Companion Planting Series: Part 1 - The Carrot Family

As part of a series of special posts up here I will be posting information about Companion planting and grouping plants of interest by the family they belong to. I've you've read The Wild Harvest Digest posts on Nextdoor already imagine these posts as a expanded version since I do not have to deal with pesky character limits here. The source material for some of this information is Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte, Rodale's Companion Planting and, Roses Love Garlic by Louise Riotte as well as the North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Tool Box, The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center and a few other credible online sources. Today's post will cover the Carrot Family which is known today collectively as the Apiaceae family, but in older publications is known as the Umbelliferae. The older name is a direct reference to the shape of the flower heads of plants in this family which is called an Umbel. The new name Apiaceae was first used by John Lindley in 1836, it derives from the name Apium which is the ancient Greek name of Celery. the original family name didn't officially switch over until about 1996, which ironically is why a bunch of my horticulture books still use the old name. You will see this a lot when it comes to major plant families in common cultivation because they get more scientific study.

 

Anise (Pimpinella anisum) – Anise is an annual herb in the Carrot family. It is said to have antiseptic oils and its chief use is that it helps Coriander seed germinate when they are sown outside near each other.

 

Caraway (Carum carvi) – Caraway is a biennial that is difficult to sprout, though some sources indicate that sowing it around freshly sown garden peas helps the germination rate indicating they would be a good pairing. It does not however grow well near its cousin Fennel.

 

 

 

Carrots (Daucus carota subspecies sativus) – Carrots get protective effects from being grown close to Onions, Rosemary, Black Salsify, Wormwood and Sage. Carrots grow best when paired with tomatoes because they impede weeds and their low arching foliage helps keep the soil cooler. Carrots also are a good pairing with peas but according to a few sources will not do as well near their cousin Dill. Queen Anne’s Lace is a carrot that has escaped cultivation or a wild carrot that has reverted to a natural form, we have patches of these in Fayetteville.

 

Celeriac (Apium graveolens variety rapaceum) – This alternative form of Celery does its best if grown after a sowing of winter vetch has been turned under in the same spot. Celeriac because it is a biennial root vegetable needs higher than normal levels of Nitrogen and Potassium and pairs in the garden with leeks and also Field/cow peas.

 

Celery (Apium graveolens) – Celery much like Celeriac is a biennial and grows well with onions, but also with Tomatoes and Cabbages. Both Celery and Celeriac have a chemical compound (apigenin) in them that have a blood sugar lowering and insulin resistance effect.

 

Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium) – Commonly called French Parsley, in our climate this herb is best grown with morning sun and afternoon shade.  Radishes are annuals and short–lived annuals and so is Chervil they benefit from being close to each other.

 

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) – Coriander is also known as Cilantro; Coriander is the seeds of the plant, and Cilantro is the foliage. Coriander is a cold weather biennial herb that is best sown in late August through mid-September and be expected to survive the winter in the southeast. Coriander is said to repel aphids, to help Anise but be a problem for Fennel.

 

Dill (Anethum graveolens) – Dill is an annual that readily self-sows giving it the appearance of a biennial or perennial. Dill is said to be a good match for Cabbage.

 

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) – Fennel comes in one of two varieties, the green type or the bronze type; both of them are safely edible. Fennel according to some sources inhibits members of the Nightshade family while pairing with Cabbages, Onions and Mint family members. In come older publications another plant (Nigella sativa) is also commonly called Fennel.

 

 

 

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) – Parsley is a biennial that comes in two forms, the curled or flat leaf types. The former is often used as a garnish and the latter as a seasoning but both can be used in culinary dishes. Parsley seed sown with Carrot seed can help fight off Carrot flies. Parsley planted under Tomatoes can help the vigor of the Tomatoes while also acting as a ground cover to suppress weeds. Eating a sprig of parsley and washing it down despite the taste with ice-cold water can help obliterate bad breath.

 

Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) – Parsnips are a biennial and are known for their difficult germination and their seeds having a very poor shelf life. They’re one of the few root vegetables that don’t really get any pests but if you can get them to germinate they can grow under Tomatoes just like carrots.

