One of the pleasant pleasures of life are herbs. Besides adding beauty to your garden they make foods taste better and provide a pleasing smell to the air we breathe. In George Washington days everyone had a herb garden that they used for culinary, teas and medical purposes. That practice is slowly coming back.
A spaghetti garden is an example of the most well liked kitchen gardens. Anyone that has a sunny 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 will need for tasty Italian meals. They are even easy to grow in a bright window for your year-round use.
Let us take a harder 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 heaps of sun, so keep it on the south side of your garden. When the plants reach 4-5 inches cropping can start. Pinch off the top 1/3 of the plant, just above a leaf crossing. The young leaves are basically stronger dried than fresh and are the most flavorsome part of the plant. To dry, lay the leaves on newspaper or a drying screen in the sun till the leaves crumble easily. It will keep its flavor for months.
+Bay leaves add a good hint of spice to stews, soups and spaghetti sauce. The bay laurel is a small tree that grows about a foot per year, this makes it appropriate for growing in a container. If you live in a mild climate sector leave the container outside, but if temperatures go below 25 degrees keep the tree in a pot and bring it indoors during the winter.
+Basil seeds itself so simply that you may never have to buy another plant after the 1st year. There are many different types of basil, but all grow quickly and need frequent pinching back to stop them from growing tall and leggy. When the plants have reached about 6-8 inches tall, you can begin cropping. Pinch off the top 1/3 of the plant, just above a leaf junction. Pinch off any flower buds before they go to seed. 6 to eight plants will provide enough basil for the entire neighborhood.
+Garlic is perhaps the best plant to grow. Break apart a clove of garlic, and plant the cloves about four inches apart, two to four inches deep in a light soil. Gently water and watch them grow. You may 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 one or 2 cloves from each bulb and replant them.
+Parsley is the most used herb across the world. You will find both flat (Italian) and curly types. They complement the flavour of everything from sauces to hearty stews. It is employed 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 bright day, and should be kept watered to avoid wilting and drying. Pinch back older stems to the base, permitting 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 easy mushroom pasta recipe.