Friend or Foe

We are talking gardens here.  Friend or Foe? How do you know?

Well it's like this.  Our garden looks horrible right now.  It is full of weeds and tiny things blooming that should not be allowed to bloom there.  Things that will drop little seeds that will sprout after the garden has been turned which will hopefully be very soon.  But the truth is, it has just been too wet to till up the garden.  Never-the-less, it will be done this week.  At least the potato patch.

I am going to narrow this down to the one corner of our garden, to show you what is Friend and what is Foe.  I truly should be shot for letting weeds grow around my herbs.  If I had nothing else to do this wouldn't happen right?!?!

It is pretty basic.  If you have herbs in your garden, learn to identify them.  Learn which ones will live through a mild and hard winter.  We had a very mild winter this year in Tennessee, so lucky for me, a bunch of my herbs made it that would not have during a heavy winter.  If you are new to herb gardening then some of this will just be a long learning experience from season to season.

Having herbs is very handy, very healthy, very tasty and can be very rewarding.  Here is a rundown of  your basic garden herbs.  These are on the Friend list.

Basil

wonderful on tomatoes and in pasta sauces

does not make it past a hard freeze in fall

easy to start from seed and will reseed itself in the garden if allowed to bloom

freezes well in ice cubes, dries like a dream for later use

Oregano

 my oregano made it through the mild winter here but has not in previous years

good in tomato-based sauces and on pizza

dries very well for later use

Cilantro

made it through the winter

grows fast and will flower and reseed itself in various places

the seeds will be Coriander - and can themselves be ground and used in dishes

freezes ok, dries well, better used fresh

Thyme

this is the third season for my Thyme plant

I use Thyme in meat dishes, in soups, you name it

dries well and freezes well in cubes

Dill

Dill is easy to grow from seed and will reseed itself in the garden if the seeds are not collected

dries very well

seeds can be used in dishes as well as dried sprigs

Parsley

last year was the first time I had planted parsley in the garden

it made it through the winter just fine and is the thickest little thing

can be used in many dishes as well a garnishment

can be grown easily from seed

Rosemary

very good in dishes and on yeast rolls with butter and salt

this plant made it through the winter but my last one did not and you can tell this one suffered a bit even through the mild winter we had

I've not grown this one from seed, only bought plants

freezes in cubes well

There are many more varieties of herbs, these are just the ones I have experience with.  

Now here are pics of the Foes.  I don't know their names, just their faces.  And as they are pretty, as shown here, in their lovely blooming state, they can be vicious in the garden and must be removed.

So, basically, if it is in your garden and you didn't plant it.... get it out!

It's not a pretty little gift from the plant fairy.  Weeds will take over... kill them.