Instead of letting fresh herbs go to waste, preserve them. It's a great way to enjoy your favorite herbs all year, and the process is a lot easier than you might think. Here are four simple preservation methods you can use from spring until the first frost hits, and I'll show you which herbs work best for each approach.
HOW TO HARVEST The best time of day to harvest herbs, if you can, is in the morning after the dew has evaporated but before the heat has started to strip away plants' natural essential oils. Plants with woodier stems will require a pair of pruners or scissors. Herbs with more tender stems can just be snapped off, no tool required.
Early harvests During the growing season, harvest branching herbs like basil, oregano or mint by cutting up to a third of a stem back to just above a leaf node. This encourages the plant to form new side shoots and continue to grow. You can harvest nonbranching herbs, such as cilantro, parsley or chives, by cutting individual stems at the base. But don't harvest all of them or they may not grow back. In general, try not to harvest more than a third of a plant at one time so plenty of leaves are left to photosynthesize.
Fall harvests For the last harvest of annual herbs in fall, go ahead and cut the entire plant to the ground, no matter which herb it is, as they won't return the next year. It doesn't hurt to harvest perennial herbs, such as rosemary, garden sage or thyme, lightly in fall, but do your larger harvests in spring and summer. If you cut them back heavily in fall, you could encourage them to send out tender new growth that's susceptible to winter damage.
This story is from the Issue 173 - October 2023 edition of Garden Gate.
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This story is from the Issue 173 - October 2023 edition of Garden Gate.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Spinach - Learn the secrets to growing this tasty green in spring and fall.
If you're one of those gardeners who can't wait to get started in spring and hates to throw in the trowel in fall, spinach is the perfect shoulder season crop. This mild, earthy-flavored green comes in many varieties, ranging from crinkly-leafed savoys to slightly textured semi-savoys and the flat, smooth-leafed types. Colors can be dark green, light green and even red-veined. Here's how to get the most of it every year.
Why Bulb Depth Matters - Dig deep enough to ensure your plants stand tall and live the longest
When you're planting bulbs, it's tempting to just dig a hole as deep as your trowel will reach easily, nestle the bulb in, cover it up and move on. But the fact is, each type of bulb will flower best and thrive at a different depth.A good rule of thumb is to plant a bulb two to three times its height. One reason planting depth is important is because it helps to keep the bulbs protected from fluctuations in temperature that happen closer to the surface.
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