Seed starting...

 

Spring arrives in the greenhouse...

The Chard has reseeded itself and is flourishing along with the Italian Parsley.  The Chard is a tasty substitute for spinach in omelets. A hand-full of parsley added to a prepared tomato sauce gives the sauce a lift. 

The tomato plants will be ready to transplant when the ambient temperature rises with a. nighttime low of at least 55 degrees. We are not there yet.

Seed starting is more successful when the best medium is used. This year we are using Coast of Maine Seed Starter in starter equipment from  Johnny's Selected Seeds. These inserts were purchased last year and are proving will worth the expense. They wash easily, hold up very well and the plants are easier to extract the seedlings from then the ones made of lighter weight plastic.

For more inspiration: Rodale - Look to the 40's

Links open in other websites

 

Lovage (Levisticum officinale) . . .

One of the lovage plants will find a new home thanks to a customer visiting the North Shore from Florida!

Lovage is a lofty perennial aromatic plant belonging to the Apiaceae family. Also in the same family are angelica, anise, caraway, carrot, celery, chervil, coriander/cilantro, cumin, dill, fennel, Queen Anne's Lace, parsley and parsnip.

This perennial herb has green leaves and greenish yellow flowers. All parts of the plant are highly perfumed. Its scent and flavor is similar to celery. The tall stems have long, flattish leaf stalks that are eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable. Leaves of lovage are commonly used for adding flavor and zing, particularly in soups

In May I added lovage and Egyptian onion to a lamb stew to improve its flavor. The cilantro family made itself known.

What to do with a pound of very fresh haddock fillets? . . .

First I checked the Internet - no recipes I liked there.

So I grabbed a basket, a pair of scissors and headed to the greenhouse - hand full of chard, 4 large stems of oregano, one large stem of parsley. That's a start. Next back to the kitchen - 3 large white stuffing mushrooms, 3 strips of bacon, half a roll of Ritz crackers made into crumbs, 1 cup leftover brown rice. I'm ready.

Cook bacon in fry pan until very crispy. While the bacon is cooking, finely chop onion, slice mushrooms, remove the oregano leaves from stems.

Preheat the oven - 450.

Remove the cooked bacon from fry pan and crumble. Add onion and mushrooms to bacon fat and cook until soft. While the veggies are cooking melt 1/2 T butter in oven proof dish. Spread cooked rice on the bottom of the dish. Cut haddock in 2' pieces. Add half the fish on the rice. Add half the crumbled bacon. Cut the chard in thin strips over the rice. Toss on oregano leaves. Add the rest of the fish and bacon. Sprinkle crumbs until all the ingredients are covered. Add very thin slices of butter over most of the crumbs. Decorate the plates with the parsley.

Bake for 5 minutes at 450. Reduce oven to 350 and cook until fish is done. 15 - 20 minutes.

Serve immediately. On the table in less than an hour. Will feed 3-4. Clean up, cutting board & knife, one fry pan & spatula, one serving dish & one serving spoon.

From the garden again tonight . . .

So many wonderful flavors available in the garden!

Garden Bruschetta

Recipe for one serving. Specific varieties are what we have here at the herb Farm. Use the ones you have in your garden or farmers' market.

Slice:

• Handful of Primax cabbage (Brassica oleracea)
  

Coarsely diced:

• Brandywine tomato, an heirloom cultivar (Solanum lycopersicum)
  

Small amount to taste some or all of each of the below:

• Lovage (Levisticum officinale) leaves
• Lamb's quarter (Chenopodium album)
• Chickweed (Stellaria media)
• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) leaves
• Parsley (Petroselinum neapolitanum)
• Genovese Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
• Greek Oregano (Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum)

Brown on both sides a slice of homemade whole wheat & oatmeal bread in:

• 1 TL olive oil
• 1 TBL butter

Put hot bread on a dinner plate
Add cabbage on and beside the bread
Add tomato and greens to taste
Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and walnuts
Salt & pepper to taste
Dress with olive oil & balsamic vinegar
Serve right way!

Umm Umm Good

The joys of a garden . . .

Perfect for a summer night's supper!

