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 everybody 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 which 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 simply yield all the herbs that you’ll need for tasty Italian meals. They are even straightforward to grow in a sunny window for your all year use.
Let us take a more detailed look at the spaghetti garden herbs:
+Oregano is a perennial ground cover plant. Oregano is a prolific grower that may send out shoots that grow to six feet in a single season. If pruned and bunched, oregano can grow into a small 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 harvesting 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 flavorful part of the plant. To dry, lay the leaves on newspaper or a drying screen in the sun until the leaves crumble easily. It will keep its flavor for months.
+Bay leaves add a favorable hint of spice to stews, soups and spaghetti sauce. The bay laurel is a tiny tree that grows about a foot every year, this makes it suitable 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 inside in the winter.
+Basil seeds itself so simply that you can never need to buy another plant after the first year. There are a few 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. Six to 8 plants will supply enough basil for the complete neighborhood.
+Garlic is probably the simplest plant to grow. Break apart a clove of garlic, and plant the cloves about four inches apart, 2 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 do not let them flower. Just dig up the bulbs, and use them. To keep a fresh supply take one or two cloves from each bulb and replant them.
+Parsley is the most used herb in the planet. You will find both flat (Italian) and kinky types. They complement the flavor 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 noiselessly brings
out the flavour of other ingredients in the dish. Parsley is a biennial, flowering in its 2nd season. It prefers 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, 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 find this article useful, you should also check out cooking101.org to learn more about some easy techniques of cooking all sorts of quality meals, including easy tomato pasta recipe.
Tags: Make Your Own, Spaghetti Garden