For An Extraordinary Fall & Winter Garden-7 Herbs That Must Be Planted In August 2019
Arugula
For An Extraordinary
Fall & Winter Garden-
7 Herbs That Must Be
Planted In August 2019
The Second Season has begun! In the past two newsletters, we talked briefly about 7 flowers and 7 vegetables that must be planted in August. Now let’s begin a discussion of herbs that must be planted in August.
FIRST, some of our newsletter topics are now available on YouTube. We will include a YouTube link whenever there is a YouTube video from Harvesting History that relates to a subject in the newsletter.
The Second Gardening Season for most herb gardeners throughout the US begins at the end of June or early July. It is the time to plant cold tolerant crops that will flourish in the cool autumn nights.
Unlike planting in the spring where each day is growing longer, planting in mid-summer and fall must take into account that each day is growing shorter. This means that it takes longer for a plant to mature.
The “Rule of Thumb” for mid-summer/fall planting is to add 2 weeks(14 days) to the time to maturity.
If you are planting in containers or raised beds you should not add 14 daysto the time to maturity. Most vegetables, herbs and flowers when planted in containers or raised beds mature more quickly.
You also need to be aware of frost dates. Mulching heavily with straw will prevent the ground from freezing for a while and will allow you to extend your fall harvest for several weeks.
The ‘Second Season’ garden is every bit as exciting and rewarding as your spring garden. It just comes with a whole different set of challenges and rewards. You will find that weeding is not as much of an issue, bugs are not as much of an issue and watering is not as much of an issue, but a freakearly frost can destroy all of your hard work.
However, if you want to be a gardener, then you need to be a ‘Second Season’ gardener as well.
Believe it or not, there are herbs that do well when planted mid-summer. The following herbs thrive when grown in cooler conditions. Some even love the cold. Try some this summer and reap the rewards this autumn.
Arugula
Arugula is one of the best plants to start from seed during the late summer or early fall.
It is extremely cold tolerant so it will withstand all but the most vigorous of frosts. Arugula is also an excellent container plant. It flourishes in an 8 inch or larger container and with some modest protection may even last throughout the winter months.
Many qualities have been attributed to the herb, not the least of which is its powers as an aphrodisiac. In the Middle Ages, it was forbidden to grow arugula in monasteries because of its sexually stimulating ‘abilities’.
Be careful not to plant your seeds too early, because with intense summer heat they will not germinate. Arugula does not like the summer heat so it is best planted in August for Hardiness Zones 3-4, late August or early September for Hardiness Zones 5-7 and October-December for Hardiness Zones 8-10. Turn your garden soil, rake it smooth and then take your finger and draw a line in the soil approximately 1 inch deep. Sprinkle the seed along the line and cover with soil. Soak the soil and keep it moist until germination occurs which will happen in approximately 7-10 days in the summer. Once the seedlings are 2 inches high, thin to 3-4 inches apart.
If planting in containers, use an 8-inch container. Sprinkle seed across the surface of the soil in the container and cover with 1-inch of soil. Soak the soil and keep it moist until germination occurs. Once the seedlings are 2 inches high, thin to 3-4 inches apart.
Fertilize with a high nitrogen fertilizer every two weeks for six weeks (3 applications).
There are few things more refreshing in the fall and early winter than a salad made of newly harvested, peppery arugula, crowned with crumbled goat cheese and drizzled with a raspberry vinaigrette.
Hyssop
Native to Europe and Asia, Hyssop has been cultivated since the 600s. Brought to the US in the 1700s, Hyssop, a member of the Mint Family, is known for having a strong medicinal fragrance that suggests it is an appropriate herb for cleansing or disinfecting applications and venues. The 2-3 ft. hardy plants are used to ease sore throats. It was strewn on the floors of sickrooms and kitchens to clean the air for centuries.
Unlike many herbs, Hyssop is a really pretty plant that is covered in thin spires of vivid blue. The Elizabethans used it as a border plant in their knot gardens because of its diminutive size and the blue spires. They also used it because, unlike most mints, it is not as aggressive. In the cottage gardens of the late 19th century, hyssop combined well with dill and anise, and in rose gardens it was a lovely interplant.
