Herbs and Vegetables Go Together in Garden and Kitchen

By Maryann Readal, Secretary, The Herb Society of America

Editor’s Note: This article was originally posted March 9, 2018. We hope it inspires you as you plan your spring gardens!

Recently I attended the Edible Yard Symposium sponsored by my local Master Gardener Association. It seems that a trend now is to plant vegetables and herbs into all of your beds instead of plowing up a special garden for these plants in the back 40. Last year, my husband tried to convince me to plant his peppers among my salvias, his spinach next to my parsley and his green beans on my garden trellis.  Oh no, I said to him then. But this may be the year to give that idea a try.

Garden author Judy Barrett, one of the symposium’s presenters, suggested considering a fruit tree when you have to replace a tree in your yard. You will enjoy the spring flowers and the fruit, she noted — another idea worth trying this year.

No room to garden? Not a problem. Find a large container and plant your herbs or vegetables in that.  Many nurseries make that easy by selling herbs and vegetables already growing in large containers. There is something uniquely satisfying about picking vegetables and herbs that you have grown yourself.

Be on the lookout for plant sales in your area. Many of The Herb Society of America’s units have spring plant sales. A check on the Calendar of Events page on the HSA website may help you locate some of these sales in your area.  These sales are a fantastic opportunity to find unusual plants that do well in your area. And you will find plants that you simply cannot buy in local nurseries and big box stores. Proceeds from these sales go toward scholarships and outreach programs by The Herb Society units.

So….be ready for spring. It IS just around the corner.

Hyper-local Hydroponics in Restaurants

By Keith Howerton

The chef looked up at me, astonished, with a crumpled up Genovese basil leaf in his hand. “Oh my god, that smells fantastic,” he said, laughing and shaking his head. We had just gone over proper basil harvesting technique, and I had invited him to pinch off a leaf of the basil he had just grown for the first time inside the restaurant. It’s funny, even chefs at nicer restaurants get used to subpar quality when it’s all they have access to. It’s just so difficult for chefs to get really fresh, high quality herbs in the consistent, predictable quantities they need to run a kitchen. So, they settle. How did he grow basil inside the restaurant? We’ll  get to that in a minute. 

Back in college, I worked in a fairly upscale restaurant. A couple times a week, I remember seeing a delivery person from a big distributor back into the loading dock in a huge refrigerated truck, offload “fresh” produce, and bring it into the kitchen. Then, a few of the cooks would unpackage these boxes filled with Genovese basil, rosemary, and mint. I still remember the first time I gave the basil a smell. It didn’t smell bad, but it didn’t smell good either. And the mint used as a garnish for some of the fancy desserts smelled vaguely of mint, and that’s being  generous. 

Anyone who has grown basil at home knows and loves its rich, sweet scent. But when you shove that beautiful, fragrant basil in a plastic bag and cram it in a refrigerator for a week, it  doesn’t smell so good anymore. It develops off flavors and loses some of its vibrant green color. Sadly, this is what the vast majority of restaurants are forced to do when they want fresh herbs. 

And it’s not their fault! Nor is it the farmers’ fault. You cannot have exceptional quality fresh herbs when there is that lag time between harvest and food preparation. Most fresh herbs, especially basil, have very short shelf-lives. But these restaurant owners have businesses to run, so they choose consistently mediocre quality rather than fantastic quality in inconsistent quantities. 

Anyway, back to the present.  

This chef is now able to grow top-notch herbs inside his restaurant, just feet away from the kitchen, because he has a sophisticated hydroponic growing system called a Farmshelf.

For those who are not familiar, hydroponics just means growing plants without soil. Instead, the plant’s roots are bathed in water with nutrients dissolved in it. The only thing reminiscent of soil is the very small amount of growing medium used to germinate the seed and anchor the plant. 

