Page 18 - JULY PROOF

H E R B S T O G R O W Y E A R R O U N D
Try growing herbs any time of the year. Have access to herbs that will enhance your meals even in the dead of winter. You can grow these herbs on a window sill in your kitchen or a sunny spot in your home.
Fresh oregano is much milder than dried. Use it at the end of the cooking process so that its flavor is not lost.
Rosemary
Take cuttings of outdoor rosemary at the end of summer to grow indoors through winter. Start with a four inch cutting from a branch tip, strip the lower foliage and stick it into potting soil. Cover with plastic to retain humidity as it roots.
Sage
Buy a starter plant or start it from cuttings off an established plant. Simply snip off the growing tips from a plant outdoors and stick them in a pot with good potting soil. Keep the cutting moist and it will root in a few weeks.
Chives
Chives grow almost anywhere. Harvest them at the base (like cutting grass), no more than one third of the bunch at a time.
Mint
Growing mint indoors may be the best plan for most of us. Containerizing mint keeps it from growing all over the yard and garden. All varieties are suitable for indoors.
Parsley
If you choose to start parsley from seed, soak it in warm water to crack the seed coat before sowing it.
Basil
Use the smaller globe types of basil for indoor growing. Many of the larger types are too large and will cause space problems.
Cilantro
Cilantro is short-lived by its nature. Start a succession of seedlings at two or three week intervals to keep a supply going all the time.
Thyme
Thyme is adaptable to pots as small as four to six inches. Simply repot it from a nursery plant, or divide a larger plant that has grown outdoors. Like rosemary and sage, it is easy to propagate from cuttings as well.
Oregano
Oregno is easy to propagate from cuttings or by division. Take a few cuttings at the end of summer and root out in a cup of water.
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