Parsley, Spearmint and Lemon Balm

Three invaluable herbs you'll want in your spice rack or on your herb shelf.

Eight or ten years ago I planted a tiny pot of lemon balm and about 20 feet away I planted a tiny pot of curley leaf parsley. I planted several herbs in between them without taking note of companion planting or what plants grew well together. Nothing I planted between the two survived more than a couple of years.

The lemon balm grew into a lush, beautiful clump, but unlike most mints, didn't spread out through runners and roots and become invasive. The parsley struggled year after year providing me with enough of a harvest to flavor a few meals but nothing more.

Four years ago I cleared out everything between the parsley and lemon balm and planted a tiny pot of spearmint which struggled bravely the first year, took a little better hold the next year, and last year provided me with a fine harvest.

I wasn't able to work much in my yard last year or the year before, but I did notice that the lemon balm was beginning to spread, and the parsley was thriving and last year I got more than enough parsley to last me through the winter.

While refreshing my memory on companion planting this spring I came across a warning not to plant parsley and mint together. They don't like each other! ??? I went out and looked over my herb bed to find parsley mingling with the spearmint on one side and lemon balm mingling with the spearmint on the other side having a PAR-TAY! Oh wait. Maybe that's a mad rush to claim territory. I pulled parsley and lemon balm out of the spearmint and pulled a little spearmint from each side of the main clump, leaving space between the three. We'll see how they do this year. I sure don't want the lemon balm and spearmint cross pollinating.

Parsley is a wonderful kidney tonic and is great for a plate garnish and for giving depth and richness to sauces, stews and soups.

Spearmint, like all mints is calming while giving clarity of mind. It's a great addition to a tall glass of lemonade or iced tea during the summer. It's also carminative and is an aid to digestive upset.

Lemon balm is a sedative and is often used to combat mild depression. It doesn't retain its medicinal properties when dried, but does retain its flavor. It's also good in lemonade and iced tea as well as adding a fine lemon flavor to desserts and sauces.

Whitehouse Herbs Part II

Well, better late than never I guess. I started this series over a month ago and finally finished it. Instead of making it a three part series, I've made it only two parts in view of the time lapse. I hope you find the information on these herbs valuable.
Rosemary
Rosemary is one of the most delicious and versatile herbs to have in your garden. Whether it is upright or trailing, its needle like leaves provide a contrast to other broad-leaved plants making it great for either a focal or accent plant.
Culinary
Rosemary provides a delicious complement to most meats and vegetable dishes. It’s used in many commercial herb blends. It sturdy stems can be used individually as skewers or tied in a bundle and used as a whisk. Both uses impart a mild Rosemary flavor to the foods they’re used on.
Companion
Rosemary is a great companion to cabbage, carrots and beans. Deters cabbage moths, bean beetles, and carrot flies.
Medicinal
“Rosemary is for remembrance” is an old saying. Brides bouquets of long ago had sprigs of Rosemary tucked in them so the bride, who would be moving far away and may not see her family for years, would not forget her family. Rosemary has since been proven to increase circulation, especially to the brain, which may indeed affect the memory.
It is antibacterial, aromatic, anti-depressant, rejuvinative, nevine, and tonic.

Marjorum
Culinary
If you like oregano, you’ll love marjorum. It’s like oregano, but with a deeper richer flavor and never has the bitterness that oregano can sometimes have. Because it’s stronger, use it sparingly.
Companion
When grown with vegetables and other herbs, marjorum improves their flavor.
Medicinal
Great for soothing aching muscles. Add to your bath water or infuse in oil and use for a massage. Make it into a tea to sooth an upset digestive system. Marjorum is highly antibacterial and anti oxidant.

Chives
The tall slender blade like leaves of chives and their taller flower umbels make a nice backdrop for lower growing rounded plants.
Culinary
Chives make a tasty, colorful addition to raw dishes such as salads, or add them at the last minute to vegetables and/or meat dishes. Chives have a light taste without the bitterness of onion or garlic. The White House garden features both chives and garlic chives. In addition to the fabulous taste of the chives, the blossoms make a delightful vinegar to be used straight on salads or mixed with oil for a vinaigrette dressing.
Companion
Helps to keep aphids away from tomatoes, mums and sunflowers. Chives may drive away Japanese beetles and carrot rust fly. Planted among apple trees it helps prevent scab and among roses it prevents black spot. You will need patience as it takes about 3 years for plantings of chives to prevent the 2 diseases. A tea of chives may be used on cucumbers and gooseberries to prevent downy and powdery mildews. Avoid planting near beans and peas.

