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 everybody had a herb garden that they used for culinary, teas and medicinal purposes. That practice is slowly coming back.
A spaghetti garden is an example of the most popular 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 small garden space can easily yield all the herbs that you will need for delicious Italian meals. They are even straightforward 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 may 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 would 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 cropping can start. Pinch off the top 1/3 of the plant, just above a leaf intersection. The young leaves are actually 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 retain its flavor for months.
+Bay leaves add a good hint of spice to stews, soups and spaghetti sauce. The bay laurel is a tiny tree that grows about a foot a year, this makes it acceptable 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 easily that you may never need to buy another plant after the 1st year. There are many different sorts of basil, but all grow rapidly and require frequent pinching back to prevent 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 crossover. Pinch off any flower buds before they are going to seed. Six to 8 plants will supply enough basil for the complete 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 four 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 will find both flat ( Italian ) and curly types. They complement the flavor 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 noiselessly brings
out the flavour of other ingredients in the dish. Parsley is a biennial, flowering in its second season. It favors a little shade on a hot sunny day, and is going to be kept watered to avoid 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 becoming a Italian chef.
If you enjoy cooking and making food, visit cooking101.org for more recipe and guides on how to cook quality meals. Along the way, you might want to check out how to make mushroom pasta.
Tags: Make Your Own, Spaghetti Garden