Hydroponics is a very complex topic, and there are lots of pros and cons to growing in a hydroponic system rather than growing in the ground. (That’s a discussion for another day.) But for those of us in the restaurant industry, it’s a no-brainer because it allows busy restaurant staff with no in-ground space to grow high quality produce year-round. Additionally, since it is kept nice and clean, this method prevents just about any pest or plant pathogen you can think of. 

The quality difference between what comes out of this chef’s set-up and what comes from the distributor is phenomenal. (Disclaimer: I do work for a hydroponic systems company geared toward the restaurant industry, so I applaud anyone who is using these technologies to innovate and work toward more efficient food systems that provide higher quality produce. In college, I did some work with hydroponics and was excited to learn that there were companies using hydroponics to fill gaps and solve inefficiencies I had seen in the fresh herb supply chain.) As much as I would love to say the quality difference is because we’re just so super incredibly talented, I think this massive quality difference comes down to two main factors: a controlled growing environment and the freshness. 

You know how in hot weather basil goes to flower and develops that off, licorice-type smell? Well, when you’re inside a controlled environment, where the temperatures stay around 80 degrees or less, it may as well be springtime. I have never seen the basil try to flower in this particular set-up. So, you effectively get springtime-quality basil year round when you grow in a system like this.

As for the freshness, how much fresher can you get than inside your restaurant? And thanks to the massive energy savings afforded by recent advancements in LED technology, it’s now feasible to have some systems plug right into a wall outlet. 

I know I am biased, but man… it’s a beauty, isn’t it?

Photo Credits: 1) Freshly harvested basil; 2) Basil in hydroponic pots; 3) Roots of basil grown in hydroponic situation; 4) Farmshelf hydroponic growth chamber. All photos courtesy of the author.

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After getting a horticulture degree from Texas A&M University, Keith was the 2017 National Herb Garden intern, and then spent a year and a half in the Gardens Unit at the U.S. National  Arboretum. He now works for an indoor farm company called Farmshelf and is obsessed with  all things growing food, foreign languages, and cooking (and eating).

HSA Webinar: Molé, Pan and Chapulin–Oaxacan Style

by Jen Munson, HSA Education Chair

Face it, 2020, for the most part, has been a bust! The pandemic has cancelled events, reduced travel, and all but eliminated herbal adventures. As we dream of a future where we can begin to move about the globe more easily and safely, now is the perfect time to research new destinations. Interestingly, just south of the US border in Mexico there is a unique community that is home to sixteen distinct indigenous peoples living in a mild climate, enjoying unique botanic diversity. 

Oaxaca, Mexico, is a community known for its culture, crafts, textiles, ceramics, cuisine, and complex use of plants. While Mexico is known for its Day of the Dead celebrations, Oaxaca offers the most spiritual and unique celebrations of them all. The Day of the Dead festival (or Dia de los Muertos) is celebrated from October 31st thru November 2nd. During this time, locals believe the gap between our world and the spirit world opens, and loved ones are invited back for a celebration. Offerings are placed on altars in homes, schools, cemeteries, and more. Of course, the spirit world needs nutrition to support their return to the mortal world, so delicious foods play a central role. This melting pot of cultures has created signature dishes including molé (generic for sauces used in Mexican cuisine), pan (an egg based sweet bread made especially for the Day of the Dead), and chapulines (Sphenarium grasshoppers).

Join the HSA Webinar series on October 28th at 1pm EDT to celebrate the Day of the Dead with HSA members Sara Holland and Mary Doebbeling as they present, “Molé, Pan, and Chapulin–Oaxacan Style.” A recent journey took them to Oaxaca, Mexico, where they had the opportunity to study and use local herbs and plants. Our webinars are free to members and $5.00 for guests. Become a member today and enjoy all our webinars for free. Visit https://www.herbsociety.org/hsa-learn/hsa-webinars or click here to sign up.

Photo Credits: 1) Enchantedlearning.com; 2) Dia de los Muertos Celebration (Holland/Doebbeling); 3) Pan bread (Holland/Doebbeling).