Hyssop’s real value in the garden comes because it is an outstanding pollinator plant. Bees love this plant as do butterflies and hummingbirds. The plant is so attractive to bees that beekeepers have been known to rub down their hives with a mixture of hyssop, juniper, fennel and thyme to keep the bees close to home.
For a fall crop, in Zones 1-4, fall-planted Hyssop should be planted from July 15-August 15, in Zones 5-7 fall-planted Hyssop should be planted from July 15-August 31, in Zones 8-10 fall-planted Hyssop can be planted starting in October. Turn your garden soil, rake it smooth and then take your finger and draw a line in the soil approximately 1 inch deep. Sprinkle the seed along the line and cover with soil. Soak the soil and keep it moist until germination occurs which will happen in approximately 5-7 days in the summer. Once the seedlings are 2 inches high, thin to 1 foot apart in rows 1 foot apart.
Fill an 8-10 inch pot with soil and using your finger poke holes in the soil up to your first knuckle. Fill 3-4 holes with one seed per hole in the container and fill the holes with soil. When the seedlings are 2-inches high thin to one plant. Soak the soil and keep it moist until germination occurs which will happen in approximately 5-7 days in the summer. Fertilize with a high nitrogen fertilizer every two weeks for six weeks (3 applications).
Harvest throughout the season by cutting leaves off the plants.
Cilantro
Cilantro and Coriander are the same plant. Cilantro refers to the rounded, parsley-like, green leaves of the young plant.
As the plant matures, the leaves change dramatically in both shape (They become highly serrated) and taste (They become slightly bitter and unpleasant).
The mature plant produces tiny white flowers and then little green ball-shaped seeds. The ‘seed balls’ turn brown when ripe. These highly fragrant, strongly flavored ‘balls’ are known as coriander.
At Harvesting History, we have a love-hate relationship with Cilantro (Notice, I did not say Coriander). This plant is HIGHLY sensitive to heat. It does not like it, so as we drag our plant racks from flower show to flower show in the early spring, the Cilantro (Prima Donna that she is) is always the first plant to let us know if conditions are not exactly to her liking.
She immediately flops over, dangles her droopy stems off the cart and exclaims, for all to see, “I cannot survive these conditions for another minute!”. She insists on frequent watering and the shadiest spot on the plant racks.
Harvesting History is not the only company to experience the wrath of Miss Cilantro Many, many grocery stores now refuse to carry cilantro in their produce sections because the shelf-life is so short. In many cases it is less than 24 hours. BUT, that is exactly the reason to grown cilantro in your home garden, and because she is so finicky about the heat and so tolerant of the cold, Miss Cilantro makes a great fall plant.
Planted in August in Hardiness Zones 4-6, cilantro will produce, except in Zone 4, until December or possibly later.
Planted in October in Hardiness Zones 7-10, cilantro will produce until an unusually hard frost kills it or until the heat forces it to mature into coriander in the spring.
For a fall crop, in Zones 1-4, fall Cilantro should be planted from July 15-August 15, in Zones 5-7 fall Cilantro should be planted from July 15-August 31, in Zones 8-10 fall Cilantro should be planted from October 15-November 15.
Turn your garden soil, rake it smooth and then take your finger and draw a line in the soil approximately 1 inch deep. Sprinkle the seed along the line and cover with soil. Soak the soil and keep it moist until germination occurs which will happen in approximately 7-10 days in the summer. Once the seedlings are 2 inches high, thin to 4 inches apart. If planting in an 8-inch container, sprinkle 10 seeds in the container and when the seedlings are 2-inches high thin to four plants. Fertilize with a high nitrogen fertilizer every two weeks for six weeks (3 applications).
One interesting observation that we have made in recent years about cilantro is that the plant, as it matures, keeps its round leaves near the base of the plant. These cilantro leaves usually do not become bitter, and if you look carefully you can continue to harvest these leaves even as the plant produces its coriander seed balls.