 

Lovage (Levisticum officinale) – Lovage is essentially perennial miniature Celery with a flavor that is described as a mix of Celery and Parsley with more kick. The Leaves, roots and seeds are all used in culinary and herbal/medicinal recipes and this plant is said to help pretty much everything else do better.

 

For the purposes of companion planting someone is inevitably going to ask about the two problem children of the Carrot Family; Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum) and, Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum). 

 

The first one was used historically to kill Socrates after he was convicted of corrupting the youth of Athens. Poison Hemlock is a biennial and looks a lot like a Wild Carrot but, Hemlock can get well over eight feet tall, has hollow stems and when it’s foliage is crushed or bruised it emits a unpleasant odor. Also purple spotting is likely to be present on the stems of Poison Hemlock. 

 

Giant Hogweed which is considered a noxious invasive plant has phototoxic sap that can really mess up your skin. Giant Hogweed can get up to 18 feet tall and has leaves that almost resemble those on an unrelated Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus). Giant Hogweed also has hollow purple spotted stems that are often 2-6” in diameter with coarse bristles and leaves may be as wide as 8 feet. In short everything on this plant is massive. It thus far has only been found in Watauga County near blowing rock in NC. For the next bit about companion planting, I’m going to take a look at the Onion family and then after that the Cabbage family.

Aww come on spring...take your meds!

Welcome back to another episode of Lost in the Farmer’s Market. As you may have noticed the weather has been oddly cold the last few days due to a cold front that of course arrived and created that super torrential thunderstorm plus downpour the other day. For note this week’s precipitation was an average of 2.45”. Ironically about 1.45” of that fell in the thunderstorm specifically so we’re darn well watered.  After such rain events things tend to green up and so for today's blog post, I decided to rove about the garden and take snapshots of everything in bloom right after the storm.

Just in time for easter!

That’s right here is a picture snapped just yesterday. For the longest time I was sure I had a single wild rabbit that visited the property, but as you can see, there's this little one in the picture and above him one in the grass trying to hide behind some foliage.  I realized moments after that I literally had a flotilla of rabbits. Moments later rabbit number three came out of the bushes beside the driveway. That’s three confirmed rabbits and a probable one or two more. What blows my mind about this is that they do not damage any of the crops, they just seem to like the fact I don’t pull weeds so they instead just eat them. More so this group comes through between five and six pm every day and take the same route. They go up the driveway, across the yard, into the shady rock garden for a bit then under the fence into the neighbor’s yard. In the process they drive the neighbor’s dog crazy but most of all they never damage anything. So I’ve got a batch of well-behaved wild rabbits that seem not to mind me milling about. There is also the rabbit I often see at night around ten to eleven pm that hides a little less. You saw that rabbit hanging out in the reinforced mound bed during the snow storm when I stumbled upon him and he let me snap his picture. The question is, is the night rabbit of the same group or do I have several groups of rabbits passing through? Regardless of the answer, still very cool I am about one endangered species from being a wild life refuge.

Bunias orientalis – Warty Cabbage / Turkish Rocket

Last year I sold Turkish rocket at the market and this is what a second year plant looks like in spring.  As you can see its leaves are rather uniquely shaped and the plant is much larger than the first year despite black magic application. It did go dormant in the winter briefly during that super cold period but it as has also created its own mounded earth. More study of this perennial leaf green is underway to determine how productive it could be now that it‘s established.

Loropetalum chinenese var. rubrum ‘Daruma’ - Fringe Bush

Fringe bushes in bloom are quite the sight. As far as landscaping shrubs the fringe bushes are tough, quick growing and drought tolerant. This specimen is in bloom now and came into my possession as a surplus item. I lacked a good plant for the spot it’s in (driveway) that could withstand the conditions and thus it was put there. Loropetalums in this climate are evergreens that may go partial deciduous in serious winters depending on siting.

A lone white tulip.

Someone at some point planted tulips along the driveway long ago. I honestly do not know who did it bit this little guy comes up yearly and generally is all foliage with no flower. The super-cold winter probably allowed this bulb to develop more along the lines of a more northern climate and thus we have this fine bloom. But hold on to your hats, the fireworks are about to begin!