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Sara Holland and Mary Doebbeling are active members of the Pioneer Unit, giving local presentations and traveling throughout southwest Texas presenting interesting herbal programs. In addition to being active locally, they have both served as South Central District Membership Delegates and have made contributions to HSA Essential Guides, worked on steering committees for district gatherings, and contributed to various committees including the Research Grant Committee.

An Herbal Obscurity

By Chrissy Moore

If you asked me about my favorite herbs, you’d likely be surprised by my response. I tend to gravitate toward more obscure plants and topics in the herb world. My most recent herbal revelation is no exception.

One of my friends is a complete and total railroad aficionado. I love these kinds of people because they often have gems of obscure information at the ready for anyone willing to listen, and as a naturally inquisitive person myself, I am almost always a willing listener. Recently, this friend–I’ll call him James–was explaining to me the wheel systems on trains, pre-21st century. (I told you it was obscure, but I love it!). Midway through his explanation, he said, “And they packed the journal [part of the wheel system] with cotton waste, and…”

“Wait, what? What did you say? Cotton what?”

“Cotton waste. They’d soak it in oil, pack it under the journal, and the lubrication would help reduce friction between the journal and the wheel bearing.”

“What the heck is cotton waste?” (Clearly I was distracted from the main point of the conversation.)

“You know, scraps of cotton fabric or fiber or whatever.”

“Where did they get it? Did they just tear up old shirts or something? That’s a lot of old shirts for all the trains in the country!”

James cocked his head in response with a quizzical look on his face. I don’t think anyone had ever prodded him about this particular topic before. Leave it to me. Hah!

If you’re not involved in the textile industry in some way, as I am not, you may not be familiar with the term “cotton waste.” James’s wife, who is very familiar with cotton waste, she being a seamstress, intervened in the conversation and explained it to me. Essentially, it is the leftover scraps of fiber or fabric from clothes manufacturing or the like. As you might imagine, there’s a lot of it hanging around.

I was so excited to learn about this use of cotton–as obscure as it may be to most of us–because cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is one of my favorite herbs! The fibers are used in so many applications, it’s hard to recount them all: from clothing (the obvious) to cotton swabs/balls to movie film cellulose (now a thing of the past); from cling film to its use in the food industry (cottonseed)… these are just a few examples. Talk about a jack-of-all-trades. And here was yet another use for this amazing plant: the inner workings of a train. Who knew?! James did, of course.

Because my interest was piqued–as any herbal nerd’s would be–I decided to dig a little deeper into cotton waste’s uses. The waste can be environmentally dodgy and potentially dangerous, since it’s basically flammable material laying about (a whole other topic). But as it turns out, there are various companies and non-profit organizations that collect the waste–either the fabric or fiber–and recycle it into things like new garments, furniture, or housing insulation. (You gotta admire people’s ingenuity.) According to one insulation manufacturer, their insulation is fire-retardant, mold/mildew resistant, has no VOCs (volatile organic compounds), and has excellent noise-dampening qualities. While I cannot speak to the veracity of those claims, the mere idea that cotton fiber can be used in a different format, yet again, is a perfect example of what it means for a plant to be “herbal.”

Whether used for culinary purposes, for fragrance or medicine, or in this case, industrially, plants that give and give and give again rank high on my personal list. My thanks go out to James (and the many enthusiasts like him) for inadvertently introducing me to a new use for this hard-working herb. Next time someone asks me about my favorite plants, I now have a great herbal obscurity at the ready to share with any willing listeners!

Photo credits: 1) Train journal with cotton waste packing (Steve Smith, Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum); 2) Cotton waste (Artistic Fabric & Garment Industries); 3) ‘Mississippi Brown’ cotton boll, Gossypium hirsutum ‘Mississippi Brown’ (author’s photo); 4) Recycled cotton waste housing insulation (Bonded Logic).

