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.

Canned Tomato Basil Sauce

I finally gathered enough tomatoes to can something!  Garden-wise, our tomato crop of 53 plants had a rough beginning, as did everyone I talked to near and far around this area, not just up here on the hill.  We had a lot of heavy rains early on this summer followed by very hot, dry days in the 95-100 degree range.  Soaked soil + hot on top isn't good for tender roots of tomato plants apparently, at least that's all we came up with as an excuse.  When our tomatoes did start to turn red on the bottom they also started to rot on the bottom.  Or the tops began bleaching out before the whole thing had a chance to finish turning.  I had to start picking the tomatoes as soon as I saw them even slightly begin to turn colors.

Once our tomatoes seemed to be doing alright, they ALL started to turn.  After having thoughts of "we are never going to have tomatoes" and "just weed-eat and mow 'em down, they are breaking my heart" to "wow here they are... this is going to be a fast and short season!"  I am thankful for what we have gotten and have tried my hardest to make the most of what we have been blessed with.  I also made the most of what our neighbor Mr. Butler shared from his tomato patch in which I didn't have to be told twice to get what I wanted out of!

Since August 4th I have managed to can 7 pints of tomatoes and okra, 4 pints of seasoned tomato sauce, 5 pints of pasta sauce using Mrs. Wages mix (which is my favorite and seems to be obsolete around here) and 12 pints of tomato-basil sauce.  All in all I have used somewhere around 64 pounds of tomatoes.  I would like to put up at least two more batches of sauce that can be used in recipes from spaghetti to minestrone soup throughout the winter so we'll see.

I would also like to share the recipe I used to can the tomato basil sauce.  I wish it only took an hour start to finish and I wish you would end up with mega pints of sauce but sadly... no and no.  But the recipe will be a wonderful base for many dishes that call for pasta sauce and can be seasoned later on with garlic, Italian seasonings, vegetables... whatever you wish.  I know it smells fabulous cooking in the kitchen and will aid in keeping us healthy until next year.

Tomato Basil Sauce

10 pounds tomatoes
3 Tablespoons fresh, chopped basil, or 1 tablespoon dried
Lemon juice
Salt

Peel tomatoes by dipping in to boiling water for about one minute.  Allow to cool to the touch and easily remove skins.  Core tomatoes (cut the top off) and cut in to quarters.  Place half of the tomatoes into a large, stainless steel stock pot and bring to a boil, crushing with a potato masher.  Add remaining tomatoes, turn to a lower temperature and allow to simmer uncovered for two hours stirring often as to prevent sticking.  Remove from heat and stir in basil.  Put 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt (I use canning salt) into each hot pint jar.  Ladle hot sauce into jars, wipe rims clean, add hot lids and screw bands on finger-tip tight.  Process in a boiling water canning bath for 35 minutes.  Allow to cool.  Label jar contents and store.  Enjoy as you wish during the coming, fresh tomato-less months.