Cynthia Meredith has been gardening with herbs, reading about herbs, gardening with herbs and discussing herb gardening in Texas for more than 20 years. She has owned The Herb Cottage (www.theherbcottage.com) for over 10 years, selling herb plants to people all over our state. 

I didn't get too much done at The Herb Cottage this week. I spent a couple of days in lovely San Antonio visiting with a friend from Florida who was there visiting her mother. But, I did get germination on several flats I planted last week. The salad burnet and fernleaf dill seeds sprouted. The plants are so tiny!! I love seeding. It's just amazing to me how a little seed pushes itself through the soil and reaches for the sun. Just add water!

Salad burnet and dill seedlings. 

I had very good germination on the thyme seeds. There are two different varieties here: German winter thyme, which is an excellent herb to grow in our area and further north in Texas, and English thyme. Both types are called Thymus vulgaris or common thyme. If you see a recipe which calls for simply thyme, you can never go wrong using English thyme or the German winter variety.

German winter thyme grows a little bit stockier than the English, in my experience. It grows woodier and very sturdy. The flavors are very similar—the German is perhaps a little more pungent.

Propagating thyme from seed is not a quick endeavor. (Click here to read more about propagating herbs.) It will take about 5 to 6 weeks before these seedlings are ready to be planted in a garden or herb container. If you have healthy, thriving thyme in your garden it's easy to make new plants simply by digging out a section of the plant with roots and transplanting it to another spot. If your thyme is in a container, take it out of the pot and cut the plant in half or in sections for more plants. Don't over-water the new plants; do keep them moist until they settle into their new home.

Thyme seedlings.

It's still very hot here in Texas, but it didn't break 100 degrees yesterday. Today and tomorrow are forecast to stay in the 90s as well. I also noticed the forecast lows to be below 70 degrees the next few nights. The plants will love the cooler night temperatures, even if it's just cooler by a few degrees. When it stays hot at night, as it does here for weeks and weeks, it really stresses the herbs.

Many of our favorite herbs are from very warm environments such as the Mediterranean. Even these herbs, which thrive in hot daytime temperatures, start to suffer when the nights stay above about 75 degrees for weeks on end. So, the upcoming cooler nights should help make our herbs perk up and even put on new growth. The lemon balm I pruned to the ground a couple of weeks ago is already showing signs of fresh new growth.

If you live in the southern half of Texas and you haven't pruned back leggy herbs yet, go ahead and do it now. You don't have to prune heavily if the plants still look good. But, if you have plants that are all stem with a few leaves at the top, go ahead and cut those stems down to several inches above the soil. With cooler temperatures and shorter days, those plants will put on a flush of new growth this fall.

If you live in the northern half of Texas, where it will get colder sooner, prune lightly if the plants look leggy. Otherwise, leave them alone, harvest and enjoy your herbs this fall.

I thought I'd share this picture of Miss Ruby Begonia (my cat) under our big oak tree lounging in the chive flats. On a hot afternoon, it's cool there and the pots are a bit damp, making a fragrant, comfy place for napping. I'll be repotting the chives when she moves on to a sunnier spot as the weather cools a bit.

Ruby Begonia lounging in the chives.

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
Marcus Tullius Cicero

Summer is dwindling but you still have time to fit in a couple more barbeques this season. If your nose is tired of the intense, pervasive scent of citronella tiki torches, AmazonLights products offer a change of pace with the same bug-free results.

I recently discovered this natural bug repellent brand on a visit to my sister in Minnesota. The long, green tube labeled “garden incense sticks” lying on her table intrigued me and I was compelled to see if its ingredients were as green as the color of its odd-shaped package. Also, anything that could keep mosquitoes away in the damp Minnesota summer was a worth a try.

