Vegetables and Herbs

10 Sep '07 3:46 pm

Spring is the season of the year when we anticipate the glories of our own vegetables-it doesn't always work out with the blows that nature throws at us,but still we plan and dream.We don't spray.
I planted some seeds of heirloom tomatoes about 7 weeks ago and every single one has grown.I have about 40 (O dear,I only need about 6- Cool

Today I worked with my herbs,putting them into fresh mix.I cannot do without chives and parsley,but I also have oreganum and sage and borage,the latter has started flowering.I have some in big pots by the back door and some in front of the vegetable garden.
Borage is related to the foxglove and I was told that NZ grew foxgloves during the war and shipped it to the Allies for medicinal use.
Dixie.

11 Sep '07 1:58 am

Well Dixie, you have taught me something new. I never would have thought of using borage leaves instead of cucumber in salads. I don't usually grow borage because I just never had much use for it. I guess next year I will have to rethink that. I normally grow dill, chives, basil, thymes, rosemary, (parsley some years, not others) and fennel. I grew sweetleaf one year and it self-seeded for a couple of years thereafter, but I didn't have any this year. Thanks for posting your optimistic and very promising seedlings. You will have to keep posting progress reports for us.

11 Sep '07 6:16 am

Do try it,Faith-it tastes like cucumber but has a much milder taste.I like the decorative blue flowers too that bring the bees.
Dixie

12 Sep '07 2:26 am

Ooh, I like that idea too - presumably a borage plant would be much more compact and simple than a cucumber plant. I wonder if they'd grow in England without a greenhouse - must do some research! Thanks for the tip, Dixie.

13 Sep '07 7:32 pm

Dixie, I have thirty Russian reds - or are they red russians? - tomatoes, and probably over two hundred lettuces of various makes and models. I can't bring myself to drop the extras onto the floor of the glass-house!

I love growing herbs in my flower gardens, and then I forget where they are. So my cooking stays dreadfully bland and boring. Oops.

Hi there Bambi, nice to hear again from you.

20 Sep '07 7:56 am

Hi Faith

You mentioned above a herb called 'sweetleaf'. I have never heard of it, can you elaborate on what it is? Sounds interesting.

Moosey, you must have a nice, sunny deck near the kitchen that would support a large pot handy for growing a few common herbs in. At best it would used frequently because of its' convenience ... at worst the cats would agree Silenced

21 Sep '07 8:44 am

Sweetleaf is Stevia, a naturally occurring sugar substitute. It is used in some artificial sweeteners. Supposedly you can use a leaf or two in brewed hot drinks as a sweetner. I haven't tried that, but I have tasted the leaves. They are very sweet. I just grew it out of curiosity.

23 Sep '07 8:12 am

Ok thanks for that, I have heard about Stevia but wasn't sure it was the same plant you were referring to.

Vegetables and Herbs

Vegetables and Herbs

Yummy, fresh herbs!

Borage

Excesses

Sweetleaf?

Stevia