Only the round leaves near the base of the plant have the great cilantro flavor. The highly serrated leaves near the top are not tasty.
Priss that she is in the spring, Miss Cilantro really is a pleasure in the fall garden, and her savory leaves make salads and Spanish, Latino and Italian cuisines exquisitely flavorful.
Mache, AKA Corn Salad
Corn Salad which is also known as Mache, fetticus, lamb’s tongue, lamb’s-lettuce and a host of other names is a little known but delightful, tasty salad herb/green that is an essential ingredient in mesclun mixes. Its mild, sometimes nutty flavor is a pleasant balance to the stronger, bitter flavors of some of the other mesclun greens.
If you have had a gourmet salad in a fancy restaurant, you most certainly have eaten Mache.
This herb is a European native that was introduced into the United States by the earliest settlers. Supposedly there are still stands of naturalized Mache existing around the old stone foundations of 1600s homes in Maine.
It became known as Corn Salad in Britain because the Brits use the term ‘corn’ to refer to many grains, and Corn Salad loves to grow wild in fields of grain.
Mache DOES NOT LIKE warm temperatures. It grows best when the daytime temperatures are below 75 degrees fahrenheit. It can tolerate light frosts.
In Zones 1-5, seeds should be sown in August. In Zones 6-7, seeds should be sown in September, and in Zones 8-9, seeds should be sown in October-November.
Seeds should be sown thickly because germination is lower than with other greens and covered with 1/2 inch of soil. Seedlings should be thinned to 6 inches. Mache takes about 75 days to mature in the fall.
If protected with mulch, the plants will survive the winter in Zones 5-7. In Zones 1-4, Mache does very well in a cold frame, usually making it through the winter.
Horehound
Horehound is a great container plant. It requires a fairly large pot (8-10 inches) for a single plant, and multiple plants should not be planted in a single pot.
For millennia, Horehound has been credited with curing a number of ailments. Most of these claims are unfounded. However, one is not. Horehound is an effective cough suppressant and a soothing agent for sore throats. Horehound cough syrups have been used since the 1600s.
The Horehound plant contains substantial amounts of tannin, marrubin (which does not exist in the living plant but is created when the plant undergoes stress during the extraction process), Vitamin C and mucilage. Some combination of these chemicals appears to suppress coughs, soothe sore throats, to act as a purgative and a laxative.
Native to southern Europe, central and western Asia and north Africa, Horehound, named after the Egyptian god of sky and light, Horus, has been cultivated for thousands of years. Brought to the US in the 1700s, Horehound became very popular with the Shakers.
For a fall crop, in Zones 1-4, fall-planted Horehound should be planted from July 15-August 15, in Zones 5-7 fall-planted Horehound should be planted from July 15-August 31, in Zones 8-10 fall-planted Horehound can be planted starting in October.
Fill an 8-10 inch pot with soil and using your finger poke holes in the soil up to your first knuckle. Fill 3-4 holes with one seed per hole in the container and fill the holes with soil. When the seedlings are 2-inches high thin to one plant. Soak the soil and keep it moist until germination occurs which will happen in approximately 5-7 days in the summer. Fertilize with a high nitrogen fertilizer every two weeks for six weeks (3 applications).
Horehound is mostly grown for its flowers, but the plants do not flower until the second year. During the first year, the leaves can be harvested and dried to make tea and infusions. Harvest throughout the season by cutting stems off the plants, aggressively. Never cut more than 1/3 of the stems.
Horehound candy is easy to make. Create a strong horehound tea from the leaves of the plant to which you add sugar. Bring the liquid to a boil until it thickens. Pour the liquid into a pan lined with parchment paper and allow to harden at room temperature. Break the candy into pieces and store in a glass or plastic container.
Dill Mammoth
One of the best known, most widely used and greatly beloved herbs of all time, dill has been a part of vegetable and herb gardens since the beginning of gardening. The fresh, fragrant branches of the dill plant have crowned heroes heads and lovely maidens and in Victorian times were a clear indication of lust.