Double petaled azaleas, hell I had no idea I had these on property.

Salmon-pink azaleas are where it's at.

wait...are the white ones being photobombed by the pink ones?!

Phlox subulata – Creeping Phlox

This last remaining garden phlox plant bravely blooms every spring and struggles through the August drought every year often going dormant before winter. I took pity on it last year and gave it a few hits of black magic and not only has it bloomed like crazy but it has also gotten a bit bigger. Perhaps this ought be a commercial?

Foeniculum vulgare ‘Purpureaum’ – Black Fennel

This stand of four second year Black fennel plants has become a hedgerow unto themselves. If you look at last year’s pictures of this plant they were tall, impressive but now here near this dense in the foliage department. Numerous side-shoots are what produced this effect and indeed they were evergreen most of the winter producing some impressive foliage against slow contrasts. I cannot state this often enough, Fennel plants are ironclad perennials that are entirely edible but also serve as fine ornamentals; they are a garden must have.

Rumex sanguineum – Bloody Dock/ Sorrel

This is an example of bloody dock that has established in a location. Granted it isn’t as big as it could be because the soil is very much lacking you can see the vibrancy of the leaf color and that the leaves are far larger than the ones I’m selling. Well sited sorrel can get impressively large and thus supply a whole lot of leaves for your culinary uses.

The spring’s bounty is always worth exploring, but then again so is the Fayetteville Farmer’s market. While the weather is not going to be all that good this week, I’ll still show up barring the rain coming down side ways at which I figure we will have other more pressing concerns. As you may know, the market is located on 325 Franklin street in the front parking lot of the Fayetteville Transportation Museum. The market runs from 9 am to 1 pm and you can expect to see some of the venders show up with lots of good food. But let’s move right along to the stuff coming to market this week.

Southward Skies: A northern guide to southern Gardening

This is the second edition of my book, which was published using data compiled from several years of test garden operations. It’s written to aid gardeners of all skill levels in successful garden methods that are targeted for the south east but had proven to be a valued resource for gardens across the eastern coast. It’s certainly a good gift for that gardener you know or for yourself if you’d like to have a reliable field guide. The book costs $25.00 and we do take checks for this item, you can even have it signed.

Black Magic Fertilizer

That’s right you’ve heard about it in trials all summer. This specially formulated liquid fertilizer was made and tested at the test gardens using natural ingredients and no chemicals. The result explosive growth, great harvests and of course no environmental side effects! We’re making batches of this stuff to order, at $6.00 per gallon of fertilizer. You can either order it at the market and pick it up the next week or have it delivered to your home in the Fayetteville area for a delivery charge of an additional $2.00.

Vegetables

2x Asparagus, Gallon pot ($6.00)

3x Bloody Dock, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Eggplant, Casper , 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Pepper, Sweet Banana , 3.5” pot ($3.00)

1x Pepper, Pimento, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Pepper, Habanero, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Tomato, Tlacolula, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Tomato, Brown Berry, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Blue Berries, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Tomato, Amana Orange, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Tomato, Black Krim, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Tomato, Paul Robeson, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Hillbilly Potato Leaf, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Tomato, Cherokee Purple, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Fruits

10x Strawberry- Ozark Beauty, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Herbs

4x Basil-Sweet, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Basil-Thai, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Borage, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Fennel-Black, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

1x Horehound, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Hyssop-White, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Lamb’s Ear, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

1x Lavender-Cotton-Green, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Marjoram, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Oregano, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Oregano, Bristol Cross, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

1x Rosemary, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Sage, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Tansy, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Coming Soon:

Potato, Red Norland

Mint

Bee Balm

The end of the plant list also wraps up this accidentally Easter themed episode of Lost in the farmer's Market. As note regarding the night time temperatures, if you have already planted you can always toss a spare towel over any plant you think might get frosted to protect it from springs apparent multiple personality disorder. At the least make sure all exposed plants are well watered  and thing should turn out fine. I might note that basil is incredibly dramatic about cold so just because it's gone a bit limp does not mean you wont have pesto later. Peppers are notorious drama queens about the cold too but they still need some protecting so with that said you know what to do. Hopefully I'll see some of you at the market and as always keep 'em growing!

