We grow:

Basil
Parsley
Chives
Garlic chives
Cilantro
Dill
Fennel
Mint
Wormwood
Mugwort
Tansy
Comfrey
Rue
Lavender
Sage
Angelica
Licorice
Thyme
Clary sage
Greek Oregeno
Skullcap
Yarrow
Pennyroyal
Hyssop
Valarian
Lemon balm
Horehound
Roman Chamomile
Marsh mallow
Wintergreen

Probably a few others I'm forgetting as well. This year we made a big effort to start a number of perennial herbs but we have seeds for quite a few that we weren't able to germinate. I'll be wintersowing them this year and that should really expand our herb selection.

Lynda

Bakemom do you care to share your recipe for the basil cubes? Do you freeze the basil in water? I had a ton of basil this year and had no idea what to do with it.

Mine is in my head. Take any basic pesto recipe - I put in lemon juice, toasted pine nuts, salt, olive oil and parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes and run it through my food processor. I use less olive oil and make it more of a paste and put it into an ice cube tray. Next day, I pop them out and put them in a freezer container. Oh, and this year I added parsley to it for a nice bite.

It's important that you don't cook the pesto. I thaw it and then add olice oil to make it more saucy and toss on hot pasta. YUM-O

Hi Bakemom- would you want to share your concentrated pesto recipe?

I found this year in OK that if the monarch caterpillars did not have access to butterfly weed, they would eat parsley. My neighbor showed me the "worms" she had been picking off her parsley plants and killing - they were monarchs! I educated her and she stopped and they stripped the parsley to the ground!

I would add to lgslgs's list summer and winter savory (which I think are drastically underused) and lots of different mints. Also a lot of different scented geraniums, borage, burnet, sweet cicely, lovage and I'm sure I have a lot more I can't recall right now. My herb garden is divided into 4 parts: annual, perennial, medicinal and, my favorite, the scented one next to the potting shed. It's wonderful to sit out there and just enjoy the flowers and scents when I'm tired.

There is no written down recipe. It's just basic pesto with the ingredients I have listed - easy on the olive oil to make it more concentrated.

I love, love, love my fresh herbs!!! I think I enjoyed my herb garden as much or more than my vegetable or perennial gardens this year! So far, the perennial herb garden has chives, garlic chives, thyme, oregano, parsley - Italian & extra curled (okay, that one's a biennial), two kinds of sage, lavender, agastache (Hummingbird Mint) and one I haven't seen listed yet - French Tarragon. Next year, I want to add winter savory to this bed.

This summer, I grew four kinds of basil in with the regular veggies, and in pots on the porch I had rosemary, several kinds of mint, marjoram, dill, cilantro, and more basil, oregano, and parsley.

The fresh herbs at the grocery stores here are a joke. A couple of tiny, wilted pieces for over $3!!! Last winter I only overwintered indoors some parsley and rosemary. I went into fresh herb withdrawals, so this time I made sure I brought in several pots for the kitchen window - basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, and parsley. I just hope I can keep them alive all winter.

Bakemom, I read on the Harvest Forum this summer, that you should leave out the cheese if you are freezing your pesto. That it will keep longer that way. It sure took up less room that way. I put enough for one meal in a sandwich size baggie, flatten it out, and stack them on top of one another, like file folders, then place the stack in a quart or gallon sized freezer bag. I tried one batch with sunflower seeds instead of pinenuts, since that was what I happened to have on hand, but we haven't tried any of that yet.

I've posted pictures of it several times, but here it is again:

{{gwi:434170}}

Bonnie

Italian parsley is becoming a staple for me too, as are the leaves from celery (I don't ws that). I also have wsown basil of all different sorts, chives, oregano, sage, cilantro, and lemon balm. I enjoy having all the herbs available for cooking and just running out in the yard to get what I need when I need it.

I have grown dill and fennel in the past; I will be putting some in this coming year again because all my volunteers have been eradicated. I also grow catnip for my kitties, monarda, agastache, amaranth, calendula, tansy, yarrow, scented geraniums, chamomile,and lavender as ornamentals.

Kathi,
Those caterpillars might have been swallowtails. They look quite a bit like monarchs, but parsley, dill and fennel are host plants for various types of swallowtails. I think monarchs only eat milkweeds as caterpillars.

Martha

Another nice way to freeze basil is to mince a lot of it, and add enough tomato juice to hold it all together with no air pockets. I used to freeze this in ice cube trays, then pop out & store in freezer bags.

Parsley harvested, washed/dried well and chopped. Into a tightly sealed zip top bag and you have fresh parsley for cooking all winter.

I left Basil leaves whole after washing/drying. Gets kind of wilty in freezer but retains enough flavor to throw a couple leaves into pots of long simmering sauce over winter. LOTS of pesto sauce gets made and frozen in Glad containers (little goes a long way on pasta/gnocchi) but don't put in the grated parmesan/locatelli until it's heated on stove.

