Tarragon

French Tarragon

French Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)
Mexican Tarragon (Tagetes lucida)


I noticed that the FrenchTarragon in our front garden has a little frost burn.  We have two types of Tarragon in the garden:- French Tarragon and Mexican Tarragon.  I didn't harvest these plants this year as they had not been planted for very long.  I have just been snipping off a few leaves now and then to use.

Planting
Tarragon, although a hardy perennial, can be frost tender and dislikes humidity.  Plant French Tarragon by cuttings or root division.  Likes soil between 10-25 degrees C.  Mexican Tarragon plant seeds in early spring.

Companion Planting
Likes capsicum and eggplant.

Mexican Tarragon

Harvest and Storage

Snip fresh sprigs as needed, beginning in spring. Before frost, harvest the stems by cutting them at the base and letting them air dry on a screen, or bundle a few together at the base to hang upside-down to dry.
For freezing, it is best to pick the leaves of French Tarragon in the mid-summer months.

Uses

Cooking

Mexican Tarragon can be substituted for French Tarragon in cooking.  Mexican Tarragon (also know as Winter Tarragon) has a more aniseed flavour.  Use with fish, pork, beef, poultry, game, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, and most vegetables.  Tarragon is excellent in cream sauces, herb butters and vinegars, soups, sour creams, and yogurt. Use the flowers of Mexican tarragon fresh in salads or to colour rice dishes.

Herbal Medicine

French Tarragon -

Contains tannins, bitters, terpenes, flavonoids and coumarin, which may provide healing properties for the stomach and liver.  This may aid digestion and assist with toxin elimination

May act as a mild sedative.  Chewing on a few tarragon leaves will numb the mouth which may relieve toothache and other mouth pain.

Mexican Tarragon (Tagetes lucida) also known as Winter Tarragon, Spanish Tarragon and Mexican Mint Marigold. In Mexico, it is traditionally used as a tea to calm the stomach and relax the nerves.

Planning the next season

Front veg and herb garden June11

Our garden has been neglected while work was being done on the house.  Its now time to take stock of what needs to be done and where to start.  I have been trying to keep the front garden a bit tidy and parts of it are ok. 

A permaculture herb garden will never be a neat and trim garden.  I just love the way a mixed garden looks.

In our front garden the parsley and strawberries are doing well.  We have snow peas coming on plus the self sown calendula and a very healthy looking sweet potato.  Part of our rosemary hedge has died.  I ran over it - the driveway is a bit tight when reversing.  Greg has run over the strawberries and parsley several times but they seem to cope. 

Painting and Gardening and getting it all done

Bathroom - toilet waiting to be connected to tanks

 Lately there has been a lot on mind so I have not had time to 
 blog.  We have built a new floor underneath our pole home,
 here at Wangi Wangi (just Wangi to the locals).  So many
 decisions you have to make right this minute.  I am not use to
 that. I like to think about things for awhile.  Just as well our
 builders are wonderful and cope with my indecision. 

Laundry - washing machine waiting to be connected to tanks

 

New Tanks waiting to be connected

Side Garden - waiting

But I think the thing that is most weighing on my mind is the neglected stated of our garden.  I can make a lot of excuses but that won't change the fact that our garden needs a lot of help.  But it's going to have to wait.  We are just finishing off painting the new extension, just a few more days more and then maybe, just maybe, we can start work on the garden.

Banana Semi-Circle Update

  

Banana Semi-Circle when first planted February 2011

     Its been a number of weeks since I started
     the Banana Semi-Circle in February 2011.








 

Banana April 2011

Now in April, the circle is looking very overgrown and needs some work.

The sweet potato wants to take over.  Not sure that it was a good idea planting the sweet potato in the Banana circle.  I have started by placing cardboard down which I will cover with mulch.  I will then clean out the weeds and tidy up the sweet potato.

The nasturtium and petunias have finished.  Need to replace them shortly with something for spring.

Rustic Feature

Looking into TV Room and Bedroom

Today we are going to jump the gun a little and start painting some areas of our new extension before the builders have finished.

We just could not box in some of the support beams and poles. We wanted to make them a rustic feature.

TV Room

Bathroom

We have been washing the exposed beams and poles  this morning.  Over 10 years out in the elements collecting dirt and cobwebs.   Once they dry we will give them a bit of a sand where there are any sharp protruding bits that might catch on people, then a coat of low sheen, clear varnish.

Marinated Mushrooms

Marinated Mushrooms

The local supermarket had mushrooms on sale for 1/2 price so I couldn't resist.  I bought just over a kilo of mushrooms.  They were small button mushrooms in great condition.  

I immediately thought of one of our favourite mushroom recipes  - Marinated Mushrooms.  This is a recipe from The Harvest Pantry. I have had this book for years and it is has lots of great recipes.

Marinated Mushrooms from The Harvest Pantry

 

Use button mushrooms whole if they are small or quartered if large.  

These make a great Italian antipasto to serve with ham or salami.

1 tablespoon of salt

1/2 cup of white wine vinegar

500g (1lb) of mushrooms, trimmed

Sprigs of oregano

3 bay leaves

3 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon of peppercorns

About 2 cups of virgin olive oil

Bring 4 cups of water to the boil and add the salt and vinegar.  Put the mushrooms in the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes.   Drain.  Pack the mushrooms into sterilized jars along with the oregano, bay leaves, garlic and pepper.  Pour the oil over and cover the mushrooms.  Seal.  Ready to eat in a few days. Makes about 5 cups.

For my recipe, I make a few changes.  I layer the olive oil, mushrooms and other ingredients as I go.  Tapping the bottle to release trapped air.  Just to be careful I add about 1/4 teaspoon of citrus acid (in total) layering this with the other ingredients.  Citrus Acid helps to preserve food.  We love garlic and oregano but we are not so fond of peppercorns, so I add lots more garlic and oregano with just put a few peppercorns in the mix.  These mushrooms can last months in the fridge but are usually eaten well before then.  The olive oil does solidify when placed in the fridge. So if the oil goes white and hard don't worry it will liquefy again at room temperature.

Marinated Mushroom can be added to salads, pizzas, antipastos etc.,

The Harvest Pantry    includes lots of recipes for your harvest plus more recipes to use the preserves. 

Recycling - Garden Project

New garden path project

Just posted at The Terracotta Cottage Blog 
our new Recycling - Garden Project
using principles by Mike Reynolds, Earthships.