What herbs will you plant this year?
As the signs of summer tempt my gardening mindset, I love to go out to my herb garden to find out which herbs survived the winter.
A couple weeks ago, I did just this. I cleaned out my herb garden, and I was happy to see that oregano, thyme, lovage, mint and surprisingly rosemary survived. Rosemary is a tender perennial, so unless you overwinter it, it doesn’t usually survive our winter outdoors. Overwintering for rosemary usually involves putting the herb in a container and placing it in a cool area, such as a garage, which protects the plant from freezing.
Lovage was another survivor this year. It is a new-to-me herb that I decided to try last year. This spring, I’ve been using lovage a lot, and I’m wondering why it’s not a more popular herb because it tastes great in soups, potatoes and pasta.
Now that I have the inventory done, it’s time to decide which herbs I need to purchase and plant this year. I made a list of the annuals I need and a couple of new ones to try. Each year, I always buy basil and parsley plants. Basil is considered an annual in Ohio and parsley is a biennial, which means it grows leaves its first year and halfway through the summer it sets flowers and seeds. I also like to have dill and cilantro, so I plant seeds for these herbs.
Dill does not transplant easily, so plan for it to stay where you plant it. Cilantro likes cool weather, so it should be planted early as it will bolt in hot weather. This negatively affects the flavor. Seeds can be started again around Aug. 1 for a fall crop.
So why grow herbs? I grow herbs to use fresh in cooking. I then freeze or dry herbs to use in the winter. Some people grow herbs because they are good pollinators when the herbs are not pinched off and allowed to flower.
But, know that herbs such as basil need pinched if you plan to use it, as flowering leads to bitter flavors. Also, herbs can be used to make flavored vinegar for even more pizzazz in your cooking.
If you haven’t planted herbs, consider it a great thing to try this year. Herbs don’t take up a lot of room to grow. They can be planted in the ground or in pots. There is nothing better than to pinch off your own herbs for the next dish you plan to make.
To learn more about each herb with detailed pictures of each one, go to http://go.osu.edu/whichherb.
Check out this great video from OSU Extension about growing and using your own herbs http://go.osu.edu/growanduse.