Cabbage, broccoli, tomato, parsley, oregano and a touch of garlic all from the garden today - topped with feta, salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Companion planting . . .

Today I will stake the areas for the tomatoes and locate places for the bell peppers which are good companions in the garden. There are oregano plants there from last year. After the tomatoes and pepper plants are in, later this month, more herbs will be placed nearby.

There are many places on the web for lists of the do's and don't on Companion Planting. Golden Harvest has a good list with information as well. Here is the entry for bell peppers.

• PEPPERS, BELL (Sweet Peppers): Plant peppers near tomatoes, parsley, basil, geraniums, marjoram, lovage, petunia and carrots. Onions make an excellent companion plant for peppers.

Parsley . . .

. . . just decoration or healing herb?

From The World's Healthiest Foods

The delicious and vibrant taste and wonderful healing properties of parsley are often ignored in its popular role as a table garnish. Highly nutritious, parsley can be found year round in your local supermarket.

Parsley is the world's most popular herb. It derives its name from the Greek word meaning "rock celery" (parsley is a relative to celery). It is a biennial plant that will return to the garden year after year once it is established.

While parsley is a wonderfully nutritious and healing food, it is often under-appreciated. Most people do not realize that this vegetable has more uses than just being a decorative garnish that accompanies restaurant meals. They do not know that parsley is actually a storehouse of nutrients and that it features a delicious green and vibrant taste.

The two most popular types of parsley are curly parsley and Italian flat leaf parsley. The Italian variety has a more fragrant and less bitter taste than the curly variety.

A list of 129 foods The World's Healthiest Foods says can serve as the basis of your Healthiest Way of Eating.

Photo from Wikipedia

Italian parsley . . .

Species/Family: Apiaceae
Scientific name: Petroselinum crispum

Parsley can be used as an antiseptic, aids in healing cuts and bruises by stimulating the blood flow, relieve the itch and sting of insect bites and serve as a mosquito repellent.

Parsley can be used in hair rinse to help eradicate head lice.

Photo from Johnny's Seeds

Attracting Beneficial Insects to Your Garden

Because of the reduction in the bee population, it is more important than ever to invite bees and other insects to your garden to help with pollination and insert control. The following article, written by Mike McGoarty of freeplants.com offers many opportunities to do just that!

by Mike McGroarty

There are a variety of common plants and flowers that attract beneficial insects. Beneficial insects are not only attracted to plants which are infected with their insect prey, but they also tend to be selective about the plants on which they lay their eggs. Many beneficial insects also spend part of their lives surviving on the nectar and pollen of their favorite plants. Ideally, your garden plants will provide food, shelter and a nursery for beneficial insects. Some of these plants may already be in your garden.
Caterpillars, leafhoppers, beetles, moths and grubs are attacked by tiny parasitic wasps. Because they are so tiny themselves, parasitic wasps prefer tiny flowers when they want a drink of sweet nectar. Parasitic wasps will frequent a garden that features some yarrow, dill, parsley, Queen Ann's Lace or tansy. These umbrella-shaped flowers are very attractive to a number of beneficial insects.

Green lacewings and ladybugs will also appreciate the same umbrella-shaped flowers. They also like cosmos, prairie sunflower and even dandelions and alfalfa. Lacewings prefer to lay their eggs in shady areas that are protected from the weather. They'll be happy to find some of their favorite plants in a quiet, protected corner of the garden.

Various herbs are attractive to some beneficial insects. Adding some herbs here and there amongst your flowers or vegetables will surely lure some beneficial insects to work in your garden. Lemon balm, pennyroyal, spearmint and parsley will attract hoverflies, parasitic wasps and tachinid flies. Tachinid flies look like hairy house flies and they lay their eggs on caterpillars which can do a lot of damage in a garden. Tachinid fly larvae will destroy corn earworms, cabbage worms, armyworms, and other fly larvae.

Providing the proper plants for food and shelter is just one step toward attracting beneficial insects to your garden. The most important thing to do to encourage beneficial insects in your garden is to stop using chemical pesticides. Chemical pesticides are not selective and will kill both harmful and beneficial insects. Many organic insecticides are selective and when used properly, will not harm the beneficial insects.