The something or others of March!

Welcome back to another wintery edition of Lost In the Farmer’s Market. Now as you know these episodes are posted a few days early of the normal Saturday posting date because of our involvement in the Fayetteville farmer’s Market. Today’s episode is the first one of March 2014. Due to some questions about plants we are selling at the Farmer’s Market, this episode is dedicated to providing details on the herbs currently available at ye olde booth.  So let’s get to the topic shall we? This year I decided to do something different with the plant selection, I phased in more perennial herbs and more food substitutes and switched out a lot of the annual plants. Now to be fair a number of plants are considered annuals but in truth are nothing of the sort but are grown that way.  But I think a discussion of what the term ‘technical annual’ means is a discussion for another day.

Angelica – Angelica archangelica (Biennial, Partial Shade)

Angelica is a member of the carrot or parsley family Apiaceae. As such it has a lot of the same features, a fleshy tap root, and finely dissected leaves and is the favored food of a number of butterfly species. For the average gardener it can serve as an ornamental as its foliage is quite nice as is its bloom. The seed is used as a seasoning, the foliage can be eaten, and the root dug up sliced and cooked as one might do with a celeriac. More so, this plant is a biennial which means when you see flowers you should do your best to save the seed.

Bloody Sorrel – Rumex Sanguineum (Perennial, Partial shade)

The sorrel family as a whole is edible but the wild cousins such as sheep, yellow and red sorrel often have side effects if eaten regularly and or in quantity. However if foraging between digestive upset and starvation the choice is quite clear. Now bloody sorrel or bloody dock as it sometimes is called is often sold as an ornamental perennial. Never mind that it is edible, and it’s general use is the same as spinach. The advantage is that green sorrel and bloody sorrel are both perennial unlike spinach which is a annual. There are some care differences such as the fact sorrels need regular water and some protection from southern sun.

Fennel – Foeniculum vulgare (Tough Perennial, full sun- morning shade)

Fennel is a common seasoning herb in true Italian seasoning blends and foods. Unlike dill it is a tough perennial and much like most members of the parsley/carrot family can be a host to swallowtail butterfly larva. The two types of Fennel, green and or black/bronze fennel taste identical and literally only look different. Both are tough xeriscaping and permaculture plants and both can be added to salads, and any other cooked dish. Both types are edible from root to seed and neither has a poisonous lookalike. All and all you can’t hope for a better behaved garden perennial with more uses.

Lamb’s Ear - Stachys byzantine (Perennial, Shade- Afternoon shade)

Lamb’s Ear is a classy sort of cottage garden plant that has more or less a nostalgic use in the garden and a minor medical use. In the medieval ages the plant was called woundwort because the fuzzy leaves were used as bandages, and this tradition reportedly persisted up through the American Revolution. As a whole the plant is somewhat mound forming, may need a little shade and benefits from a rich soil or regular fertilization.

Lovage – Levisticum officinale (Perennial, Partial Shade)

Lovage is another rarely seen Carrot/Parsley family member who does not get the kind of press it deserves. In general use the leaves and stems are used as a replacement for celery, where as it has reputed medical use in treating indigestion, kidney stones, colic and cystitis. The hollow stems on mature specimens can be used as ‘green’ drinking straws with vegetable or tomato juice. I might also add unlike celery Lovage is a true perennial, but it does need partial shade to do its best.

Lavender Cotton – Santolina virens (Tough Perennial, Full Sun)

Lavender Cotton is typically a name reserved for the gray form of Santolina, which is S. chamaecyparissus for note. We are carrying the green version because it comparatively grows faster but has all the same trademark durability and can also be used medically for poor digestion, worms and jaundice, while in crafts it’s aromatic properties aid in repelling insects. Overall the plant is most often used as an ornamental in knot gardens because of its low maintenance habits.

Rosemary – Rosemarinus officinalis (Tough Perennial, Full Sun)

Ah, rosemary, the herb everyone loves. Seriously rosemary is one of the most desired aromatic herbs, and probably the toughest herb for our region. As a garden plant rosemary is drought immune once established and can get incredibly huge over time despite being a very slow grower. As some of you may already know rosemary is used mainly in culinary dishes for scent and or seasoning and it’s most common use is in concert with tomatoes or potatoes.