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Chrissy Moore is the curator of the National Herb Garden at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, DC. As steward of the NHG, Chrissy lectures, provides tours, and writes on various herbal topics, as well as shepherds the garden’s “Under the Arbor” educational outreach program. She is a member of the Potomac Unit of The Herb Society of America and is an International Society of Arboriculture certified arborist.

Growing Herbs in Small Places (Pots and Various Containers)

By William “Bill” Varney

A great advantage of herbs is that regardless of your limited space, almost all herbs can be successfully grown in containers and small spaces. In fact, potted herbs will make a garden where nothing else will.

Virgil the Roman poet said it best: “Admire a large estate, but work a small one.”

Tips:

•  No place is too small for a garden of potted herbs, and there is always a place in any type of garden for decorative containers of herbs.
• Any container from one gallon to forty is usable. However, it is advisable to plant only hardy perennials in your largest containers. If five-gallon containers are used for tender perennials or annuals, keep them near your front or back door, then when a freeze is predicted, moving them indoors is easier.
• Be creative in choosing your containers: Horse troughs, iron kettles, old watering cans, cinder blocks, pallets, unusual old tins, the list is endless. Of course, the traditional clay pots, redwood, and cedar containers are the old mainstay. Other alternatives are hanging baskets and containers.
• Requirements for any container include good drainage and a depth of at least six inches is essential, regardless if the container is plastic, clay, or unusual material. There must be room for a root system to draw sufficient moisture and food to keep the plant growing and healthy.
• Grow plants together in a large container. A whiskey or wine barrel, for example. Strawberry pots are perfect for many smaller growing herbs, such as thyme, parley, marjoram, and chives.
• A slightly richer soil is suggested for potted herbs, especially mint, parsley, chives, and chervil, than those in the garden.
• Additionally, potted herbs should have four to five hours of sun. If placed in full sun, recognize that they will dry out very quickly during the summer.

If you live in a warmer part of the country, fall is a great time to bring your herbs a little closer to your kitchen by planting them in pots. If you live in a colder climate, start making notes about planting some of your herbs in pots next spring.

 

Ophelia, Herbalista

By Kathleen M Hale, Western Reserve Herb Society

Ophelia is having a moment. This summer she’s the heroine of a major motion picture. She is portrayed by Daisy Ridley, who is also presently portraying, Rey, the heroine of the most recent Star Wars trilogy. This may seem strange, since Ophelia is a fictional character who is more than 400 years old. But she has had her moments before, most notably in the Victorian era. She was the darling subject of several eminent British Pre-Raphaelite painters, who had their respective models/muses/mistresses pose in bathtubs to come up with images like this:

OPHELIA, John Everett Milais (1852)

Ophelia was the beloved of Hamlet, hero of Shakespeare’s play of the same name. Hamlet was a very bad boyfriend, but he was a complicated guy, and things in Elsinore were dark and scary.

Everybody used poor Ophelia as a pawn, while loudly explaining to everyone else how much they loved her. She finally had enough, and ended up dead, singing herbal songs to herself as she floated downstream to her doom.

Apparently, the drowning of a poor girl, rather like this (minus the dynastic intrigue) had happened back in Stratford, and Shakespeare was impressed enough with the image to pull it out of his hat as a very dramatic end for poor Ophelia.

But why did Shakespeare’s Ophelia go fatally floating down the river singing about herbs?

She, not unlike Hamlet, had begun to talk apparent and often bawdy nonsense after the death of her own father, Polonius. Clearly, she has gone mad. Well, possibly. There’s a lot of that going around at the castle.

She hands out flowers to those around her, citing their symbolic meanings, although she keeps for herself only rue, for remembrance. Everyone shakes their heads, metaphorically, and says it is very sad. Then they let her go down to the river, where, offstage, she climbs out onto a willow branch while garlanded with flowers. When the bough broke, Ophelia fell, still singing, still wreathed with flowers, floating away until her end. Later, there’s a lot of bluster and dueling over her grave. Because they all loved her so much.

