So, this summer I did not have much luck unfortunately with my Chocolate Cherry Tomato Plant that I was so excited to try this year. As an amateur gardener, I have to remind myself that part of "succeeding" as a gardener is to try different things knowing that some work and some don't. I was pretty bummed about this one though since I was so excited to try something I hadn't even heard of before. But something much greater than all of my effort took over this unique tomato plant and took a hold of it in a way that was not recoverable. Oh well - I will just give it another try next year!
On the up side of my gardening ventures this summer, my herbs have done very well! Which is a wonderful thing because I absolutely LOVE herbs. I love the way they smell, I love the way they taste, and, I love, LOVE, being able to walk onto my back deck & snip a few herbs for whatever meal I am preparing.
This year I went a little light on my herb garden and just focused on some basics - Basil, Thyme, Sage, & Rosemary. These are such amazing ingredients for summer cooking & eating, but they are also great for heading into the fall and winter seasons too. I grow my herbs in containers so that I can move them in & out if needed, which makes them super easy to move inside when the temps start to dip. If you are not someone who keeps containers all year round, then drying the herbs that you have from your summer harvest is a perfect way to take those delicious little plants into the upcoming season. Just make sure you give them a good bath and then dry them on either a drying rack (I have even used window screens before!) or bundle several stems together and hang in bunches. Once dry, then you can either keep them in bunches for their fragrant beauty or run all of the dry leaves off their branches with your hand into airtight containers (I use little spice jars for mine). They are wonderful (& handy!) all year round.
A few of my very favorite uses of my herbs include of course basil pesto (when I have enough leaves), rosemary parmesan crackers, toppings on homemade pizzas, and of course soups! I am thinking about trying to actually infuse some of my herbs this year in a little olive oil to make my own "flavored" oil. I'll let you know if I try it & how it turns out! So enjoy those herbs for the remainder of this summer - clip, eat, dry, experiment, create, and infuse them however you find inspiration to do so!
