As summer heats up, herb growing is dicey in South Florida, though some will thrive, according to Donnie Brown, an herbalist. She’s a long-time member of the Evening Herb Society of the Palm Beaches and a former speaker for the group.
Herbs were the topic of the season’s last Ocean Ridge Garden Club, which met in the home of Dana Beach in April. As guest speaker, I gave a short program on herbs, tips for using them, and provided recipes for dishes I prepared. (Recipes are shared below for my Coastal Star readers).
I talked with Brown about growing herbs in the unique South Florida heat and humidity.
Planting herbs in containers is the way to go, she said. “You can move them out of the hot summer sun and into high shade with morning sun,” she said. Forget planting in the yard; it’s ancient beach and the sandy soil is fairly useless.
“Plant in pots, in a raised bed, or hanging baskets,” she said.
Setting them on the east side of the house in summer is ideal for most of the herbs — where morning sun is more gentle on the tender leaves.
Rosemary is the one plant that thrives in full sun. Basil, marjoram, tropical oregano, thyme, and sage will live in summer. “Parsley is on and off,” she said. “Bergarten — an Israeli sage — does very well. Lemongrass grows great. More people should use it for flavoring; it’s delicious in soups.”
Hot peppers do well in summer. They need bees to produce pepper pods, so plant fennel to attract them.
“Fennel goes wild. It loves South Florida,” Brown said.
So does ginger, which is available at the grocery store sold as a root. The best “pots” for planting the root — look for pale-colored roots with lots of knobs — are wide, shallow planters, set off the ground to prevent nematodes. The roots and sprouts can be used.
“It will die over the winter, but come right back in summer, though you can dig it up and replant it like a bulb,” she said.
She also recommends harvesting herb plants that are flagging. “Harvest the whole plant’s worth of leaves, and wrap the leaves in paper towels, put into a Baggie and freeze them,” she said.
Alternately, dry them: Warm an oven to 200 degrees, turn it off, and put the herbs in the warmed oven on a tray or cookie drying rack overnight. Once completely dried, they will keep in jars for up to three months.
To buy herb plants, hit greenmarkets in season, or produce stands like the Girls Market in west Delray Beach, Bedner’s Farm Market in west Boynton Beach, Woolbright Farmer’s Market in Boynton east of I-95 or the home improvement stores.
Here’s a tip for buying at the big-box stores or supermarkets that sell herbs. “Talk to the store manager or the supervisor of the plant or garden department,” Brown said. “Learn what day they get their herbs delivered and buy them within two days of that. They admit they don’t know how to care for herbs in their artificial light setting.” You’ll get the healthiest plants, grown across the state in a similar climate, if you buy them fresh off the truck, she said.
To learn more about herbs, attend one of the Evening Herb Society meetings, held on the last Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the Mounts Botanical Garden building, 535 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach. (The society does not meet in June and July.) Cost is $20 annually to join the group.
Here are some recipes suitable for summer that use fresh herbs.
Lower-fat
lime-dill butter
Use this butter, made lower-fat with buttermilk, on grilled fish or chicken.
3/4 cup organic buttermilk, at room temperature
1 pound salted butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons fresh dill leaves, chopped fine
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons finely grated lime zest
Pinch sugar, as desired
Put butter in mixing bowl of electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Add ½ cup buttermilk and mix on low, scraping down sides. Continue to blend, adding remainder of buttermilk, until buttermilk is incorporated. Add dill, lime juice, zest, and sugar, if desired. Mix well to incorporate. Remove bowl from mixer; scrape off beaters and sides with rubber spatula. Spoon butter into a plastic bag and refrigerate until firm.
Divide butter in half and spoon onto two large squares of plastic wrap; form into logs by rolling on counter and pressing as needed, but handle minimally. Refrigerate until needed or rewrap in foil to freeze for up to 2 months.
Makes 1-3/4 pounds butter.
Basil gin gimlets
4 basil leaves
2 shots Tanqueray Gin
1 shot simple syrup
Juice of 1 lime
Muddle 3 basil leaves at bottom of shaker with simple syrup. Fill shaker with ice; add gin, lime juice and shake well. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with remaining basil leaf.
Makes 1 drink.
Pasta
and cilantro pesto
1 pound farfalle pasta, cooked al dente, drained
1 bunch fresh cilantro, washed, cleaned, patted dry
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ cup walnuts or pecans
salt to taste
½ cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil
Keep hot pasta, drained, in a large pot.
In bowl of a food processor, process all ingredients, except olive oil, until smooth, stopping machine and scraping bowl sides occasionally. Add ¼ cup of the oil with motor running, and process for 30 seconds. Stop machine; scrape sides of bowl. With motor running, drizzle in remainder of oil and process until pesto reaches desired consistency.
Pour pesto into a small saucepan and warm over low heat, until pesto begins to simmer. Pour warm pesto over cooked pasta and toss well to combine. Serve with extra Parmesan if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 8 servings.
Photos by Lauren Loricchio
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