Tansy – Tanacetum vulgare (Perennial, Part Shade to Full sun)

Tansy is one of the other great insect repelling herbs; its foliage is also used to make a green-gold dye base that can be used in a variety of crafts. As a garden plant it is a perennial that can get to a height of three feet, and bears finely dissected foliage and in summer is covered in small daisy flowers that attract pollinators.

I believe that covers at least the herb section of this discussion, now we will have more herbs later on so check back to see what has changed. As you may know I will be at the Fayetteville farmer’s market this weekend armed with a shipment of super-delicious plants to fill your garden with so you can get your organic plant fix. The market is a 365 day a year event that occurs on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I’m there on Saturdays between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM and the market is located on 325 Franklin Street in the parking lot of the Fayetteville Transportation Museum. But enough of the plugging let’s get to the plant and material list for this weekend.

Southward Skies: A northern guide to southern Gardening

This is the second edition of my book, which was published using data compiled from several years of test garden operations. It’s written to aid gardeners of all skill levels in successful garden methods that are targeted for the south east but had proven to be a valued resource for gardens across the eastern coast. It’s certainly a good gift for that gardener you know or for yourself if you’d like to have a reliable field guide. The book costs $25.00 and we do take checks for this item, you can even have it signed.

Black Magic Fertilizer

That’s right you’ve heard about it in trials all summer. This specially formulated liquid fertilizer was made and tested at the test gardens using natural ingredients and no chemicals. The result explosive growth, great harvests and of course no environmental side effects! We’re making batches of this stuff to order, at $6.00 per gallon of fertilizer. You can either order it at the market and pick it up the next week or have it delivered to your home in the Fayetteville area for a delivery charge of an additional $2.00.

House Plants

4x Holiday Cactus ($3.00)

2x Desert Privet ($3.00)

2x Rotary Privet ($3.00)

3x Dancing Bones Cactus ($3.00)

Garden Plants

1x Savoy Cabbage Plant 0.5 gal pot ($3.00)

8x Dinosaur Kale, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Herbs

2x Green Fennel, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Black Fennel, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Bloody Sorrel, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Lamb’s Ear, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Green Lavender-Cotton, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Tansy, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Angelica, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Rosemary, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Coming Soon:

Ozard Beauty Strawberry

Martha Washington Asparagus

Dark Red Norland Potato

So, with all that said we enter into March hoping the weather will improve but considering our options should it not. With any luck we’ve seen the last of bad weather and can well ‘Get on with it’ in regards to spring.

The Rhapsody of Green

Welcome back to another episode of Lost in the Farmer’s Market where we test those garden theories so you don’t have to! This week we have another installment detailing a garden herb and it could not be contained to just the herbal parts of that grouping. That’s right this week we are talking about the Apiaceae family formerly known as the Umbelliferae or more commonly called the Carrot or Parsley family.

The pot on the right is filled with Cilantro, which having froze several times over the winter was rather vigorous after.

Looking at the family at a glance it is no wonder we like it so much as it radiates across four spectrums of plants. Apiaceae ranges from the incredibly poisonous with Queen Anne’s lace and Hemlock, to a plethora of common herbs and vegetables we often see at the super market and don’t think twice about. For starters the vegetable group includes Carrots, Celery/Celeriac, Fennel Hearts, Parsnips, Parsley Root, and Lovage. The herbal side of the family also includes Parsley, Fennel, Dill, Anise, Coriander/Cilantro, Cumin, Cicley, Chervil, Caraway and Angelica. A fourth angle to the family can be found with the largely Ornamental Sea Hollies. Needless to say the family is huge and incredibly beneficial to the gardener and those who eat at his or her table.

This is a Paris Market carrot, note how the foliage resembles most other members of the family except for dill and fennel.

With all the most common members of the Apiaceae family listed and grouped lets talk for a moment about some of the ones that most gardeners don’t grow. The first plant on the list is Lovage which is a perennial celery substitute; we tried this one in year one of the NC test garden and it did not do well. The reason for it not lasting was the soil quality and placement. It turns out Lovage doesn’t mind full sun as long as the soil is fairly rich, but needs afternoon shade and regular moisture otherwise.