3 cups packed basil (can mix in some parsley/spinach depending on what flavor(s) you prefer-family here used to parsley only)
4 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
enough olive oil to emulsify in blender/food processor
2-3 cloves garlic (more/less if you want)
Salt/pepper to taste (remember grated cheese adds to overall saltiness)

I lightly chop ingredients since I already have to push down ingredients in blender number of times for good mix.

1/2 to 1 cup parmesan/locatelli grated cheese stirred in after all other ingredients blended/whizzed OR after heated from freezer
Add more oil, if needed, to get desired consistency when heating from freezer depending on what you're using it for (just the way Mom did it)

Kathi_rogers - as Docmom said, Monarchs use Asclepias species only. The caterpillars on the Parsley are the larvae for Black Swallowtail butterflies. They also use Dill, Fennel, Queen Anne's lace, some Zizia species, Meadow Rue, and even carrot tops for host plants. I had BST cats on my Fennel and Dill this year and want to raise them next year. Good for you to educate your neighbor, the populations of butterflies are in peril!

Here's my list of herbs. These were WS -

Basil
Flat leaf Parsley
Oregano (came from Ishareflowers at Spring swap!)
Savory
Dill
Bronze Fennel

These are growing in the garden and are perennial or reseed -

Thyme
Cilantro
Lemon Balm
Catnip
Orange mint

and lots of Monarda (most of which was WS)!

Thanks for the caterpillar education! I will be planting lots of herbs this spring (along with all my WS seedlings from the seed so graciously given by forum members!) and will plant extra for the butterflies! I have never WS before and am so glad I found this forum! Thank ya'll!!!!!

I have one warning about parsley....it WS's very well! LOL I had read that parsley was difficult to grow so I WS quite a few containers to increase the odds. I think I had 120% germination rate!!

I grow parsley, thyme, oregano, and basil regularly. I've tried cilantro, but not much luck, which is okay because we don't really like it, lol. I've had trouble with chives too, which I can't figure out since people always say they're so easy.

This year I got some rosemary cuttings from a friend and really enjoyed those.

I may try some mint in a pot this coming year. I'm afraid to plant it out in the garden, lol.

I work at an organic farm, and every time I harvest parsley, it reinforces why I love the organic attitude so much - we harvest by hand, and if we see the swallowtail caterpillars, we leave that leaf/branch alone and move on to the next one, so as not to disturb the caterpillar. On a conventional farm, that caterpillar most likely would not have been there because of pesticide/insecticide use.

:)
Dee

Dee, since you spoke up first, I guess I'll confess : ) I've had trouble with those same two. The cilantro always has excellent germination, but by the time it's about 3" tall, it starts to bolt. This year, I tried putting it in a more shady spot, which may have slowed it a little, but not much. The problem is it's a cool season herb, and I want it to be ready when the tomatoes and peppers are ripe, so that I can make salsa, but by then, it's too hot for the cilantro.

After WS chives two years in a row with a zero success rate, I got chives and garlic chives at our regional plant swap. I thought the same thing, that it was supposed to be easy to the point of annoying, so I was a bit ashamed of my failure.

Herbs are still one of my favorite things to wintersow! Since I cook with them everyday, and they don't take long to grow big enough to harvest, they are very rewarding.

Definitely keep the mint in pots. I had spearmint, chocolate, orange and pineapple mint in a pot this year, but one of them, I think it's the spearmint sent out all sorts of runners, and is attempting to choke out the rest. I'm wishing I had put them in separate pots now. It's overwintering in the garage, but maybe I'll try and separate them in the spring if they survive the winter. That is if I can figure out which one is which, and get them untangled.

Bonnie

I grow lots of herbs but must confess that I do very little cooking with them as I do very little cooking anymore--too busy outside working in the gardens. I used to be a slow worker, now I'm even slower. LOL In the fall I bring in thyme, sage and rosemary cuttings for a herb wreath which I use in winter meals. Also have pots of rosemary and marjoram and thyme for fresh snips. DH likes plain food with little seasoning. I sneak in spices but not too much.

I love the way the herbs smell and always crush a leaf or two as I work around them.

Chives grow like weeds for me but mints do not do so well, those planted in the ground seem to disappear after a year or two.

Not many people include burnett which is one of my favorites. Tastes like cucumbers. I add it to salads or nibble on it for a fresh bite when I'm outside.

Yes, Bonnie, I have the same exact problem - great germination on the cilantro, but it is, as you said, a cool weather plant, so it does tend to bolt quickly. I read that succession planting can help with this, but honestly, I don't like it enough to pay that much attention or take that much time with it, lol. And the chives, well, who knows what I'm doing wrong there? I'll just try again this year!

mnwsgal, I'll have to give that burnett a try. Sounds good!