Courtesy AmazonLights

Sure enough, AmazonLights products are made from a combination of essential oils; Brazilian andiroba, rosemary, thyme and, of course, citronella. I was impressed not only by the high concentration of essential oils but also by the company’s sustainability practices. The incense sticks are made from bamboo and their use of andiroba oil promotes sustainable rainforest products for commercial use. They also follow Fair Trade and Community Trade practices by working with indigenous communities in the Amazon Coop.

Photo by jonrawlinson/Courtesy Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/london/

In case like me, you haven’t heard of andiroba oil (Carapa guianensis), it’s extracted from the chestnut-like fruit of the Brazilian andiroba tree and is used as an anti-inflammatory, as well as a repellant. A Journal of Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Analysis study from December 2008 proved what South Americans already knew—these effective compounds in andiroba oil, along with it's essential fatty acids, make it a valuable source for commercial products. 

Rosemary and thyme are also well-known for their bug repellant skills. Together with citronella and andiroba, these ingredients make a powerful, herbal combination. Plus andiroba is odor-free and, with the sweet smells of rosemary and thyme, these repellants don’t have the overpowering scent of a traditional citronella candle.

These products are sold at select lawn and gardening stores nationwide and you can use the store indicator on their website to find the nearest retailer, or just shop online. They offer candles, incense cones and incense sticks, all with a different time range.

Photo by zizzybaloobah/Courtesy Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zizzy/

Have you tried AmazonLights before? What natural insect repellents work best for you? Leave a comment and let me know.

Cynthia Meredith has been gardening with herbs, reading about herbs, gardening with herbs and discussing herb gardening in Texas for more than 20 years. She has owned The Herb Cottage (www.theherbcottage.com) for over 10 years, selling herb plants to people all over our state.

It's still hot and dry here in my part of south-central Texas. We had a couple of showers last week, but the tiny bit of rain made very little difference to the overall conditions. It is mid-August, however, and it's time to look ahead to the cooler days of fall (and perhaps even some rain). So, what to do in the herb garden this week?

Well, this week I'm doing lots of seeding of herbs and vegetables for fall!

Even though it's still very hot, by the time any herbs started now are ready for the garden, it'll be late September soon, and somewhat cooler. At least the days will be shorter and perhaps the nights will be a bit cooler. So, what to plant?

Cilantro, a favorite herb in this part of Texas, loves the cool temperatures of fall. And it's one I get requests for at every market, even in the heat of summer. Sadly, cilantro, or coriander as the seed is known, just does not perform well in our summer heat. The seed will sprout but the plant will bolt, go to flower and then seed almost immediately. There won't be any of those spicy, flat, flavorful leaves we love. This one has to be grown from fall into spring. Or if you're in the northern part of our state, in the fall and then again in the spring until the weather gets very hot. (Click here to read more about cilantro.)

Dill is savory, piquant and a must for potato salad, egg salad and with salmon and other fish. Dill thrives in the cool weather of fall. If you live in the northern or western part of the state, dill will not overwinter for you, so now is the time to direct seed it in beds or in containers so you'll have enough to harvest for winter. Dill is very easy to preserve. You can dry both the leaves and flowers—they hold their flavor well—or simply clip the leaves and flowers, place them in a plastic baggy and pop them into the freezer. (Click here to learn more about drying herbs.) When needed take out the parts you desire, close the baggy and put it back in the freezer. Chop or tear the dill and add it to your favorite recipe. (Click here for our recipes for dill.) If you have a long enough growing season, and enough seeds, dill makes an excellent addition to breads and seasoning mixes. If you had a dill patch in the spring that flowered and went to seed, simply water the area and you will be rewarded with new dill plants. If you've been getting rain, perhaps you are already seeing baby dill sprouting. Lucky you!

Chervil is under-appreciated, but so flavorful and dainty looking. (Click here to read more about chervil.) It sometimes goes by the name of French parsley, has a mild anise flavor that compliments fish dishes perfectly, has finely cut leaves, and is very ornamental. Try it planted with lettuce, mesclun mix or edible flowers for a winter salad garden. In the southern part of the state, chervil appreciates a little afternoon shade, but will do well in a mostly sunny spot in other areas over the winter. (Click here to try our Lemon-Butter Sauce with Chervil.)

