First Harvest of the Season
You can’t beat an early spring harvest courtesy of cold-hardy perennials. I’ve barely done anything in the garden and I’m already raking in the food stuffs!
- Clockwise from top right: Onions, dandelion greens, garlic chives, chives, lemon balm.
These chives have been growing in a large galvanized wash basin on my rooftop deck for several years. They always survive whatever winter throws at them and are the first thing up in the spring. Buds are starting to show which means that chive blossoms aren’t far off.
This is only the beginning of lemon balm (aka lemon bomb!) season at the community garden. The trick of it is to catch it early and harvest the tender leaves before flowers make an appearance.
My French sorrel (another early riser) inexplicably disappeared this year so I walked over to the garden early this evening and popped a new one into the ground.
May 5th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
What are you going to make with this stuff?
May 5th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Lemon balm is good for tea. I bundled it up and have it hanging to dry. Davin steamed the dandelion greens for last night’s meal and we ate some of the chives and onions with perogies.
May 6th, 2007 at 4:20 am
Wow, I’ve got loads of lemon balm and thought it was just good for smelling. I’m going to try tea too. Do you mix it with anything?
May 6th, 2007 at 10:41 am
I don’t add anything to it but you certainly can. Lemon balm is very good for soothing an upset stomach and aiding digestion. Fresh chopped leaves taste good in fruit salad or as a garnish.
May 6th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
My lemon is kicking a.. Was struggling for the past two months, but with the coming of May she is strutting her stuff.
I lace my evening salads with lemon balm and spearmint. I add both to my homemade lemonade.
May 7th, 2007 at 9:06 am
where can you buy plants stevia in toronto area?
May 7th, 2007 at 11:53 am
Mmm, we had pasta with straight from the garden fava beans and chard the other night. it was soooo good!
May 30th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
[…] If you’re looking for a hardy herb that will produce a harvest all season-long, and can withstand just about anything you can throw at it then look no further than chives. I’ve been growing this wash basin of chives for so many years I can’t for the life of me recall where I got the tub or the plant. All I know is that it is one of the few perennial herbs that I can count on to withstand an inconsistent and sometimes bitter winter in a container and additionally be the first plant up and providing garnishes for early spring soups. […]
June 2nd, 2007 at 3:52 am
Lemon Grass: my spearmint is not doing so good. This is the first time I’m grown it. It started out great, but now the leaves our green and the stems are kinda brown. It sits next to a big beautiful basil that keeps growing beautifully. Did I plant it in the wrong spot maybe?
June 2nd, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Irene: I would move your mint to a shadier spot. The basil should be in a sunny spot and the mint in a partial sun/partial shade location.