Shomrei’s herb garden is in full bloom, so it’s time to start harvesting! Here is what is in each of the containers by the driveway. Container 1 is closest to the building; container 7 is farthest away, at the far edge of the tent.
- Mint and rosemary: The mint is basically a weed, a very easy plant to grow which grows back quickly after it’s cut. The rosemary was planted recently and is smaller but is doing well.
- Basil: What a success story! The basil plants are thriving so it’s time to enjoy the leaves in salads, pesto, or cooking. I put fresh basil in meatloaf…yummy!
- Chrysanthemums: These are not edible. They will bloom in the fall.
- Tarragon and thyme: The tarragon is growing like crazy, and the thyme is doing very nicely.
- Tomatoes: Still green; hopefully they’ll be ripe in August.
- Tomatoes: Ditto
- Edible nasturtiums: The flowers are edible and also nice as decoration for platters of food.
These herbs were planted to be used by the kiddush prep teams, but we have way more herbs than are needed. The herbs are now available to congregants. Here’s the simple procedure for getting the herbs:
- Take a few leaves (up to a dozen) per plant.
- Send me an email (email hidden; JavaScript is required) telling me what you took.
- If you need more than a few leaves or nasturtium flowers, let me know and I’ll cut some branches for you and leave them in the synagogue office or on my front porch.
- Don’t take any of the green tomatoes; we’ll wait for them to ripen.
After a couple of weeks, if we still have extra herbs, I’ll be offering them to the Food Pantry. Stay tuned for the arrival of plump little cherry tomatoes in on the plants in containers 5 and 6.
If you like to garden – weed, water, plant – the garden could use your help. Please contact me at email hidden; JavaScript is required or text/call (201) 981-7955.
- Herbs R Us - Thu, Jul 18, 2024
- June Garden Update - Thu, Jun 27, 2024
- The Greening of Shomrei, Parts 2 and 3 - Thu, Dec 14, 2023