Parsley is a highly nutritious, multi-use and indispensable herb. If your parsley didn't make it through the summer, this is a perfect time to start new plants from seed. Be patient though as parsley seed can take from 1 to 2 weeks to germinate. If you direct seed it, plant fairly close together so you have a nice, thick row. (Click here to read more about parsley.)

Curly parsley is a very attractive ornamental herb for the winter with its rich evergreen color and complex leaf shapes. Flat leaf, or Italian parsley, is not as ornamental but many people favor it for its culinary uses over the curly varieties. I suggest, "Why not plant both?"

If you've had a challenging summer with your garden, do not despair. Fall will be here, so in the meantime get a head start on your fall and winter herbs by seeding now. If you're very successful, you might have plants to share with friends or you might just have to expand your own herb plantings.

 Q: My herbs are ready to harvest and I don’t know how to dry them, freeze them, etc. Help!
—Mary Barnett
Tahlequah, Oklahoma

A: There are a few ways to dry herbs: Hang drying, screen drying, oven drying and refrigerator drying. Each technique has its pros and its cons; some techniques are better for certain herbs. When drying herbs you want to remove moisture from the plant and retain its oils. Usually, the longer it takes to dry the herbs, regardless of the technique, the less oils there will be, which means the dried herbs will have less flavor.

Basic Tips Before you Start the Drying Process

• Pick herbs just before the plant flowers to ensure that the flavors are at their strongest.

• When cutting herbs, make sure they are healthy. A few dead or damaged leaves here and they will not affect your drying as long as you discard them before drying process.

(Click here to read more about drying herbs.)

HANG DRYING: Hang drying is an ideal technique for long-stemmed herbs such as lavender, sage and rosemary.

Technique: Make a bundle of stems and tie the ends together. Pick a drying location that has good air circulation with minimal exposure to sunlight and dust. Hang the bundles upside down, and check back on the herbs in one to two weeks. You will know when the herbs are completely dried because the leaves will come off of the stem with minimal effort. Once they are dry, you can crumble them and store them into jars.

Pros: Hanging herbs is one of the easiest techniques and requires very minimal time.

Cons: If you do not have the right drying location, your herbs can take longer to dry.

SCREEN DRYING: This technique is great for smaller herbs.

Technique: Place the herbs on a window screen. As an alternative, you can use a piece of cheesecloth material stretched over a frame or any material that permits air circulation. Your herbs should be kept in a dry climate with minimal exposure to sunlight. Check on them after a couple of days and flip them over for so that they dry evenly. They will dry in about one week.

Pros: The process only takes about a week to complete. Like hang drying herbs, the process requires minimal time.

Cons: This drying technique requires space and a specific environment.

OVEN DRYING: Oven drying herbs speeds up the drying process, so be careful not to use this method for herbs that ignite quickly, such as sage.

Technique: Pull fresh leaves off of the stalk and place on an oven try. The oven should be around 350 to 400 degrees. Keep them in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until they are brittle. If the herbs are not freshly picked, reduce the oven temperature to 100 degrees and keep a constant eye on them so they do not burn.

Pros: This is the quickest drying process.

Cons: Unlike the previous techniques, using your oven to dry herbs is an expense. Also, this technique is very interactive.

REFRIGERATOR DRYING: Drying herbs in the refrigerator is great for small-leaved herbs like marjoram, rosemary and thyme.

Technique: Place small-leaved herbs on a plate and place in the refrigerator. For larger-leaved herbs, like basil, place leaves on a tray in the refrigerator. Check on them frequently and stir them around to avoid wilting and to ensure an even drying process. (Each type of herb has different drying times.) Once they are dry, place them into containers or freezer bags. Store them in the freezer for later use.

Pros: This cool, dry and dark climate will preserve oils and give you a minimal drying time.

