keep mine in the garage for insurance during the winter, mostly because I have “regular” rosemary which doesn’t tolerate freezing temperatures and ‘Arp’ which is supposed to be winter hardy but sometimes dies anyway.
Greek oregano and Sweet marjoram. Oregano is winter hardy here but marjoram needs to be overwintered indoors. Easily grown from seeds. Thyme, too.
Just grew 2 kinds of sage from seeds this spring to restock since I had been sage-less for several years. Easy.
I also have Chervil which overwinters and selfsows.
I treat garlic chives like weeds — it is so prolific. Same for Japanese parsley (Mitsuba), Japanese green as well as red perilla/Shiso (always get and plant the Asian variety, be it Japanese, Korean, or Chinese, not the native American one which is not culinary).
...do you like herbal teas, too?...
Lemony herbs — lemon balm and lemon verbena. Lemon balm is like mint and will take over. Some are more citronella than lemon. Lemon Verbena has more of the clean lemony scent — it’s not cold hardy here. My lemongrass died this winter — it got too cold/freezing where I put it in the garage, but it’s easy to grow from fresh stalk from the store as long as enough base of the stalk is available and not trimmed to just leaves.
Lavender.
...What about spices? In addition to celeryseed and coriander —
Ginger and turmeric — also grown from storebought. Need to be kept in the house for winter, 50°F or above.
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- Super Green Thumb
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So what kinds of cuisines do you like to cook, and where are you located? I have over 20 varieties of herbs, and some I simply have to have! Basils - Thai and regular - parsley, and regular chives I grow indoors in the off season, since they are some of the ones I have to have. Curry tree, kaffir lime, and bay leaf are ones that have to be brought indoors when it's cold. Rosemary I usually cover, when it gets to below 20°,but it's still available all winter. Tarragon ia a perennial, which has never been killed in my area. And mint I have planted in a flower bed, surrounded by concrete, so it won't be invasive. You either have to do that, or grow it in a pot, unless you want to be mowing mint!
- rainbowgardener
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Has anybody suggested Monarda didyma yet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarda_didyma It has wonderfully aromatic leaves that make me think of Earl Grey tea and the most beautiful red flowers. I think it's a plant that comes from your side of the Atlantic too. I have mine planted in full sun in a rich soil with plenty of compost. It spreads like mint but is a little more fragile and needs to be renewed perhaps every two years I.e. dig up a bunch that is growing well, renew the soil and replant where you want it to grow.
Herbs are relatively easy to grow and there are so many of them. If you are planning to use them in the kitchen, it would matter what kind of foods you like. Some herbs are annuals and need to be started from seed every year. Parsley is a biennial so it would need to be replaced every other year. Tropical spices would need to be annual or over wintered since they do not tolerate cold.
green onions (scallions) and chives - good for omelettes, ramen, fried rice, and many Asian dishes
thyme, sage, rosemary - bitter herbs good for stews, marinades, roasting
kaffir lime, lemon grass, chili pepper, basil are used in almost every Thai dish. Galangal, culantro, thai or holy basil in some dishes as well.
Turmeric, fenugreek, coriander, ginger, fennel, anise, basil, caper, basil, cumin, laurel, tamarind, peppercorn, cardamom - Indian dishes
Garlic, lemon grass, pimento, ginger, bilimbi, calamandin, peppers, peppercorn, achiote - Filipino dishes (also bagaong and fish sauce)
epazote, peppers, cumin, garlic, coriander,paprika, pepper, mexican oregano, garlic, achiote, culantro, basil, mint, sage , thyme, cacao, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice - Mexican dishes
Asian dishes- basil (thai, tulsi), ginger, galangal, kra chai, garlic , salt (fish sauce, fish paste,), lemon grass, prickly ash, kaffir lime, garlic chives, green onions, star anise, cinnamon, allspice, tapioca/cassava, cardamom, fennel, star anise, Peppers
green onions (scallions) and chives - good for omelettes, ramen, fried rice, and many Asian dishes
thyme, sage, rosemary - bitter herbs good for stews, marinades, roasting
kaffir lime, lemon grass, chili pepper, basil are used in almost every Thai dish. Galangal, culantro, thai or holy basil in some dishes as well.
Turmeric, fenugreek, coriander, ginger, fennel, anise, basil, caper, basil, cumin, laurel, tamarind, peppercorn, cardamom - Indian dishes
Garlic, lemon grass, pimento, ginger, bilimbi, calamandin, peppers, peppercorn, achiote - Filipino dishes (also bagaong and fish sauce)
epazote, peppers, cumin, garlic, coriander,paprika, pepper, mexican oregano, garlic, achiote, culantro, basil, mint, sage , thyme, cacao, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice - Mexican dishes
Asian dishes- basil (thai, tulsi), ginger, galangal, kra chai, garlic , salt (fish sauce, fish paste,), lemon grass, prickly ash, kaffir lime, garlic chives, green onions, star anise, cinnamon, allspice, tapioca/cassava, cardamom, fennel, star anise, Peppers