What was Ophelia trying to tell us? First, the girl is upset. She distributes the following:

• Rosemary, to her brother, Laertes, for remembrance and faithfulness. She may be saying goodbye, or she may be putting him on his guard.
• Pansy, for faithfulness, is, she says, “for thoughts.”
• Fennel and columbine, given to the murderous and possibly adulterous King Claudius, mean flattery and unfaithfulness.
• Rue, used at the time to induce abortion, is very bitter. Its meanings evolved to incorporate two aspects: for adultery and bitter repentance. This she gives both Queen Gertrude and her, although she tells the Queen, “O, you must wear your rue with a difference.” She both seems to identify with the Queen’s difficulties and to distance herself from them. Which could mean lots of things.
• Daisy: for innocence. She discards it.
• Violet, for fidelity. “I would give you some violets, but they wither’d all when my father died.” I don’t know exactly who this targets. Hamlet killed her father accidentally, when he thought he was killing his stepfather/uncle. Did I mention things were complicated at Elsinore? But whoever is the target, it’s obviously a slam.

Hamlet, obviously, is foremost in her thoughts, although he is not present in the scene. How many of these messages are meant for him? How much is a coded message, either to the audience or to the Court? Or is this truly, only the babbling of a mad woman?

I don’t know. Nobody knows. But it has a dream logic and an elegance that draws us in. Which is why this fictional waif is still having movies made about her, I suppose. Here’s to remembrance

Discover the Best Lavender for Cooking

By Paris Wolfe, Blogmaster, The Herb Society of America

In early July I was invited to a potluck picnic for Edible Cleveland magazine. Potlucks push my overachiever button and I wanted to impress my fellow writers. So, I challenged myself to making something apropos of the magazine — local, seasonal and organic. As the blogmaster for The Herb Society of America I thought it would be fun to reflect my passion for herbs.

Lavender scones seemed like a great idea, but they just weren’t impressive enough. So, I picked up The Art of Cooking with Lavender by Nancy Baggett. There I found a recipe for lavender chicken salad.

 

(The boyfriend said he’d chose Wendy’s over lavender-spiked food, but he ate the chicken salad without notice.)

My next step was to gather significant ingredients … free-range, organic chicken from New Creation Farm in Chardon, Ohio, and lavender from Luvin’ Lavender in Madison, Ohio. That’s where I learned that not all lavender is created equal when it comes to the kitchen.

Luvin’ Lavender grows 19 varieties, with a seven best suited to culinary use. That’s because each variety has subtle (or even bold) taste differences. Some are sweeter or more floral; others have a stronger camphor component.

Having learned from the owner Laurie H, I turned to my friend Edgar Anderson of Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm, Shop & Le Petit Bistro on Washington Island in Door County, Wisconsin, with more questions on lavender in the kitchen. Anderson and his wife Martine operate a 21-acre farm with 14,000 plants – 10 varieties — on five acres of land. In addition to their Washington Island retail shop, they operate another retail shop in Fish Creek, WI and a bistro with a lavender-based menu.

“For cooking, it’s best to stay within the English varieties – Lavendula angustifolia,” he says.  The most commonly found L. angustifolias as retail are ‘Hidcote’, ‘Munstead’ and ‘Royal Velvet’.

“Within the English there are minute nuances. They’re usually very sweet in taste and smell. One might be more lemony or flowery, but all are easy to work with in the kitchen,” says Edgar. Fragrant Isle uses royal velvet in most of their edible products.

English lavender is usually harvested from June through July. Fragrant Isle harvests twice, once for buds and once for distilling into oil. Harvesting for dry buds – unopened flowers – is done by hand. Flower stems are cut and made into small bundles tied with rubberbands.

The bundles hang in a barn for six weeks until they’re dry enough to separate purple flower buds from gray-green stems. While the farm mechanizes separation, home growers can gently shake or brush the crop into a bag or onto a cloth.