:)
Dee

Ooooh Mnwsgal, I would love to see a picture of one of your herb wreaths. That sounds so cool!

Bonnie

This is turning out to be a more fun thread than I thought. I would also like to see pics of the herb wreath. One of my projects is to do a nice live wreath every year for the holidays. I buy the basic green wreath at the grocery store and then bring it home and stuff it with things from the garden to make it look like flower shop cool. I have a wired tapestry ribbon I use every year that compliments the brick on the front of my house - and I use sage and thyme so it smells interesting. I'll try and remember to do a thread when the time comes.

I have garlic chive seeds for SASBE - not only does it taste great, but the flowers are quite pretty and it provides winter interest. If you are game, email me. The seeds were gathered this week.

Garlic chives are very nice as an ornamental. I'm growing a lot more of them next year to put in the flower garden. If you aren't sure about taking Bakemom up on her seed offer, these are garlic chive flowers:

{{gwi:380048}}

The blooms last a nice long time. Definitely a favorite here!

Lynda

My gardens are "landscaped" with mostly herbs. I find them simple to grow and pretty. Plus I try to use them! Rosemary and some lavenders make beautiful shrubs here - that rarely need much sheering or care.
I've got several areas where I grow herbs that are lower care which I've added lots of grit and leaf mold into - well draining soils for the Mediterranean herbs. I put the herbs I like in salad right into the vegetable garden. They tend to like the same soils, and it reminds me to pick a few leaves as I pick the lettuce leaves.
Unusual herbs are some of my favorites - like Papalo. We tried it's cousin, Quinquilla but like Papalo much better. It has a "bright" taste on beans and rice. I'm beginning to grow some medicinal herbs now. We face a fight in the future of our country between imposed scientific medicine and natural herbal medicine and it will possibly be hard to get natural medicines. I'm going to grow my own!

GGG

Sorry, I don't have any photos of my herb wreaths and don't have this year's one done. My rosemary plant has been trimmed all summer so need to find another source.

I made a circle wreath of grape vines but one could make any shape or use other materials for the wreath. Then tucked fresh herbs (tied into small bundles) between the grape vines. Be sure to use lots of herbs as they will dry and take up less space leaving gaps.

It's quick and easy. One can be creative adding different herbs and dried flowers, bows etc. I keep mine simple, alternating the herbs in a design which pleases me.

Then hang it in the kitchen and snip a bit as needed. By spring it looks quite bare and remaining herbs get bottled or composted as I start to use fresh herbs picked in the garden again.

Bonnie - That's a very nice herb garden.

I've grown and most of them winter sowed:

dill
fennel - bronze and regular
garlic chives
a couple kinds of parsley
rootbeer hysop
rue
lavender

I welcome the caterpillars. Rue is my favorite plant for black swallowtails because it doesn't completely lose it's foliage even though it's being eaten.

I want to grow Genovese Basil for pesto and so far the only seed sources I found are really far north which makes me wonder if it will even grow here. Has anyone had good/bad luck with that one?

Great post Bakemom. I've enjoyed reading everyone's lists.

I grow:

basil-both green and purple. Purple Rubin was beautiful this year next to my Mrs. Dudley Cross and Double Delight roses.

borage
catmint
chives

dill-for the first time ever I actually had a stand of this herb growing. I got frustrated with trying to sow them in pots so I just scattered the seeds in a section of the veggie garden. They grew very well for me this time around. Wow fresh dill taste so good!

lavender

rosemary-currently blooming. It had bees, I believe honey bees, all over it a few days ago when it was rather warm

rue-for second year now the stb larva were all over it, munching away but not seeming to do any damage.

spearmint
thyme
Valerian
Yarrow

I've tried to grow parsley and cilantro with no luck; neither from seed or purchased plants. Any tips for successful growing of these two herbs would be greatly appreciated.

Lovage and Winter Savory are two things that I WSed without knowing what they tasted like and I now never want to be without them. They are perennial, the Lovage grew about 10 feet tall this past summer (I would've made pesto from it, but I didn't have time).
Parsley grew like gangbusters this year...either it liked where I put them in the yard, or it liked that it was a cool and wet summer (or both). I had much more of that than I had Basil this year (which was highly unusual).

Sage doesn't seem to last for me, but I'm going to keep trying different varieties to see which is happier in my yard.

Regular Chives...I don't know why, but they refuse to do anything for me. I'm going to try again though.

Thyme, Spearmint, Peppermint, Hyssop, Monarda, Catnip, Lemon Balm...they are all regulars in my yard. I have to learn how to make Mint Jelly to keep the Mints in line.

I do love my herbs...immensely!

Linda