Plant of the Day - Week 1
We're kicking off a "Plant of the day" series in which we will feature a plant from the database. For each featured plant, click the link to view general information, care instructions, tips, gardens with that plant, videos, and more!
First up, "Ocimum basilicum" - a.k.a. Basil!
Basil is a willing plant. It grows fast in full sun, if it has steady watering, and it regrows fast after you pinch off the leaves you need for dinner. It also grows well in containers (full sun, again) if watered just about daily. There are a lot of cultivars that vary in size, density, leaf shape and flavor. It's fun to try a new one every year (alongside your old favorite). Here's more about basil on the YGS Plant Pages.
The humble beet is one of those obliging plants that gardeners over centuries have bred for many uses--chubby roots, tender leaves, sweetness, even for leaf stalks with paintbox colors. Swiss chard comes from a beet bred for large, tender leaves. Forage beets are bred for huge roots and sugary flesh and are fed to farm animals. Sugar beets are bred for a high content of sugar and are one source, along with sugar cane, of refining sugar. Beets for the table are a good source of folic acid, vital for healthy pregnancy! Here's more about beets on the YGS Plant Pages.
Chicory is a big favorite at YourGardenShow! This hearty green can be either cultivated or picked in the wild, and you can use all parts of it! There are multiple kinds of Chicory (check the YGS database for info on 33 varieties), and the leaves from many of these can accompany practically any meat dish in Italy - perhaps thanks to a guild of Italian Chicory growers that has been operating since the 1500s? Over here in the US, Chicory shows up in many places - its root is the secret ingredient in New Orleans coffee!
The Belgians figured out long ago that you can dig up the root in late Autumn (has to be an older plant with a big root), bring it indoors in a cool place, then a warm greenhouse or just a warm spot and fool it into thinking winter is over. Then the roots send up new shoots, which are a bit like hosta shoots or dragon teeth, made of overlapping, closely clasping young leaves. For ever more finesse some of the shoots are blanched (deprived of light so they don't turn green and bitter). This delicacy is sold for salad in upscale market as Belgian endive, and known also by the French name "chicon." Even a blanched shoot is bitter but in a salad that's 90 percent lettuce a few bits of chicon are very tasty and refreshing. Here's more about chicory on the YGS Plant Pages.
Sorrel? How about some Rumex? Rumex acetone (also garden sorrel or sour dock), is a treasured ingredient of traditional French cuisine, particularly soups, and also makes for a cool additional ingredient in omelettes or even stuffing. Useful and versatile, one variety has even served as a handy wrapping for butter. Sorrel also has therapeutic properties that can help with problems throughout the digestive tract - throat to stomach and so on! As always, more info and vids on the YGS Plant pages. Here's more about sorrel on the YGS Plant Pages.
- Categories // : Plant of the Day, August 2010
Comments (2)
I enjoyed your article on Basil and also the video and learned a lot. I bought Basil from the grocery store in the vegetable dept. It was in a small pot so figured I could replant it.Called the company and was told "you can't do that"and it would never grow. I put it outside and put the pot in a dish of water. I have roots galore shooting out the bottom of the pot. Now the question is do I replant it and will it grow? You mentioned Swiss Chard--we used to call that Silver Beet in Australia.
Basil is so delicious in all kinds of soups, omlets, pizza, salads and so much more. Try this: wrap a Thai basil leaf and then a 6inch cutting of lemmon grass around a shrimp, secure with a toothpick and grill. The flavor of the Thai basil and lemmon grass is superb! Squeeze a lemon wedge over all when cooked and you will be DELIGHTED!