Archive for November, 2009
Basil Plants Give You So Much Choice
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One of the most popular herbs that should definitely be in your home herb garden is the basil plant.
Description
The basil plant herb comes from the large mint family Lamiacae and is native to tropical and sub tropical climates. It is related to a number of well known herbs – mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, thyme and lavender. In its own climate zone it can be grown as a perennial otherwise it dies off at the end of the season. Basil is appreciated mostly for its culinary use and because it is easy to cultivate. It does have some medicinal uses and is rich in natural antioxidants.
Tips on how to know if you are buying marjoram or oregano
Posted by: | CommentsTip number one. Do not trust the labels when buying marjoram or oregano.
To put it bluntly, the only way you will know if you are using marjoram or oregano is if you grow the two herbs in your home herb garden. They are often confused in nurseries and in retail establishments. So if you buy a starter plant you need to recognize its smell or buy from a nursery that sells both plants.
The reason for the confusion is carvacrol, a creosote-scented phenol which exists in many of the oregano plants, in marjoram and also in plants from other families leading them to be named oreganos in error. This is one time we need to use the Latin names to avoid confusion.
Parsley in your home herb garden? You need permission from the devil!
Posted by: | CommentsNow hang on a minute, what has your humble herb garden and the ubiquitous parsley got to do with the devil? I will explain.
Anyone who grows parsley from seed will tell you that getting the seeds to germinate is a gardening challenge of note and can take anything from 3 to 6 weeks. The difficulty in germinating parsley seeds gave rise to the mid 17th century legend which says that parsley seeds have to travel 9 times to the devil and back before they will germinate!. There was a superstition that parsley belongs to the devil. The seeds that do not germinate belong to the devil. As with many herbs which have been cultivated for centuries, there are a number of fascinating old myths and legends about parsley.