Leaves, stems and debris should not be part of the process . “You don’t want them because they will give a grassy scent to your cooking. We have vibrating sifting screens to remove debris. They go through three different screenings.” At home colanders and mesh sifters might be useful.

The culinary lavender oil is distilled from fresh lavender bundles.   The fresh lavender bundles are placed in their copper still, usually 40 pounds of fresh lavender bundles, and once the water reaches 212 degrees F, the lavender is “cooked” for 90 minutes.   Then the lavender flowers release their essential oil and hydrosol, which are captured in a glass container.   The essential oil, being lighter than water floats to the top.   Once the hydrosol is drained, the essential oil remains and is placed in a glass bottle.   Culinary essential oil is used for baking, as it is more potent than culinary lavender buds.

Once processed Fragrant Isle either uses the lavender in the bistro or packages it for sale. Home growers should put it in a sealed container – preferably glass — and store away from humidity.

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Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm & Shop, is hosting its 3rd Annual “All Things Lavender” Festival Friday, July 21 – Sunday, July 23, 2017.  Festival highlights include daily seminars presented by Lavender Industry Experts, Experiences to explore one’s inner artist with painting classes, pampering with massages, Destiny Readings, Lavender U-Pick Field, Entertainment by Musical performers & Washington Island Scandinavian Folk Dancers and Food be it a taste of “lavender,” from sweet to savory, exquisite chocolates, Apple Lavender Cider, or Light Belgian style beer with bright lavender and honey tones.

Sansho Pepper Experience Startles Me

By Paris Wolfe, Blogmaster, The Herb Society of America

I seek herbs when I travel, to see how they’re part of a local culture. The Jean-Talon Market in Montreal was a jackpot.

My favorite store in the historic market was Epices de Cru, a colorful exotic vendor of herbs, tea and spices. The husband and wife owners travel the world to bring home the best ingredients from the “ordinary” to the unusual. Think: Cinnamon leaf or avocado leaf (use like bay leaf with a different accent.) I was so entranced I visited twice. The second time I spent an hour perusing shelves and deciding just what to carry to my Ohio home.

Feeling adventurous I asked for the most unusual product and was introduced to sansho pepper. I can’t decide if the person assisting liked me or hated me when I was allowed to sample the small “peppercorn” which comes from the berry of a deciduous shrub – prickly ash — cultivated in Asia.
It was like my first experience with wasabi. Intense nerve confusion. I wasn’t sure if I was going to live or die. I lived. Obviously.

First, the tip of my tongue numbed. That electrified numbness spread. From cheek to cheek I sensed a citrus – lemon/lime, maybe – coolness. And, my mouth started to water. It wasn’t hot or spicy, but like something had a hold of the nerves in my mouth. It expanded beyond taste to a physical sensation. And, it lasted nearly 10 minutes.

Once I realized that anesthesia was the expected experience and the limit (I wasn’t succumbing to rare nerve poison), I was fascinated.  But, why would someone want to add this seasoning to their food?

Rumor has it that it cuts through fatty eel richness and minimizes heat perception in some dishes. I can see why.

I didn’t buy sansho because I wasn’t sure my friends were ready for the challenge. But, you can find it at Spice Trekkers.

The unusual herbs and spices are just part of the utility and charm of Epices de Cru. It’s also educational. I plan to compare rosemary from Provence and India as well as Oregano from Oaxaca, Yucatan and Turkey. I know origin has influence.

What is Sustainable Seed & Why We Care

By Paris Wolfe, Blogmaster, The Herb Society of America

 

Theo Bill, V.P., Sustainable Seed Co

 

Waiting for my big toe to heal from joint replacement, I spent a little (maybe, a lot) of time armchair gardening. That’s how I stumbled on the Sustainable Seed Company.

 

The family-owned company offers more than 1,875 varieties of organic and heirloom seeds, including 10 types of basil.I’m ordering the complete basil collection, but only a few of the 300 varieties of tomatoes.

