One of the delightful pleasures of life are herbs. Besides adding beauty to your garden they make foods taste better and provide a nice smell to the air we breathe. In George Washington days everyone had a herb garden that they used for culinary, teas and medicinal purposes. That practice is slowly coming back.
A spaghetti garden is one of the most well liked kitchen gardens. Anyone that has a bright patch of ground or a window-box can grow these herbs of parsley, garlic, basil, bay laurel and oregano. A little garden space can easily yield all the herbs that you’ll need for delicious Italian meals. They are even easy to grow in a bright window for your year-long use.
Let us take a more detailed look at the spaghetti garden herbs:
+Oregano is an evergreen ground cover plant. Oregano is a prolific grower that can send out shoots that grow to 6 feet in a single season. If pruned and bunched, oregano can grow into a tiny border plant. It might rather have light, thin soil and tons of sun, so keep it on the south side of your garden. When the plants reach 4-5 inches harvesting can start. Pinch off the top 1/3 of the plant, just above a leaf crossing. The young leaves are actually stronger dried than fresh and are the most flavorful part of the plant. To dry, lay the leaves on paper or a drying screen in the sun until the leaves crumble easily. It will retain its flavor for months.
+Bay leaves add a favorable hint of spice to stews, soups and spaghetti sauce. The bay laurel is a little tree that grows about a foot a year, this makes it appropriate for growing in a container. If you live in a mild climate zone leave the container outside, but if temperatures go below twenty-five degrees keep the tree in a pot and bring it indoors during the winter.
+Basil seeds itself so easily that you may never have to buy another plant after the first year. There are a few different categories of basil, but all grow rapidly and need frequent pinching back to prevent them from growing tall and leggy. When the plants have reached about 6-8 inches tall, you can begin harvesting. Pinch off the top 1/3 of the plant, just above a leaf intersection. Pinch off any flower buds before they go to seed. 6 to 8 plants will provide enough basil for the entire neighborhood.
+Garlic is maybe the simplest plant to grow. Break apart a clove of garlic, and plant the cloves about 4 inches apart, two to 4 inches deep in a light soil. Lightly water and watch them grow. You will crop when tips of the leaves turn brown but don’t let them flower. Just dig up the bulbs, and use them. To keep a fresh supply take 1 or two cloves from each bulb and replant them.
+Parsley is perhaps the most used herb on the planet. You may find both flat ( Italian ) and kinked types. They complement the flavour of everything from sauces to hearty stews. It is used as a garnish on plates, or cut up and added to soups, dressings and salads. Parsley adds vitamins and color, and quietly brings
out the flavour of other ingredients in the dish. Parsley is a biennial, flowering in its 2nd season. It favors a little shade on a hot sunny day, and should be kept watered to duck shriveling and drying. Pinch back older stems to the base, allowing new leaves and branches to grow.
Grow your own tomatoes and you are well on your way to changing into an Italian chef.
For more information about food and useful cooking tips, check out cooking101.org and also have a look at how to make tomato pasta.
Tags: Make Your Own, Spaghetti Garden
