Herb Gardens

I planted large planters of herbs this year - it was much easier than moving something to make room in the current herb garden. Here they are when they were first planted.

Sweet Basil and Flat Leaf Italian Parsley

German Thyme,  Common Sage, and Fernleaf Dill

And here they are just two short weeks later. Guess they like where they live and the water they have been given. 

Sweet Basil and Flat Leaf Parsley

German Thyme, Common Sage, & Fernleaf Dill

I have one more planter to set up which I did this weekend. And we'll see how it progresses. I expect good things. Oh, and the garlic chives that are in the garden bed are just about wild. They kind of look like long grass until they bloom. Lovely purple flowers.

Can Jam April - Herbs: And the winner is...

Well it was Apple Jelly with Lemon and Sage... but I didn't make it. I don't know why really - perhaps because I had such a hard time deciding it meant that I wasn't into this month. Perhaps because I waited late and it got mixed up with the boy's birthday (Happy 17th!) Ah well, life goes on and I'm looking forward to next month's challenge. 

Can Jam April - Herbs - still no (real) decision

There were only three real contenders I found after reviewing my books. 1) Pickled Asparagus (p. 75 - Putting Up, Stephen Palmer Dowdney) to which I would need to add herbs - not a big challenge there. 2) Apple Jelly with Lemon and Sage (p. 22 - Preserves, Lindy Wildsmith). The only jelly I've ever made is hot pepper jelly and it's pretty forgiving -hope this is too. 3) Rosemary and Red Wine Jelly (p. 56 - Well Preserved, Mary Ann Dragan) seems interesting, but also a little strange.
And then I remembered that I had copied out a bunch of recipes from library books last year. Can o'worms. So then added 4) Herb Jelly with Variations, 5) Herb Wine Jelly, and 6) Herbed Asparagus (Ellie Topp, Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving) to the list of contenders.

So I stopped thinking about it and ordered a jelly bag, extra bags, kitchen twine in a cute stainless holder, and some very pretty Leifheit jars.

Can Jam April - Herbs - more deliberation

herb |(h)ərb|noun1 any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume


So does that eliminate some of the things I've been thinking about. I'm thinking fennel is a vegetable, but perhaps it's both depending on what you use it for. Lemon grass - that would qualify. 
In my research, rosemary and quince (does it sound like a posh law firm?) showing up quite often together, but we don't get many (any?) quinces around here. 
I did not realize I had so many British canning/preserving books -- they don't seem to often bother with a water bath and have this odd (IMO) notion of turning the jars upside down after sealing them - to what purpose, I do not know, but ...
Pickled asparagus could be right - esp right now, but would need to introduce and herb and frankly, beyond tarragon, which I could take or leave, I'm not sure what to add that wouldn't over power the asparagus. Blue Book / Preserving - blanks - as was, The Glass Pantry (see Library Thing site for details), so ... more research, but first - time away. nice. 

Can Jam April - Herbs

So the challenge for this month, well, April anyway, is herbs - well, hell - that's wide open. What is currently growing in the garden for me - rosemary, oregano, and parsley. I had no idea parsley would survive the winter (the coldest for the longest that I remember), but it came through with flying colors and looks great right now but may be about to bolt. I've not grown it before - so I'm not quite sure how it works. Oh, and fennel  - forgot that. And the cilantro will probably return as it usually does. I'm betting The Glass Pantry has a few ideas.
Need to check the farmer's markets to see what else is out there right now - hopefully not necessitating anything flown in from across the planet.