Harvesting Basil Seeds

A kind reader pointed out that I glossed over the seed part of basil harvesting, so I thought I'd give you an easy visual. The first photo is a basil spike after the flowers have dried up and the spike itself has turned brown. This will typically occur in the early fall in most plant hardiness zones in the U.S. If you need to check the zone for your area, there's a handy link at the bottom of

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Harvesting Parsley

Choosing a method for harvesting parsley is always a judgment call. Parsley is the little black dress of the herb patch. It can work with lots and lots of dishes, is a very green, bushy little plant that looks good in the garden and is relatively easy going, as in not fussy. It's also available for snipping all summer long.

It is so ubiquitous, in fact, that around the holidays some grocery

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Harvesting Basil

Harvesting basil for winter access is fragrant fun.  Your patch of fresh basil, catnip, parsley, oregano and rosemary can be bountiful contributors to your winter herb stash if you have a few hours to spare.

Over the next few weeks, we'll cover some gardening ground as it relates to fall and winter herb harvesting projects, culminating in a step-by-step tutorial for making herb wreaths.

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Beating Bedbugs Naturally

The admonition ". . .and don’t let the bed bugs bite." was never truer than it is today when super pesticide resistant bedbugs are taking a bite out of a record number of unprotected sleepers. Barring a few super noxious and possibly illegal chemical treatments, bed bugs can be a challenge to get rid of. I wrote a blog about it a while back that you should review if you're having problems.

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And Thanks for Your Support!

Over the weekend, I posted about the looming fall gardening season and my personal herb gardening journey. To be honest, every time I write something personal -- as in not dealing exclusively with how to grow and use herbs, I feel a little guilty. In some ways, it seems self-indulgent, although I try to write these pieces as well as I can.

That's why it always amazes me that they're the most

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My Herb Walkabout (Journey)

Another summer will be winding down soon. A few mornings this week I could even smell fall in the air. Although every season has its rewards, I can't help but stop and think about time passing as I start rummaging around for envelopes to store seeds in.

I've been growing herbs for decades. It's funny, because in some ways they've become so familiar that I take them for granted - the chives on

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How to Dry Citrus Peel

I particularly like the idea of drying citrus peel for use in recipes and in potpourri. I think of it as an eco-friendly way to make use of everything and that can be a uniquely satisfying approach to herbal gardening, cooking and crafting.

This is really simple. Just trim the pith (the creamy part) off the skin of any citrus you have. Orange, lemon, tangerine and grapefruit will work. You can

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Using and Growing Lemon Eucalyptus

Lemon eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora) has a scent similar to that of lemon verbena, lemon balm and even lemon thyme, but the fragrance is stronger and more pungent. It isn't a typical herb, though. It's really a tree in the eucalyptus family that can grow large - very large (60 feet and sometimes a lot taller). It's only hardy outdoors year round in zones 9 and higher.

Because it can grow

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