schedule will become established. In climates where rain is reliable, you will probably need to water only during a drought or in very hot weather. In arid climates a weekly routine is sufficient for all but the basil, which may need watering every four or five days.
Fertilize basil every six weeks or so with fish emulsion or fish meal according to the directions on the package. If you don't have a chance to harvest your basil, when it gets large and starts to flower you will need to prune it back by taking clippers and removing the top half of the shoots. This will encourage the plant to put out lush new leaves instead of setting seeds and declining. Unless the soil is sandy, the rest of the herbs seldom need fertilizer.
Prune all the perennial herbs using hedge or hand shears in late spring. Most herbs need to be cut back by at least half, though if the plants are not growing vigorously, remove only a third of the growth. Oregano and thyme are only hardy to USD A Zone 5, or to minus 10 to minus 20 degrees; chives to USD A Zone 3, or to minus 50 to minus 40 degrees; tarragon to USD A Zone 4, or minus 30 to minus 20 degrees; and in cold climates, all will overwinter best with three or four inches of a straw or compost mulch layered over them in the fall after the ground has frozen. The mulch is not used to keep them warm but to ensure that they will not heave out of the ground when the soil freezes and thaws.
After a few months the basil is in full production and the chives, tarragon, and thyme are ready for harvest.
Most common herbs and a few unusual ones are available from local nurseries in small plastic containers. It's important to label your plants so you can identify them, especially those that are less common. In addition, I find I need to record the location and planting date of my new herbs in a journal because the labels sometimes get lost or become faded.
harvesting your herbs
For me, harvesting herbs often means a last-minute dash to the garden to pick a few leaves for cooking. When I have it together, though, I harvest a number of my favorite herbs and put them in a glass of water and place them on the windowsill above my sink. I then use them with abandon—all I need do is reach for a sprig or two. If I want to keep the herbs longer, I put them in the refrigerator, and they'll keep fresh for at least a week. To harvest larger amounts for preserving, choose a time when the herbs are at peak flavor, usually just before flowering, and when the plants are growing well enough to renew themselves. Another good time to harvest is when the plants need to be cut back to be renewed. Then one of the luxuries of having an herb garden is most evident, as you can use large amounts of the prunings for smoking. When you smoke fish or meat, place branches of green herbs such as thyme, lavender, fennel, rosemary, or dill over the wet wood chips before you close up the smoker. Voila, lots of instant flavor.
Harvesting the Seeds of Herbs
To harvest the seeds from dill, caraway, cumin, coriander, and fennel, start to assess their ripeness a few weeks after the plants bloom and when the seed heads start to turn brown. The seed heads of dill and fennel will shatter and shed their seeds more readily than the other herbs, and if you want to make sure to harvest all the seeds, tie a paper bag around the ripening seed head to catch the seeds. In all cases you can remove the seeds by hand once they have turned brown, or you can harvest the whole heads, leaving six inches of stem attached so you can tie the stems together. Dry the heads by hanging them upside down. First put a brown bag around the heads, secure it with a rubber band, and hang the bunches in a cool, dry place. When the heads are thoroughly dry, pull the seeds off the heads, put them in clean jars, and seal.
Preserving Herbs
Fresh herbs are best in many cases, but most herbs are not available year-round, so good cooks over the years have learned ways to preserve the flavor. The best way to preserve an herb depends on the herb. As a rule, the dense, small-leafed herbs dry best, and the fleshy, larger leaves freeze well, either chopped or in butters. Most herbs are suitable for preserving in vinegar or oil.
Drying Herbs
The following directions for drying herbs are best used for bay laurel, borage, chamomile, marjoram, mint, rosemary, sage, bay, chives, dill, lavender, lemon verbena, Mexican oregano, sweet woodruff, thyme, winter savory, and oregano.
Harvest all herbs in the driest part of the day and wash them if they're gritty, and pat them dry. There are different ways to pick and dry them. Some methods work best for herbs with large leaves, others for those with small leaves. You can easily pick the single large leaves of sweet bay, lemon verbena, and borage and lay them out in a single layer on a screen; the long leaves of chives can be treated this way as well. I find it tedious to harvest herbs with small leaves and compact stems, such as thyme, rosemary, savory, chamomile, and sweet woodruff, as single leaves. I prune sprigs three or four inches long and lay them out on a screen; once the herbs are dry, the leaves can easily be stripped off the twigs. In all cases, for quick drying, you can put the screen with the leaves on it in an electric oven at a very low temperature (104°F) for a few hours; or in a gas stove just lay the herbs on cookie sheets, and the constant 95°F of the pilot light dries them in a day or so. If you have more time, place the screen in a warm, dry place indoors, such as a garage or attic, and dry for five to seven days. Stir the leaves once a day.
This basket (right) overflows with a harvest from my front herb border. It includes the unusual dittany of Crete (Origanum dictamnus), which is used in liqueurs, spilling out of the front, Mexican tarragon (Tagetes lucida), which is sometimes used in place of French tarragon, the mauve edible flowers of society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea), and bunches of rosemary, (back left), and oregano (back right).
Herbs that grow fairly tall and produce long sprays, such as oregano, sage, mint, lavender, and lemon verbena, can be dried by hanging them in a warm, dry place. Create bunches bundled with a rubber band to hold the sprays together. (The rubber band will also hold them when they dry and shrink.) As I do this in my dusty garage, I like to cover the bundles with tissue paper to keep the herbs clean. Seed heads of dill, fennel, and caraway I handle in the same way, but I also put a paper bag over the heads so the seeds will not drop to the floor.
Some gardeners swear by drying herbs in the microwave oven. This works well for a small amount, but I do find that the leaves get darker than when air-dried. Place cleaned herbs on a piece of paper towel and microwave them on high for a minute at a time. Rotate the herbs often. Repeat the process until the herbs are brittle dry. Dense herbs like rosemary will take longer than delicate ones like dill. When your herbs are dry, store them in airtight containers in a cool, dark place.
Garden sages can spark the cook's imagination. Try making fritters with the flowering stalks, adding the leaves when you roast potatoes, and using the unusual foliage for garnishes.
Freezing Herbs
You can also preserve some herbs by freezing. I do this with fennel, dill, chervil, chives, tarragon, and mint. Just wash the herbs, pat them dry, and take the leaves off the stems. Leave them whole or chop them. Put the leaves in a self-sealing plastic freezer bag, press out the air, label, and freeze. You do not need to defrost them before using them in soups, sauces, and marinades. The herbs will have darkened and turned soft, but the flavor keeps for a good six months. Herbal butters are another way to freeze the flavor of herbs. (See the recipe on page 72.)
herb garden design
