Easy Recipes From The Garden

One of the best ways to guarantee fresh herbs all summer is to grow your own. Herbs are super easy to grow and the flavor and convenience can’t be beat. Most herbs will happily grow in pots or containers, and with a little care, will thrive all summer long - either on your window ledge or in the garden. Place plants in a sunny spot in your home and water regularly, and you’ll have fresh herbs to use all summer - and longer if you care well for them.

You can either purchase seed packets and start the plants from those, following the instructions on the packets, or buy established plants. Plants can be found at your local nursery, as well as Home Depot or Lowes, and in the produce or nursery section of large grocery stores.

As the price of groceries continue to climb, and our interest in organic and natural foods  also rises, the hubs and I have decided to implement a new plan: we will instill an edible landscape around our home. No more purchasing flowering trees just because they are pretty (sorry, yellow Magnolia tree - how I admired you so). Instead, we will plant trees that have pretty flowers that also bear fruit (hello, peach and apple trees, and aforementioned cherry trees). Many herbs are also quite nice to look at and interesting in a garden, such as rosemary (which is almost an evergreen shrub-like plant than an herb-looking plant) and parsley. And you can’t go wrong with a row or two of lettuce and some tomato plants.

No, we’re not going to just plant annuals to fill in the bare spots around the gardens. Instead, we’ll tuck in a few bunches of buttercrunch lettuce around the bare spots, and landscape with plants we can also eat from. However - we’re not going to pull what’s already planted; that seems counter-productive to me. What we will do is place edibles as new plants around the house, and maybe eventually replace the non-edibles over time.

At the start of May, most farmers’ markets have begun operation. Farmers’ markets are a great resource for gardeners, as the farmers themselves can help you to select good produce and even give you tips and advice on growing your own. Plants are also readily available - and a good place to find organic, natural and very healthy plants to grow in your own garden.

Of course, it’s also a good place to go if you want fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, plants and more. The produce you’ll find is locally grown (most markets require that produce come from within a certain distance) and fresh as can be. In fact, many stands offer organic produce.

To locate your nearest farmers’ market, visit Local Harvest.

One of every three bites the average American eats is directly attributed to honey bee pollination. More than 25% of the U.S. honey bee population has disappeared over the last several winters. This affects many nut, fruits and berry crops – important produce for farmers and food manufacturers, and key ingredients in many of the most popular Häagen-Dazs flavors. The ice cream maker reports that researchers believe causes for the decline in the bee population include:

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). More than 35 states across the continental United States and in two provinces in Canada, Belgium, and Spain have reported this condition.

Varroa Mites – Inadvertently introduced into the United States in 1987, these tiny brown parasites feed exclusively on honey bees.

Viruses– Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) is linked with CCD.

Chemical Exposure – Tests on pollen in CCD-affected hives show levels of 45 different types of insecticides, fungicides and herbicides.

Lack of Nutrition – A limited supply of good pollen and nectar (due to drought) has had an effect on the honey bee population.

So what can we as gardeners do to help the honey bees? Create a bee-friendly garden with plants that are attractive to honey bees. Plants that are bee-friendly include lavender, jasmine, rosemary, violets, thyme, blue bells, wisteria, cone flowers and sunflowers – common and easy to grow perennials and herbs that will both add beauty to your garden and bees to the environment.

Consider planting one or a variety of these plants and help the dwindling honey bee population.

Bee balm, or dotted mint, is an excellent plant for attracting hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and other nectar-seeking creatures into your garden. The tubular flowers on the plant’s rounded flower heads are a showy addition to flower gardens and borders, and the plant’s leaves and flowers can be made into tea. A perennial herb, the plant will return in the same spot year after year.

Bees and hummingbirds are valuable visitors to your garden. Both can help with pollinating plants, and butterflies and hummingbirds are enjoyable to watch.

Bee balm flowers are pink, red, or white; double-flowered forms are also available. Blooms will appear from early to late summer. The plant grows to be 2-4 feet tall, depending on the variety. Plant in spring in an area of your yard that receives full sun to partial shade and has rich, well-drained soil. Some bee balm varieties can tolerate wet soil and will thrive along a waterway or in a bog garden.

This year I invested in one of those heated indoor greenhouse kits (similar to this one) to start my spring seeds. So far, it’s sped up the germination process for almost all of the seeds I planted.

I started seeds for:

Purple basil

Rosemary

Genovese basil

Carrot

Garlic chives

Leeks

Bloody butcher tomatoes

Brandywine tomatoes

2 types of lettuce

I also planted a few Meyer lemon seeds from some lemons we purchased from an organic store and - lo and behold - they are sprouting! In fact, everything in the greenhouse has sprouted, some within two days of being planted. I’m thrilled that the plants are growing so quickly and that I will soon be able to move them outside to the garden. Maybe this year my vegetables will be ready for harvest a little earlier.

Mint plants not only add flavor to tea and desserts, serve as a pretty garnish, and generally smell great - they also can be used as a natural pest deterrent.

The mint plant – and spearmint in particular – is a natural ant repellant and will drive the little buggers away and prevent them from returning. Now that the warmer weather is arriving in most areas, if you find that you have an ant problem in your home, first determine where they are getting in. Then, try planting a spearmint plant in that area.

Tip: spearmint, as with most mint plants, is invasive; plant it in a decorative planter or, if you wish to plant it in the ground, first put it in a large planter or basket. Then plant it in the ground deep enough so that the container is hidden in the dirt.