The name comes from the Norse word, dilla, meaning ‘to lull’ because the fresh leaves when eaten or the seeds when chewed can act as a mild sedative. Dill has also been known to relieve flatulence and to stimulate milk in nursing mothers.
Today, the dill seed’s most frequent culinary use is as a pickling spice. Fresh dill leaves enhance the flavor of fish, especially salmon, lamb, pork, poultry, pork, poultry, cheese, eggs, cabbage, parsnip, eggplant, turnips and apples. Dill is also a much respected companion plant. It is known to enhance the growth of cabbages, onions and lettuce and when planted on the perimeter of the vegetable garden, attracts a number of different pollinators including bees and butterflies.
Native to the Mediterranean and southern Russia, Dill has been cultivated for thousands of years. It is one of the first herbs brought to the US by European colonists in the 1600s.
The leaves, fresh or dried, and the seeds are all edible. Dill Mammoth is the largest of the Dill varieties often reaching a height of 30 in.
For a fall crop, in Zones 1-4, fall dill should be planted from July 15-August 15, in Zones 5-7 fall dill should be planted from July 15-August 31, in Zones 8-10 fall dill should be planted from October 15-November 15.
Fill a 6-inch or 8-inch pot with soil and using your finger poke holes in the soil up to your first knuckle. If planting in a 6-inch container, fill 2-3 holes with one seed per hole in the container and fill the holes with soil. When the seedlings are 2-inches high, thin to one plant. If planting in an 8-inch container, fill 6-8 holes with one seed per hole in the container and fill the holes with soil. When the seedlings are 2-inches high thin to three plants. Soak the soil and keep it moist until germination occurs which will happen in approximately 5-7 days in the summer. Fertilize with a high nitrogen fertilizer every two weeks for six weeks (3 applications).
Harvest throughout the season by cutting leaves off the plants, aggressively.
For Dill seed, cut the flowerhead stems leaving enough room to bundle the stems. Dry in a dark, dry space. Keep a tray underneath the bundles to catch seeds.
Basil Genovese
If you are managing a school garden or teaching your children how tocook from the flowers, vegetables and herbs you grow in your home garden, Basil Genovese is an important herb to include. You may already have Basil Genovese growing in your garden, but by mid-summer it is usually looking pretty weary with rust spots and yellowing, so August is a great time tofreshen the basil in your garden or to seed a pot which you will bring indoors in September.
The most famous and most widely used Basil is Basil Genovese. This is the basil we use in pestos, the basil we buy in the stores and the most frequently grown basil. In France, it is known as the herb royale. In Italy, it has always been a sign of love. Basil has always been a sign of fine dining and romance.
It is important for children to understand that the earliest colonists brought basil to the New World. The herb is native to areas of the Mediterranean, but it has been a part of the American culinary experience since the 1600s.
It is easy to grow from seed if the soil is warm enough. Basil should not be seeded until the soil is at least 70 degrees. For a fall crop, in Zones 1-4, fall basil should be planted from July 15-August 15, in Zones 5-7 fall basil should be planted from July 15-August 31, in Zones 8-10 fall basil should be planted from October 15-November 15.
Turn your garden soil, rake it smooth and then take your finger and draw a line in the soil approximately 1 inch deep. Sprinkle the seed along the line and cover with soil. Soak the soil and keep it moist until germination occurs which will happen in approximately 5-7 days in the summer. Once the seedlings are 2 inches high, thin to 3-4 inches apart. If planting in a 6-inch container, sprinkle 3-4 seeds in the container and when the seedlings are 2-inches high, thin to one plant. If planting in an 8-inch container, sprinkle 10 seeds in the container and when the seedlings are 2-inches high thin to four plants Fertilize with a high nitrogen fertilizer every two weeks for six weeks (3 applications).
The herbs discussed in this newsletter will flourish in your garden throughout the fall. Planted FROM SEED you will realize far greater success. So be adventurous and try something new in your mid-summer garden.
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