Cons: This process requires spare refrigerator space. If the food in the refrigerator is not covered well, the odors will migrate to the herbs and they might taste like other foods. The opposite is true as well; food might taste like the herbs you are drying if the food is not covered well.  

What’s your favorite drying technique? What technique have you had success with in the past? Leave a comment and let's chat about it.

Cynthia Meredith has been gardening with herbs, reading about herbs, gardening with herbs and discussing herb gardening in Texas for more than 20 years. She has owned The Herb Cottage (www.theherbcottage.com) for over 10 years, selling herb plants to people all over our state. 

I was checking to see if there had been any comments on the blog post I wrote last week, and saw a link in the section Related Content called Lucious Lavender: A Guide to Growing and Using Lavender. What a wonderful article Kathleen Halloran wrote! Although the article was written in 1994 the content was as fresh and up-to-date as, well, a bouquet of lavender flowers. I could picture the areas she talked about in New York, Oregon and Hollywood, California where people had planted their lavender to beautify various locations. I was looking for information on growing lavender in Texas—of course—and there was a little bit at the end of the article. Kathleen referenced Madalene Hill and Gwen Barclay, our beloved Texas herb gurus. Had the article been written about five years later I believe Kathleen would have also been writing about the Texas lavender industry.

Although it's still in its fledgling state, Texas now boasts the Blanco Lavender Festival in Blanco, Texas, and a Lavender Festival at Becker Vineyards in Stonewall, Texas. Also, there are numerous lavender growers in the Texas area who are both commercial and recreational. 

Lavender Hills in Blanco, Texas 

Lavender Field at Becker Vineyard in Stonewall, Texas

Growing lavender in Texas is a challenge, especially if you live close to the Gulf Coast where the summers stay humid, as well as hot, or in eastern Texas where the soil is very heavy "Texas Gumbo" soil. The summer atmosphere dries out a bit in the Hill Country and northern Texas, so growing lavender is a lot easier. If you love lavender as much as many of us herbies do, you must have lavender growing somewhere—in your herb garden, in your container garden or even in your house—no matter how difficult.

Spanish Lavender (L. Stoechas)

The variety you choose to grow should be determined by your location. If you live where it stays humid in the summer and rains a lot—most years, anyway—the lavandin lavenders do well. These are the hybirds such as 'Provense', 'Grosso' and 'Sweet'. Spanish lavender (L. stoechas) is another lavender variety that tends to do well for me.

There are many more choices if you live in the western or northern part of the state. Many of the L. angustifolia varieties do well in these locations and will even survive the winter, as long as you can protect them a little from the drying winds of winter.

Spanish lavender can be successfully grown from seed and will flower the first year. The others, the lavandin, must be purchased as transplants or propagated from cuttings taken from a friend's plant.

Here are some links to good lavender growing information for Texas:

• White Acres Farm 

• Back Yard Gardener- This website offers more general information, but it is very complete. It explains the most common diseases found in lavender plants.

Lavender Flower, courtesy of White Acres Farm

One thing I have learned about growing lavender in southern Texas is that a good gravel mulch goes a long way to helping your plants along. This is only practical, of course, in a smaller garden setting, or even in a container garden. The idea is that the gravel helps dry the air around the plant on humid mornings, which we usually have during the summer. The other benefit of the gravel mulch is that it keeps soil from splashing on the underside of the plant, which can help keep diseases down. 

If you love lavender, don't despair, no matter where you live in Texas—there is a lavender that you can grow! Even if you have one pot on your deck or patio, you'll still be able to enjoy the aroma, pastel look and even, perhaps, be able to harvest a few flowers to make Lavender Lemonade.

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
—Marcus Tullius Cicero

My good friend, Cecilia is moving into her first apartment in a few weeks. Her mind is racing with color themes, furniture measurements and the overall design flow of her apartment. When we discussed her grand plans along with her creative ideas, one project really stuck out in my mind: Making a terrarium.  