Chamomile
Chamomile is a beautiful, low growing plant with pretty white flowers with yellow centers. It’s name means ground apple, and it has a slightly apple aroma and flavor. Many people grow it for its beauty and durability, and history suggests it was the first plant used for a lawn in Great Briton.
Culinary/medicinal
Chamomile makes a delightfully soothing tea to help children and adults alike get a good nights sleep.
Companion
Improves flavor of cabbages, cucumbers and onions. Host to hoverflies and wasps. Accumulates calcium, potassium and sulfur, later returning them to the soil. Increases oil production from herbs. Leave some flowers unpicked and German chamomile will reseed itself. Roman chamomile is a low growing perennial that will tolerate almost any soil conditions. Both like full sun. Growing chamomile of any type is considered a tonic for anything you grow in the garden.

Dill
This light airy plant is a great backdrop for lower growing, more dense plants.
Culinary
Dill is an herb we know best as a pickling spice, but its highly aromatic fern like leaves and seeds make a wonderful seasoning for fish and vegetables.
Companion
Improves growth and health of cabbage. Do not plant near carrots, caraway or tomatoes. Best friend for lettuce. Attracts hoverflies and predatory wasps. Repels aphids and spider mites to some degree. Also may repel the dreaded squash bug! (scatter some good size dill leaves on plants that are suspect to squash bugs, like squash plants.) Dill goes well with lettuce, onions, cabbage, sweet corn and cucumbers. Dill does attract the tomato horn worm so it would be useful to plant it somewhere away from your tomato plants to keep the destructive horn worm away from them.
Medicinal
Dill is highly carminative and may aid in bacillary diarrhea as well as upset stomach. The seeds may be chewed as a breath freshener and a poultice of fresh leaves mixed with turmeric may bring a boil to a head and help heal dermal ulcers.

Cilantro
The dark foliage of cilantro adds depth to your garden. Plant in among lighter colored foliage plants for added visual appeal.
Cullinary
Cilantro is like growing two herbs in one. Its cooling leaves are a perfect compliment to Mexican, Spanish and Indian cooking. Allow some of it to go to seed for a fall harvest of coriander, which has a completely different flavor.
Medicinal
Coriander seeds may be helpful in relieving various digestive disorders including chronic diarrhea. It is also helpful for excessive menstrual flow.

Parsley
Parsley is a bright refreshing herb that grows in cool weather.
Culinary
Curly leaf or flat leaf parsley makes a delightful addition to salads and the curly leaf is a beautiful plate garnish. Don’t limit your use of parsley to these typical uses though. Parsley added to sauces, soups, stews and one dish meals really helps to blend the flavors and bring everything to life. It will be the first plant in your garden to turn green in the spring and the last to die back in the winter, although it will fade in the heat of the summer.
Companion
Allies: Asparagus, carrot, chives, onions, roses and tomato. Sprinkle the leaves on tomatoes, and asparagus. Use as a tea to ward off asparagus beetles. Attracts hoverflies. Let some go to seed to attract the tiny parasitic wasps and hoverflies. Parsley increases the fragrance of roses when planted around their base.

Medicinal.
Parsley is a great kidney toner and flusher. Its gentle action won’t make you uncomfortable, but will keep kidneys in great shape.

Mint
Mint is easy to grow, loves deep, moist, rich soil and partial shade. Be sure to plant it in containers or it will take over your garden! There are many different types of mint. If you plant more than one, be sure to separate them to keep them from cross pollinating.
Culinary
Try mint in iced tea or lemon aid. It also adds a distinctive flavor to sauces for fish or poultry.
Companion
Deters white cabbage moths, ants, rodents, flea beetles, fleas, aphids and improves the health of cabbage and tomatoes. Use cuttings as a mulch around members of the brassica family. It attracts hoverflies and predatory wasps. Earthworms are quite attracted to mint plants. Placing mint (fresh or dried) where mice are a problem is very effective in driving them off!

Medicinal.
Peppermint is useful in relieving headaches, treating breathing difficulties due to allergies, relieving symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and aiding in mental clarity.

Natural Health Care

President Obama's statements in his April 29 Town Hall meeting in Arnold, Missouri sound promising to alternative health care.
“We should do what works,” President Obama said. “I think it is pretty well documented through scientific studies that acupuncture, for example, can be very helpful in relieving certain things like migraines and other ailments – or at least as effective as more intrusive interventions.” The question eliciting the response was posed by a licensed acupuncturist and massage therapist who asked President Obama how alternative medicine would fit into his new health care system.

Read the whole story

Naturopathic Medicine Supporters Advocate For Health Care System Based On Wellness, Disease Prevention, And Natural Medicine:

More than 100 naturopathic doctors and supporters will descend on Capitol Hill Monday, May 4, to advocate for an overhaul of the nation’s health care system. Advocates from across the country will ask their Members of Congress to support H.Con.Res.58, a resolution that would transform the health care system from one that manages disease to one rooted in prevention, health promotion, and wellness. Read more

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