Black swallowtail butterfly  larvae and cocoons on Bronze Fennel

As far as taste goes it came across as a more pungent celery thus needing less stalks per recipe. Fennel which is best known by its ‘ornamental’ variety Bronze fennel is often labeled as a xeriscaping plant and indeed it is good for that, but it also is quite flavorful and grows in good and bad local soil as long as it’s not kept wet. You as a gardener will be rewarded with ultra-fine foliage and yellow blooms which stand in contrast to the rick green or almost-black color of the foliage. Further more the plant is often host to Black swallowtail caterpillars and will often be perched on by dragon flies. I also have to mention certain varieties of fennel form fleshy bases and are often called fennel hearts, they add the flavor of anise and fennel to your soups and stir fries. 

A dragon fly perched on a caterpillar chewed Bronze fennel stem. This one literally sat there as the camera hovered mere inches away as if wanting his or her majesty on record.

A third underused member of the family is the Parsnip. If you do not use Parsnips already then you have likely seen them near the carrots at the supermarket, they look like white-tan carrots and are often twice as wide while being the same length on average. A parsnip is to a carrot what cauliflower is to broccoli excepting the fact that a parsnip actually normally looks this way and needs no human intervention and is a separate family member. Typically one would peel the parsnip with a potato peeler, cut off the ends, then slice the root into bits as thick as you can handle and add to your soup or a baked meat dish before cooking. Overall the parsnip adds the overtones of celery, parsley and carrot, and since the roots are large, you need less vegetable stock to achieve the effect. I might ad in the refrigerator parsnips keep well due to their low water content. In the garden they are not any different or more difficult to grow then carrots and numerous varieties are available to meet your needs including sweeter long season types.

We at LITFM encourage you to try some members of the carrot family beyond your regular  staples and you can bet you will find a range of flavors and textures that can change your cooking pretty dramatically. Most of the family in cultivation are either annual (Cilantro, Dill) or biennial (Carrot, Parsnip, Parsley) however there are some perennials (Fennel, Lovage, Anise). For the purposes of permaculture the possibilities of incorporating members of this family are endless, as the edible members also are quite nutritious and reasonably rugged once you learn their preferences and relate them to your area.

That said, this weekend I will be at the Fayetteville City/Farmer’s Market in downtown Fayetteville.  The weather is supposed to be decent so come on down, the market is open rain or shine and most vendors are pretty good about this as are some of you hardcore market goers. The market is located at 325 Franklin Street at the Fayetteville Transportation Museum and there is no shortage of parking. The market is open from 9:00 am through 1:00 pm so feel free to stop buy and chat or pick up the latest stuff about conservation or heck get a member of the apiaceae family as we have some lovely parsley plants that need a home. Here is this week’s Plant list:

Vegetables:

4x Burgundy Okra

3x Japanese Long Eggplant

2x Sweet Banana Pepper

4x Habenero Pepper (Hot!)

3x Tumbling Tom Tomato (Yellow Cherry)

7x Beefsteak Tomato (medium-large slicing)

Herbs:

6x Italian Parsley

1x Common Sage

1x Oregano

1x Mountain Mint

1x Lavender Cotton

2x Hidcote Lavender

2x Cinnamon Basil

4x Sweet Basil

10x Egyptian Onion

House Plants:

2x Pepromia verticilliata - Rotary Peperomia (house plant)

2x Sanseveria cylindrical – Spear Sanseveria (Houseplant)

2x Aloe barbadensis – Medicinal Aloe / Aloe Vera

-And of course whatever else I can squeeze onto the truck!

This brings to a close another episode of Lost in the Farmer’s Market and the month of July. In August we will continue the Herbs series as well as some status updates on a few of our pet projects. I hope you all enjoyed this episode and might add that we did recycle some old photos for this post as, our camera as some of you might know was stolen during a break in of the test garden property.  That aside I’d love to hear the results of any forays into the Apiaceae family you make and even swap some recipes.  As always folks keep ‘em growing!