One of the delightful pleasures of life are herbs. Besides adding beauty to your garden they make foods taste better and provide a pleasant scent 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 one of the most well liked 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 simply yield all the herbs that you’ll need for tasty Italian meals. They are even straightforward to grow in a bright window for your year-long 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 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 plenty 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 basically 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 till the leaves crumble easily. It will retain its flavour for months.
+Bay leaves add a favorable hint of spice to stews, soups and spaghetti sauce. The bay laurel is a little tree that grows about a foot per year, this makes it appropriate for growing in a container. If you live in a mild climate zone 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 will never have to buy another plant after the 1st year. There are a few different sorts 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 harvesting. Pinch off the top 1/3 of the plant, just above a leaf crossover. Pinch off any flower buds before they’re going to seed. 6 to eight plants will supply enough basil for the entire neighborhood.
+Garlic is perhaps the easiest plant to grow. Break apart a clove of garlic, and plant the cloves about 4 inches apart, two 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 perhaps the most used herb in the planet. You may find both flat ( Italian ) and kinky 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 silently brings
out the flavor of other ingredients in the dish. Parsley is a biennial, flowering in its 2nd season. It likes 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.
Do you enjoy cooking and learning more about food? If yes, you may also visit cooking101.org to learn more about the many different kinds of recipes and cooking ideas that will be useful next time you are in the kitchen. Also, you might want to check out easy tomato pasta recipe.
Tags: Make Your Own, Spaghetti Garden