Crops are Out!

It’s that time of year…

The crops are all out, fields are groomed and the garden is dead. Yes, there are surviving garden stragglers as always, mostly the stuff potted on the front porch and the herbs planted along the house. That all usually does well until snow flies, or there is a three day long cold snap.

It’s officially ‘Fall’ now that we’ve had a couple of good frosts and the last few tomatoes in the garden have long been pecked away by the Poultry Posse.

All of my outdoor basil is completely black and tragic looking.

It’s so awful looking that not even Emma, the basil loving bunny will touch it at this point. The chicken pecked tomato plants and black basil also means no more garden fresh tomato, basil and mozzarella salads; truly the end of summer…

Even though glorious Autumn is one of my favorite seasons, I always get a little sad when I see everything turn brown in the garden. While I am very relieved that I don’t have to mow, suffer heat, tend or weed for awhile, I am also a little sorry, or maybe just feeling nostalgic?

Obviously I am conflicted.

At any rate, the tender herbs have been moved into the greenhouse, and lots of plants and herbs have been moved inside the house. That way I can keep an eye on them, and because I like fresh herbs in winter and plenty of greenery in my windows…and bathrooms, and bedrooms.

Yep, it is time to put everything to sleep in the garden

If I were not such a bum I’d be out there digging up the rest of the red canna rhizomes today. Nope, they can just sit another few days- remember, I am a bum!

There are still some things out there that look pretty good out there- like all the chives, most of the mints, the sages, and um…well, that’s really about it.

It’s all good though-

In spite of my temporary ‘Autumnal Garden Derangement’ condition, I do look forward to the quiet of the winter season.

After all, there is a cupboard chock full of dried herbs to enjoy this winter!  We’ve dried lots of herbs for cooking and teas, and of course all our favorite healing herbs are tucked away, too.

Add a good book, a crackling fire, some warm woolly socks, and I can hardly wait!

Packed Herb Cupboard

Some of it is really fascinating from an herbalists view point, and some is wildly funny reading by today’s standards.

Here’s one from an 1884 Plant Lore book:

The Herb of Oblivion, or Herb of Forgetfulness.

It was rumored to be found in parts of Switzerland, France and other areas  in Europe.

If you stepped on it, your memory would be lost immediately.

If you had the misfortune to be traveling at the time, you would be lost and would wander about…even if you knew the road well  only a moment before.

About now I was really getting into the tale.

I wanted to know the name of the mysterious herb.

Sadly, the story ended rather abruptly.

The final sentence-

The author reported that no one could remember the name of the herb!

And that completely broke  me up

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A really excellent herb-snack, these Rosemary glazed nuts are beautiful and simple to make.

Six ingredients is all it takes. Mixed nuts (or just your favorites) fresh Rosemary, Cayenne pepper, butter, brown sugar, and sea or Kosher salt. You can find Nigella’s recipe here.

You can tweak the recipe and add a bit more cayenne for those that prefer the spicier stuff.

Me? I’ll add more Rosemary next time since I love the stuff.

Either way, it’s all really good!

Although freezing fresh sage is possible, it’s not the usual was to preserve it.

I have been known to grab some frosted or frozen sage from the garden in a pinch and I am happy to report that the flavor was still fine for cooking.

I dry my herbs, then pop them in the freezer to kill off any lingering insect eggs that may have hitched a ride on the undersides of leaves. Sage is not much bothered by pests, but by habit, the dried herb still goes into the freezer for a few weeks.

This photo shows some potted sage in the snow.

Potted Sage in the Snow

No, it’s not dead, although I admit it doesn’t look terribly healthy at this point.

The good news?

As a perennial herb it will come back in the spring, or when I bring it inside…whichever comes first.

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You either love it and find it relaxing or you hate it and would rather be tied naked to an anthill.

Regardless of your feelings weeding still needs to be done.

 
Weeds not only look messy in the garden and in pots, they also crowd out your herbs and will cheerfully rob your plants of much needed  nutrients.

Whether you garden in containers, or in the garden, various weed seeds can be present in your soil.

It’s true that weeds are a problem in the garden, but they are actually a bigger problem when you grow in pots and containers!

Why?

You spend time watering and feeding your herbs, but when weeds are present the darned things repay your kindness and generosity by growing at ridiculous rates and sucking the life out of the plants you wanted.

Do your herbs a  great big favor and yank the weeds.

I know first hand that if the weeds get too bad you’ll want to throw up your hands and give up, and sometimes that is advisable.

I have been there and have the overgrown garden pictures on this blog to prove it…and I am blushing as I write that admission.

Weeds Growing With Herbs

Even if you really hate weeding, just take a few minutes a day and pull a few weeds. Unless you have a huge garden planted, a few minutes is all it takes to keep your herbs growing well and looking good!