I chose Sustainable Seed Company after quizzing Theo Bill, Vice President, about the meaning of “organic” seeds. It sounds responsible, but what does it really mean? In his words …

What is “organic” seed?
“Organic seed” technically means untreated or organic seeds that were planted, grown and harvested in an organically approved system.  That means no GMOs, no overt pesticide or herbicide usage, and adherence to other National Organic Program rules.  The “Spirit” of organic seed though is much broader – it covers the health of the soil, pollinators, water conservation, runoff issues, and more.

How is organic seed different?
Organic seed is grown in an organic method, so it becomes accustomed to organic growing
conditions. Conventional seed, for example, is often grown using a great deal of herbicides and pesticides.  Organic plants don’t use the same kinds of chemicals and have to be hand-weeded or out-compete the weeds to thrive.  They receive more natural fertilizer (often manures or natural minerals instead of anhydrous ammonia or other conventional fertilizer).

Unfortunately, more intensive manual labor and higher input costs, result in higher production costs. That means organic seed often costs more.  However, you are buying a higher quality seed which is more weed-resistant and less reliant on herbicides and pesticides.

Why is organic seed better?
That depends on how you want to grow your plants, and what kind of inputs (including weeding) you’ll be using.

What are the most popular herb seeds sold by Sustainable Seed Co.?
Lavender would be our most popular followed by basil and rosemary.

What herb grows best from seed? What herb is the toughest to start from seed?
The easiest would be cilantro. The most difficult is probably rosemary.

What tips would you give for growing herbs from seed?
For Mediterranean herbs (rosemary, oregano, thyme, lavender, etc.) add clean sand to the soil mix for better drainage.

Thank you, Mr. Bill.

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From Sustainable Seed Co. — Discovering “new” heirloom seeds is one of our passions, and we would love to hear from anyone who is growing heirloom seeds that have been passed down for generations. We hope to preserve this part of history and believe that, with the continuing encroachment from large producers of hybrid and GMO seeds, companies like ours, along with our customers, may be a crucial link to saving the future of food.

 

Preparing a Punny Planting Plan

By Paris Wolfe, Blogmaster, The Herb Society of America

I am a thrift shopping junkie. And, it’s part of my gardening life.

At a garage sale last spring, I grabbed 6-inch concrete angel from a paved driveway before the woman next to me could claim it. At the end of an estate sale in late fall, I gave up $40 for a curved cement bench that no one wanted. Both were deals. Both were accidental.

For 2016, I have a plan. In fact, I have plenty of punny planting plans.

I’m putting kitchen herbs in kitchenware.

Mint pouring from a vintage aluminum teakettle. Lavender standing in a shiny, tin flour sifter. Thyme draping from a tall metal coffee server. Parsley and oregano crowded into a weathered aluminum pasta pot garnished with a wooden spoon.

It’s not a novel idea. Just check out Adam Caplin’s “Planted Junk” from 2001. It’s one of several available garden junk books inspiring my summer fantasies.

“Junk pots—often beautiful in themselves – can be planted to enhance the overall garden look,” writes Caplin.

Exactly. But, it requires forethought to do it well. That’s why I’m starting now. I need time to find the right size, shape, color AND price.

I’m challenging myself to find containers that cost less than $5, are rustically attractive and have outlived their kitchen use.

Why? Because junk shouldn’t cost too much. And, it’s a shame to trash perfectly good kitchenware … at least that’s what my Catholic guilt pings me.

With that in mind, I’m haunting Goodwill and Salvation Army stores, thrift shops and antique retailers. And, I can’t wait for garage sale season. That won’t happen until Spring in Northeast Ohio.

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TIP: Check out http://www.shopgoodwill.com for kitchenware you can repurpose. My recent search for “tea kettle” was rich with possibilities.

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Visualizing this twist on a kitchen garden gives this gardener something to do when not looking through seed catalogs. Stay tuned for my progress. And, please share your own.