Planting Time!

To make your mint julep, you need mint.

You need thyme for this and this.

But you don't want to have to spend 2 bucks a pop to buy them at the grocery store. (Growing you own is more environmentally friendly too. Imagine the energy expended to get that little sprig from the industrial farm to your table. And the plastic container it's packaged in? Please.) So plant your own.

I've blogged before about planting a basic herb garden. Hopefully, you've done that and are ahead of the game. You can't go wrong with rosemary (you can't kill it), oregano (ditto), basil, and sage. And don't forget mint and thyme.

This year, I'm expanding my repertoire. Have added a few pots of different herbs based, quite frankly, on the number of times I've bought them at Central Market in the last several months.

Cilantro
I cook Southwestern-type food quite often. Like this chicken with tomatillo salsa. And I'm tired of buying cilantro for the aforementioned $2.00 and throwing most of it into the compost pile. So I've planted some this year. Will let you know how it goes.

Parsley
Same with this one. It seems to be an accent in a lot of recipes, whether they be Italian- or Asian-inspired. It's a butterfly host plant too. Hopefully, the caterpillars won't get to it before I do.

Dill
This has not always been one of my favorite herbs. (WHY do people muck up potato salad by adding dill, for goodness' sake?!?) I've learned that it can be a nice lightly-applied accent though. Even enjoyed a salad mix last week that had a sprig or two of dill thrown in. So I'm trying it this year. have to beat the butterflies for this one too though....

Vegetables
We've planted a few vegetables this year too. Peppers (jalapeno, cayenne, and sweet banana) and tomatoes. (Have always done best with little cherry tomatoes like Sweet 100.) I'm even trying tomatilloes after I found a plant at the neighborhood Lowe's. I never invest a lot in them. Just thrown them in a pot, use organic gardening methods and see what happens. With heirloom toatoes at $5.99 a pound at Central Market, it's worth it even if we just harvest one or two!

So take the plunge. How glad will you be when you make pico de gallo in July that you've made from your very own home-grown tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers and cilantro?