Knowledge is Power!

Dr. Wm. Robinson Plantation & Museum Circa 1690

HERBS

    Herbs are plants, whose stems die down to the ground after flowering. Their stems are fleshy and often green. Edible herbs differ from vegetables in that they are used to flavor other dishes while vegetables are eaten for themselves.Exceptions are celery, carrots and onions which are considered vegetables but are also used to flavor other dishes. Such herbs as fennel, angelica and lovage can be eaten as vegetables.
    Herbs were grown to flavor foods, as beauty aids and for their pleasant fragrance, which covered some unpleasant odors. They added zest to culinary foods and made life easier. Many of the herbs were used as medicine, for healing as well as easing pain.Some herbs were introduced to the American Indians; others were introduced to the Europeans by the Native Americans, especially those plants that were native to this country.
    Years ago people looked into their gardens for cures instead of into a medicine cabinet. Legend and tradition have attributed many medical properties to herbs, some of which have been substantiated by modern science. Many of today’s drugs are taken from herbal remedies. They were believed to have magical qualities, in the realm of the super-natural. Legend, lore or whatever we believe, we still use many herbs as the colonists did. They may be in different form (grocery bought, etc.) but many of us still glean from our gardens the basil, mint, chives and oregano, the parsley, sage, thyme, marjoram and garlic.

Instructions from the Workshop on May 16th.

After you take your garden home, follow these steps to care for your herbs.

Place you container on top of the refrigerator or someplace where it will get heat from the bottom.

It should take 5-14 days for the seeds to begin growing, depending on the plants.

Once you see most of the container with tiny sprouts, place the container where it will get bright light all day.

Keep the soil moist but not real wet.

When the plants have several sets of leaves on them and begin filling up the container, it is time to find them a permanent home.

If you want to keep the herbs inside on a window sill, just find a container that will fit and fill it with potting soil.

Remove the plants carefully from the starter garden and transplant them to their new containers.

Be careful not to overcrowd them, use more containers or share them with friends and family.

If you want to transplant them outside you have to get the young plants use to the outside temperatures.

A week before you are ready to plant outside, put the plants outside during the day out of direct sunlight. Bring them in at night if the temperature is cool.

Try to plant the herbs outside on a cloudy day.

Prepare the ground with some potting soil before putting the new plants in the ground.

Water well, but do not flood the ground.

The more you use the herbs the more they grow. For more information visit the internet or library.

Morway Memorial Rock Herb Garden Fall 09 Herb Garden Fall 08 Purple Basil Purple Sage

Herb Garden June 09