This morning I was out at 5:15 in the morning, setting up the hose to water the gardens at the front door. Before I went back into the house, I decided to fill the bird feeder and birdbath.
It was light outside, but the angle of the sun was still low on the horizon. The birds were just beginning their wake up chatter, and the hum of traffic sang quietly to the south.
Since I had picked up the watering wand to fill the birdbath, I decided that I would water the herb garden, too. It gave me the chance to make an assessment of what needed to be done in the garden.
I don't know if it is due to the heat we've had, or due to the angle and height of the sun, the lack of water, or the number of growing days, but many of my herbs have started to flower. Blooms are popping up on the different types of thyme, the Scottish spearmint, the basil, and sage. The feverfew has been in bloom for weeks, and the borage plants, which JUST sprang up as volunteers, have a lovely fuzzy blue flower.
Three or four weeks ago, we gave the chives a severe haircut. They are fully grown and are trying to bloom again. The oregano has gone lanky and is flowering. I haven't harvested it this year, so the stalks are long, and are flopping over the sides of the raised beds. The garlic chives have started to form flower heads. We cut back the flowers on the sage, and they are creating more bloom stalks. We cut the lemon balm in half, and today I noticed scads of tiny leaves, and.....more flowers!
If you grow herbs for essential oil, you want to harvest the herb before it blooms, because the oil is more concentrated. Basil, used in cooking, should be harvested before the plant flowers, for the best flavor. My herbs must be fulfilling their destiny. "Reproduce!" their genes say.
I give up. I'll pull the weeds, and sow some more dill, and let the rest go to flower. Who am I to argue with Mother Nature!?
Comments (6)
Must be the drought telling them to make young before they wilt away!
Posted by bogie | July 24, 2005 6:00 AM
Posted on July 24, 2005 06:00
No doubt, Bogie. The corn here is stunted. It's three or four feet tall, where it should be seven or eight feet tall. It's tassled, and there hasn't been any rain, so the crop is pretty much a loss. The leaves look spikey, more like a saw palmetto than corn.
Posted by buffy | July 24, 2005 3:01 PM
Posted on July 24, 2005 15:01
So, how DO you make essential oil with herbs? I have pineapple sage, chocolate mint, spearmint and sweet basil. But,alas, my basil is in flower, too.
Posted by Cowtown Pattie | July 25, 2005 10:19 PM
Posted on July 25, 2005 22:19
Buffy, should I be giving my chives a haircut too now? Whatr about my Mints?
Posted by Adele | July 26, 2005 12:27 PM
Posted on July 26, 2005 12:27
Pattie, I have to admit that I haven't distilled any essential oils. It's a pretty complex process. I have the general information in my herb books, but I tend to make tinctures and teas, which are easier to do.
If you're talking about pure essential oils, you're better off buying them, because the method requires steam distillation and huge amounts of herbs.
But, if you want the oil for fragrant waters or perfumes you can fill a crock with fresh flowers and/or leaves and cover them with pure olive oil or safflower oil. Let them sit for at least 24 hours, then strain the herbs out, reserving the oil. Add more herbs to the reserved oil and repeat the process, at least six times. The resulting oil can be added to lotions and salves, to the bath, to potpourris, candles, soaps or anything else you want to scent.
You can also extract oils with undenatured ethyl alcohol or vodka, using the same method. You can extract the oils by putting the vodka/oil mixture in the freezer. The vodka won't freeze, but the oil will solidify so you can skim it from the surface.
I recommend that you get a good reference book if you're going to be doing this. I'm a novice and there may be better ways to accomplish this.
Posted by buffy | July 27, 2005 2:07 PM
Posted on July 27, 2005 14:07
Adele, I don't know about the mints. One of the three I have in large containers needs to be topped, I think, but let me ask at AnHerbGarden. I want to severely cut back the oregano, and I don't know if it can withstand such a severe trimming. Actually, if it doesn't it wouldn't be a problem. I need to renovate that arm of the herb garden anyway. Maybe this will be a learning experience.
Posted by buffy | July 27, 2005 2:11 PM
Posted on July 27, 2005 14:11