Northern Ohio farmer explains her favorite easy-to-grow herbs
You could devote your life to growing herbs and never run out of different kinds to try or new techniques to test.
“It’s a lifetime of learning,” said Karen Langan, co-owner with her husband, Mark, of Mulberry Creek Herb Farm in Huron.
The practicality of herbs, along with their infinite versatility, helps inspire her work.
“I grew up on a farm, so what I grew would have to have use,” said Langan, who will speak with other herb experts at Saturday's sold-out Gardens at Gantz Symposium, held annually in Grove City.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary, in fact, defines herbs as plants that have “medicinal, savory or aromatic qualities.”
In other words, flowers are nice, but an herb — now there’s a plant you can do something with.
Herbs can be used in cooking, as medicine, for their scent or texture, or even in cleaning products.
Mulberry Creek offers hundreds of varieties, so I felt a little guilty asking Langan to choose just a few to discuss over the phone. But she rose to the challenge with aplomb.
For herb-growing newbies, Langan suggested two popular choices:
■ Basil — an annual that adds mouthwatering flavor to pasta, salads and other dishes.
Like most herbs, it prefers full sun and can be raised in a container or in the ground.
If you grow it in a pot, “water when the soil is dry on top.”
She added that a disease called basil downy mildew has become a threat, so growers might consider resistant varieties such as Eleonora.
■ Thyme — a versatile perennial used with meats, stews and vegetables.
“Thyme is easy to grow,” she said.
Water it when first planted, but once established, it needs little care.
Like basil, thyme is available in many varieties. The fresh, crisp scent of lavender is often included in soap and cleaning products.
“Basil, you want to use fresh,” she said. “Lemon thyme can take cooking.”
Mint, another popular herb, boasts a sweet smell and taste but has a reputation as a garden bully: It spreads aggressively and can crowd out its neighbors.
Langan offers tips on what she calls “growing mint responsibly.” She urges gardeners to plant it either in a pot or in a container in the ground.
If you try the latter technique, make several holes in the bottom of a plastic 5-gallon bucket, then bury it with only the lip exposed.
The holes allow for
A perennial culinary herb, rosemary bears tiny lightblue flowers. drainage, and the bucket barrier prevents mint from spreading by roots or surface runners.
Finally, Langan recommended scented geraniums — siblings of the classic container geraniums grown for their colorful flowers. They can be used in potpourris or to flavor beverages and foods like jellies and cakes.
“I like scented geraniums because as a group they have the widest variety of leaf shapes and colors,” she said.
“Peppermint geranium is soft, fuzzy and inviting.
“Rober’s Lemon (Rose) is erect; it’s a strong grower. You can turn it into a bonsai.”
And for strong citrus aroma, she suggested Mabel Grey.