Evening star., 1940-06-22

lavender and rosemary like old
plaster mixed with the soil, and
the mints, tarragon, borage and
angelica resent manure and like at
least a slightly alkaline soil. To be
successful all of these preferences
must be taken into consideration.
We will transplant preferably on
q cloudy day or perhaps late in the
afternoon. At any rate we will pro-
tect the little new plant from the
hot rays Of the sun.
The herbs may be divided also
into ANIMALS, perennials and bien-
malls. The handling of each is the
same as for any other similar divi-
sion Of plants.
Harvesting Crop
Very Important.
The harvesting Of the crop is
quite another story. To know how
to harvest and cure and store herbs
requires experience or at least a
guide in the form Of the best avail
able information on the subject.
We will leave that whole matter
for a later discussion since this Is,
after all, the sowing and not the
harvesting time of year.
And now which of the many,
many herbs shall we plant this
year if we are beginning an herb
garden? Perhaps we shall have
room for only few. We may wish
to start slowly by adding just some
to our already established flower
border either as tall background
plants or narrow edging. Or it
may be that in our particular gar
den We can grow we'll only those
which thrive in full SUM- However
it may be, let us consider first some
of the more commonly grown
culinary herbs and perhaps only a
few just for beauty's sake. OF the
former these are perhaps best
known and most used in American
cookery: Parsley, sage, thyme. the
mints, marjoram, savory, chives,
basil. tarragon and dill.
Parsley (Petroselinum hortense) is
the one cultivated for cookery. The
seeds germinate slowly and are best
soaked before planting. Plant pars-
ley where it is to grow and thin
to eight inches apart. Partial shade
Is best and q good rich soil No
one need to be told how or when
to use parsley.
There are a number of sages
most of which are we'll known tc
every gardener as Saliva azurea
which is a lovely blue perennial
and S. splendens, the red saliva sc
often seen in gardens. S. officinalis
is the common garden sage which
We use to such a great extent ir
the cooking of fowl. Although its
principal use Is as a seasoning, II
could be planted very effectively ir
flower border. All sages need lime
They germinate rapidly and II
planted early they should make fine
bushes the same season.
Thymes Are
Legion.
The thymes (Thymus) are q very
large class. Thymus vulgaris Is the
common garden thyme. It is very
aromatic, and almost evergreen. T
serphyllum var. citridorus is the
lemon thyme which belongs in
every garden. Because of its strong
lemon flavor and fragrance it is
much used in beverages. jellies and
candy. The seed may be sown in
the open ground in late April and
early May. The plants may be
thinned out or transplanted tc
about four inches apart.
The mints, too, are large family
but we will consider here only Men
tina spicata, known to us as spear
mint; M. piperita var. citrata, the
true white peppermint, and M. cris-
pata, curly mint much liked fol
culinary purposes. All the mints
prefer moist, sweet soil. They will
do we'll in clay soil and still bet
ter in good garden lc,n. Mints
spread so badly that it is best te
confine them in sunken tubs OF
plant them in small beds which
may be vigorously hoed. If they
become infested with rust they
should be cut down and burned and
new bed started.
The best known of the marjorams
(Origanum dictaminus) is a dainty
little sweet, or knotted, marjoram
well known in Colonial days as q
culinary bouquet and for potpourri
Marjorams do best In light, dry
warm soil. Sow the seeds in April
Summer savory (Satureia horten-
sis) may be sown outside when the
soil Is warm and does best when the
soil is poor and gravelly. Both sum.
mer and winter savory are used ir
soup and meat cookery. Tho tastt
is not unlike that Of marjoran
though stronger and more aromatic
Albums Arc
Invaluable.
shallots, onions. garNcs. leeks ant
chives are all albums. AL Of then
except chives are considered pot
herbs. Chives "a. schoenoprasum)
are small onion-like plants Whose
leaves are used for delicate onior
fiavoring in cookery. Sow seed ir
rich soil and keep well weeded. Mos
of the albums make interesting gar.
den plants because of their lovely
colors and dainty habit of growth.
Sweet green basil (Ocimum basili.
cum) is q very tender "shrubby'
plant which, when used in tomato
cookery, adds delightful hot spicy
flavor. 1t grows about a foot ant