Farm Fresh: Herb Gardening

Years ago I told Hubby that my retirement dream was to have a little apothecary shop with a big herb garden in the back and a workroom/classroom upstairs.  As preliminary steps toward that future goal I need more hands on experience with growing herbs and using them (medicinally and culinarily).  I grew comfrey, sage, oregano, basil, tansy, yarrow, mint, and elder last year.  This year I have about 30 more varieties in the works.  First off - lots more comfrey! 

 Echinacea, lemon balm, yarrow and of course tons of onions (they are truly medicinal).

Leeks, anise hyssop, feverfew, purslane, nettles, mullein, skullcap, elecampane, and some others that I am forgetting are already planted and mostly sprouted.

 I expanded my grow-light set-up -- currently at 4 (4ft by 2ft), one is a stand alone light on the other table, and one more hanging light coming in the mail this week. They are daisy chained on a timer so I don't have to turn them on and off manually... yet.  Despite having 4 more lights than last year, I probably will AGAIN be rotating plants under lights to grow the maximum numbers of starts.   We are going to sell some of the starts at local fair/farm stands and see how that goes.  I have already started selling comfrey starts on craigslist.

If you are interested in medicinal herbs or the many overlaps between medicinal and culinary uses of herbs, here are some of my favorite books on them:

1. Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health: 175 Teas, Tonics, Oils, Salves, Tinctures, and Other Natural Remedies for the Entire Family
2. Juliette de Bairacli Levy - she is one of the original herbalists and gathered folk recipes in the  1930s and 40s before people forgot them in the age of antibiotics. 
3. Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients into Foods and Remedies That Heal
4. Recipes from the Herbalist's Kitchen: Delicious, Nourishing Food for Lifelong Health and Well-Being

To make room for the grow lights, I moved a bunch of our dry food storage over to these new shelves that our friends gave us. We intended to start our "No-shopping quarter" (3 months) from Dec 1st, but house guests, birthday dinners, and a baptism party led to a few trips to the store... I would say we are about 6 weeks into no-shopping quarter.   The cereal shelf that once had 30 boxes is looking mighty skimpy with only 4 boxes left. We have been quickly working our way through things I canned over the summer.  The tomatillo soup I made up with all those extra tomatillos has been a hit.  Chili, chicken noodle soup, and chicken broth have all been used regularly.  Minestrone has been my personal favorite of the bunch. It is so adaptable.  Add noodles or rice, add meatballs or no,  or with cheese and bread cubes. It was a great way for using all the veggie odds and ends.  Definitely a keeper.