Tansy Lane
Herb Farm
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Newsletter
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September
2003
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Inside this issue:
- Welcome
- Your Garden Now
- Our Garden Now
- Upcoming Events
- Featured Herb – Lemon Balm
Welcome
Another summer has gone with all the challenges that each year brings to
gardeners. At times I’m sure we all thought our herbs would float away
so I hope everyone’s survived. Fall is a favourite time of year when
herbs are being harvested and dried, the air has that refreshing coolness
to it and a touch of gold appears on the maple trees at the front of the house. It
is a time for a cup of hot herbal tea on the verandah while reflecting (and
presumably taking notes) on the successes of the past season and reminders
for the year to follow.
As amateur gardeners we are too hard on ourselves. There are many factors
to a healthy plant, only a few of which are under our control
- The health of a plant when we buy it
- Soil conditions, (which we can alter)
- Weather conditions, (out of our control)
- A plant’s adaptation to its new home (have patience)
- Age of a plant: give a new one time to adapt and mature
So let’s not be so hard on ourselves, control those things we can, have patience
and live with those we can’t control.
Your Garden Now
This is the time when gardeners want to relax but it is actually a busy time
for us. There is much harvesting to be done (see courses in Upcoming
events). Some herbs are best frozen, others dried.
The weather is great now for dividing herbs that have become overgrown. This
is where there are decisions to be made: do I want more of this herb or should
I give some to a friend?
Many herbs will set seed if left alone. If you want seedlings don’t
cut back all the seed heads. Actually, it is wise to leave seed heads
for the birds in winter, they’ll thank you with a song. Tender perennials
need to be potted up ready to bring indoors before frost (we already had some!) These
include rosemary, lemon verbena, scented geraniums and some sages. Check
herb books or call us if in doubt. They should be put in clean pots with
potting soil. Some references advise potting up a couple of weeks before
taking plants inside to give them time for adaptation to the pot before having
to adapt to inside growing conditions.
Keen gardeners like to pot up some of the perennial culinary herbs for growing
inside. In our next issue we will talk more about that.
Our Gardens Now
There is light at the end of the tunnel after all. Phase one our gardens
have been completed. We now have the following beds: thyme, culinary,
3 medicinal, tea, cat, edible flower, butterfly and a moonlight garden. What
a tremendous amount of planning and work that has been! We were fortunate
to have two workers in the gardens this summer which made the difference. There
are signs by the herbs indicating the common name, latin name and medicinal
usage. Many of the herbs have been harvested but we are enjoying the
colour of the echinacea, mallows, bergamot, pansies, marshmallow, thyme and
anise – hyssop at the moment. Some evening when the mosquitoes have
hibernated we will sit in the bench by the moonlight garden and watch the
grey and silver plants reflect in the moonlight.
Phase one will now need time to mature as phase two is constructed. The
tilling is done and we will start on the paths next week. The pergda
is already planted with grapevine and hops so hopefully they will be mature
when phase two is completed – and so the planning and dreaming goes on!!
Upcoming Events
Sunday, September 14, 2003 – Fall Harvest Celebration 12 – 5. Hopefully
you all received notice of this.
Monday, September 15, 2003 – N.B.C.C. – Herb Drying – Call the college for
registration. This course will focus on which herbs dry best and where and
how to dry them.
Monday, September 22, 2003 – N.B.C.C. – What to do with your fall harvest? -
You grew lots of herbs, now what will you do with them? Learn the best
way to preserve the goodness of each herb; in butters, oils, vinegar, jellies,
dried.
Herb of the Month
Lemon Balm ( Melissa Officinalis)
(Perennial)
The past several weeks visitors to our gardens have commented on the lemon
balm, saying they have a lot oand actually consider it a nuisance. It
is one of the herbs that grows well locally so it’s very much taken for granted.
Lemon Balm has been used for centuries in Europe for medicinal purposes. The
London Dispensary in 1696 cited lemon balm: “Balm given every morning, will
renew youth, strengthen the brain and relieve languishing nature”. It’s
virtue of dispelling melancholy has been praised by herbal writers for centuries. This
definitely sounds like a herb we should not be taking for granted.
Like most herbs, lemon balm will thrive in most soils with full sun. It
can be started indoors from seed (stone to germinate) or by divisions from
friends who should divide theirs every three or four years in the spring or
fall. Space plants 30 cm apart
Harvest small leaves to use before the plant blooms. Bunches can be
hung and air-dried for use in the winter. When dry, strip leaves from
stems and store in a jar away from light.
Suggested uses for fresh lemon balm:
- Stuff chicken with fresh leaves and clove of garlic.
- make lemon butter for fish dishes or on vegetables. (2 tbsp finely
chopped leaves in ½ cup butter, chill or freeze in molds or make butter
balls with a melon baller)
- add fresh sprigs to fruit salads
- freeze leaves in water in ice cube trays to add to summer drinks
- whole leaves can be tucked inside the foil pack when barbecuing fish
- cripfallized leaves can be stored for up to a year and used for decorating
cakes, cookies etc.
- every reference to lemon balm includes how wonderful a tea it makes.
Fresh tea can be made from fresh lemon balm leaves by themselves or combined
with mints or china tea. The English Herbalist John Gerard wrote in the
16th century that it “comforts the heart and driveth away melancholy and sadness”. So
just imagine a meal like this: barbecued trout wrapped in lemon balm leaves,
fresh green salad with chopped lemon balm leaves, fresh carrots with lemon
butter, lemon cheesecake with chopped lemon balm leaves in it, decorated with
criptallized leaves and lemon balm tea.
At Tansy Lane Herb Farm we use lemon balm in our Kicked Back Evening Tea,
Lavender Blue Balm Tea, and our Bath Teas.
I think it’s time for a cup of tea!
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