Regardless of how big a space is or what room it is in, terrariums polish a space off and they incorporate nature into a room.

What you'll need:

• Spray bottle
• Glass container (a large open top will be easier for routine maintenance, however you can also have a closed terrarium)
• Gravel or small rocks
• Charcoal
• Cactus potting soil
• A few succulents (the number will depend on how big your glass container is) or ferns
• Moss or ground cover
• Decorations (rocks, glass or metal birds, sticks or sea glass)
• Water

Directions:

1. Terrariums do not have a drainage hole like a potted plant, so a false drainage system is necessary. Add 1 to 2 inches of gravel or small rocks to the bottom of the container. This will prevent the plants from sitting in too much water and eventually rotting.

2. Next, add a thin layer of charcoal. You can substitute sand for charcoal but keep in mind that charcoal will prevent mold from growing and it also keeps the soil fresh.

3. Add cactus potting soil. It should take up roughly1/3 the size of the container. If you are using ferns you can substitute cactus potting soil for normal potting mix.

4. Before planting, make sure you remove any dead leaves or pest infestations. Place the largest plants first as they will take up the most space; plant the others next. Make sure the leaves are not touching the glass sides. This measure will prevent unnecessary condensation.

5. Add a thin layer of moss or ground cover.

6. Place any garden decorations on top of the moss.

7. Using a spray bottle, add about a shot glass worth of water to the terrarium for the finishing touch. Don’t add too much water.

8. Keep the terrarium out of direct sun as the heat will fry the plants.

Read more about terrific terrariums: Herbs Under Glass.

Cynthia Meredith has been gardening with herbs, reading about herbs, gardening with herbs and discussing herb gardening in Texas for more than 20 years. She has owned The Herb Cottage (www.theherbcottage.com) for over 10 years, selling herb plants to people all over our state. 

It is still very hot here in my part of Texas. Day after day the temperature reaches 100 degrees or above with no rain. I was in town this morning and two people stopped me to ask how to keep their plants alive in this weather. It surely is a challenge.

Two things I think will help preserve plants are pruning and mulch. If you live where there is water rationing, you might have to sacrifice some plants to save others. Annuals are generally the biggest water-users—even in the herb garden. The sweet and succulent basils that I wrote about last week definitely are not considered drought-tolerant. Harvest your basil, make pesto or make flavored vinegar and think about replanting it early in the fall for a later crop. Save your water for your big rosemary plant or your favorite antique rose. Basil grows quickly from seed; you can usually find transplants in the southern parts of Texas to plant it early in the fall. If you live in the northern part of Texas, you can take cuttings now. Root them in a glass of water in the kitchen and plant them indoors for the winter.

Also, prune those leggy oregano plants if they're wilting too quickly every day. If they've already bloomed, prune them back by about half their size. The following picture is before I pruned back this Santa Cruz Oregano.

You can see how leggy it is—it looks unhealthy and not very attractive. The next picture is after only about 15 to 20 minutes of work pruning. How much better the tractor tire bed looks.

My lemon balm looks very poor even though it gets afternoon shade. I generally prune my lemon balm during August, and this year I'm doing it earlier. When the weather cools down it'll grow out and againprovide me with wonderful leaves for tea and Lemon Balm Quick Bread (a favorite with anyone who's ever tried it!)

The other very important step that will help your plants through this hot, dry spell is to mulch, mulch, mulch. I stepped barefoot on a spot in my yard underneath the full sun that is not mulched. Yeow!! The soil was really hot! Imagine how the roots of the plants feel with that heat around them. Also, we all know that mulch conserves water as well as tempering the soil temperature.

I know other parts of Texas have been getting rain. I'd love to hear from some of you in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area or east Texas. How do your herb gardens grow this summer??

And, just so we never give up hope, here's a picture of the flowers that recently bloomed on that tough plant—garlic chives.

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
—Marcus Tullius Cicero