Mighty Tarragon

Tarragon has proven to be the hardiest herb in my garden. It was the first to pop through the ground and produce abundant foliage and today I got my first harvest of the fresh new sprigs for Tarragon infused vinegar.

Tarragon on May 11th, 2012

Tarragon is an excellent addition to salad dressings and sauces, it adds a nice peppery anise flavor I enjoy. When I eat the leaves off the plant my mouth tingles for a few moment before dissipating.

Tarragon is a great addition to any yard. It loves the sun and can grow to be 2 to 3 feet in height and diameter. The first year in the garden it establishes itself and the second year it takes off so give it plenty space to grow. Tarragon is pretty self reliant and is drought tolerant which makes it very attractive to the prairie gardener, however like all plants will flourish with love and attention.

Tarragon on May 23, 2012
It is about 12″ in height.

When it comes to harvesting Tarragon the new spring growth should be used fresh and the fall growth should be used dried. This is because the fall leaves are much more concentrated in their aromatic qualities making them to potent for fresh recipes.

Tarragon Infused Vinegar –

1. Wash and dry you tarragon springs.

2. Heat up the vinegar until it almost reaches its boiling point but not quite. I used apple cider vinegar because it was all I had however white wine vinegar is the most commonly used vinegar for infused vinegars.

3. Bruise your Tarragon leaves by rubbing them between your hands to release its volatile oils. If you would like only a mild Tarragon flavor then omit this step.

4. Fill your mason jar 1/3 full of herbs and top up with the vinegar leaving 1″ of room at the top of the jar for air.

Put the jar in a cool spot out of light between 7 and 14 days depending your taste preference. Try to shake the jar as often as you remember.

5. When it reaches your preferred taste, strain and store.

Enjoy in vinaigrettes, dips and sauces.

 

 

Fresh for the Picking

We have eaten radishes and chives in every afternoon meal for the last week. We have gone through the first planting of radishes and waiting on the second harvest to come in. Somehow it seems odd to be harvesting in spring.

Fresh Garden Greens – Lettuce, spinach, chives, cilantro and radishes all from the garden. May 23, 2012

Early April is when we started the raised bed with lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes and endive. When the ground was worked up I planted my onions, potatoes and a row of carrots. It is now well into May and everything is out of the ground and growing happily. We have been picking radishes and eating them fresh for the last week and lettuce will be ready soon.

I have to say I got caught up wanting to plant seeds this spring, and I forgot to add compost to the raised bed before planting. The bed needs to be fertilized to perk up the plants. My goal this week is to find a nice compost tea recipe to start making my own liquid fertilizer. I am also going plant a cover crop of either alfalfa or buckwheat to replenish the nitrogen content. I haven’t done this yet so I will make sure to document the progress.

This raised bed needs organic matter added to it. Last year it had tomatoes and peppers in it which probably absorbed a lot of the soils nutrients.

My new favorite book “The Year Round Vegetable Gardener”, the author Niki Jabbour suggests to start your peas outside as early as 6 weeks before the last frost, so I did. Once I add organic matter to the bed I am sure they will much happier.

Peas where planted the first week of April. The seedlings survived an overnight snowfall with no damage done along with the radish and lettuce seedlings.

Onions and most brassicas are also cool weather crops. The onions are up and thriving and the broccoli, cabbage and asparagus seedlings are being hardened off on porch to be transplanted in the garden.

Broccoli, Cabbage and Asparagus seedlings being hardened off for transplanting into the garden. 

I would like to plant one more lettuce crop so the seeds have a chance to germinate before the hot weather is here to stay. I am not going to plant the new lettuce crop in the raised bed but rather some place shaded in the garden to keep cool in the summer heat. I will also do another crop of carrots and beets before the cooler weather wanes.

Happy Gardening,

Brandy