A Conversation About peaches and herbs

My life seems to be dominated by a peculiar sound track. If it’s not a line from a song or a song title, it’s a random name of a musical group. Thus today’s title, inspired by the two crops coming into harvest right now. The musical group was actually a duo called Peaches and Herb and their one big hit was a little ballad called, “Reunited.” So naturally, when I was contemplating my herb garden while chowing down on a fresh peach from an orchard in Columbia County, my mind drifted a tad.                                                     As we suffer and complain about the heat, we sometimes forget that there are things that need heat and sunshine to burst into the flavor we so enjoy this time of year. The peaches seem to promise a bumper crop this year, judging by my neighbors’ trees, and are wonderful to can and freeze for year round treats. Herbs, however, seem to have a scary reputation. We’re slowly creeping up on them as a regular item in our cooking, but there’s so much more than basil and cilantro to spark up our recipes. Briana Davis, of Greene Bee Greenhouse, in Cornwallville, visited the “Nature Calls” podcast and gave some useful tips about growing and using herbs. You can listen at: https://ccecolumbiagreene.org/gardening/nature-calls-conversations-from-the-hudson-valley/episode-119-culinary-herbs-101.

There are many categories of herbs, from medicinal to decorative to culinary. Briana discusses the culinary herbs she grows both for sale and for her family’s use. This episode is titled “101” because it is meant to be useful to ordinary gardeners and cooks who are intimidated by herbs. Briana brings the good news. Herbs can be perennial (returning every year) or annual (full life cycle in a single season).Many can be grown indoors in the harsher weather, given enough light. There are many pizzerias in the area with a big old window box of basil parked on a sill somewhere. And there is a growing list of “farm to table” type restaurants with small herb gardens on their grounds or on patios in containers. Many herbs are ridiculously easy to grow. I happily scatter seed for dill, cilantro and fennel among my flower and vegetable beds. They’re all feathery companions to whatever else lives there, they’re useful in the kitchen, and they are awesome pollinators and hosts to butterfly caterpillars! They will reseed for several seasons on their own, once they’re established. And they are all easy to gather, dry and store for year round use. Chives and the rest of the onion family (shallots, onions, garlic) are bulbs with their own seasonal needs, but can all be dried, frozen or stored in root cellars for year round use. And the flavor exceeds what we get from the tired, imported stuff from China we find in supermarkets.

Perennial herbs are wonderfully resilient. For starters, most don’t want rich soil or too much watering which interfere with the flavor, weakening the power of the taste. Some, like Sage, are workhorses and last for years. Others, like Rosemary and Bay Laurel (bay leaf plant) are not hardy. They are wonderful container plants and can live for years under the right conditions. All can be harvested and preserved by drying or freezing. Perennial thyme and marjoram can be useful lining walkways with pretty seasonal flowers. Your county’s Cooperative Extension Office has websites dedicated to growing herbs and preserving just about everything. Look online or give the Master Gardener Volunteers a call.