Celery
Cooking applications:
Celery, with its umbellate flowers, is a relative of Queen Anne’s lace and also bears some resemblance to poison hemlock. The seeds are used as seasoning, and both stalks and roots are popular vegetables.
Classic flavor combinations are found in Creole cuisine’s use of celery, onions, and bell peppers, and French cooking’s celery, onion, and carrot mirepoix.
Most savory dishes benefit from its use. Cut celery turns brown within a few hours of preparation, so be sure to chop or slice shortly before use if using raw.
Medicinal qualities:
Most people think of celery as
a vegetable, but it is actually a herb. The strong, fragrant qualities of celery flavor many Mediterranean dishes.
Originating in Europe, celery is popular around the world as a container or kitchen garden plant. It is coveted for its shoots, roots, leaves and seeds. The low-calorie herb has many beneficial functions. It is a rich source of vitamin A, beta-carotene and other antioxidants.
The vitamin K in celery promotes bone health, and the herb is also a cancer fighter and immunity booster.
Best Conditions for Growing Celery
Preferred Soil:
Adequate draining system is required, as well as good air circulation.
Sunlight requirements:
Direct sunlight is needed. Temperature requirements:
Ideally should be at least 70-75 F during the day, and not less than 60 F at night.
Tips for Growing
Planting:
Plant at intervals of 6-8 inches between seeds: also leave 2-3 feet between rows.
Watering:
Requires a plentiful supply of water, at least an inch per week.
Harvesting:
When cutting the celery, do not reach the soil line.
Chives
Cooking applications:
Because heat destroys their delicate onion flavor, chives should always be added into hot dishes at the last minute. To maximize their taste, slice the chives thinly. When finely snipped they also make a great garnish.
Chives are good for flavoring cooked dishes or chopped fresh and put into salads. They taste especially good as a baked potato topping: they are also great in dips and in quesadillas.
Medicinal qualities:
Chives, which are onion-flavored top-greens of lily or allium family vegetables, feature hollow, tubular leaves similar to those of onion.
Chives are thought to have originated in the mountains of Siberia. They are low-calorie fares that contain healthy, plant-derived fiber. Like other herbs, chives possess several antioxidants such as vitamins A and C.
They are also rich in vitamin K, which is useful for blood vessel diseases and Alzheimer’s disease.
Best Conditions for Growing
Preferred Soil:
Chives grow in many different types of soil.
Sunlight Requirements:
Chives prefer sunshine to shade. Although they grow well indoors, it’s important to provide a source of light—sunshine from a sunny window or a grow light with a fluorescent bulb instead.
Temperature Requirements:
If you want to grow chives outdoors, make sure that you live in zones 3 to 10. Anything outside of those zones will have a climate that is too cold or hot to successfully grow chives.
Be prepared for your chives to die during the winter like other plants that originate from a bulb. Some chives that are grown in warm conditions may keep their green color year around, temporarily relapsing for a couple months before sprouting again.
Tips for Growing
There are two different types of chives that are popular with herbal enthusiasts. The first type is regular leafy chive with cylindrical leaves that are hollow and the second kind with flat leaves (also known as a garlic chive).
The ‘garlic chives’ have beautiful white flowers that are edible and a flavor that is milder than the other kind. Both kinds of chives can be grown under identical environmental conditions.
Pots of chives can be used to decorate patios or porches. They look especially beautiful when placed side by side with containers with other herbs such as dill, sage, and parsley.
Planting:
Buy chive seeds and plant them in small pots. They will sprout quickly and grow slowly thereafter. If you don’t have much time, buy the chives as small plants inside of pots.
Put small plants or pot seedlings inside of a pot that is 5 inches wide or larger and fill it with regular potting soil. Nurture the plants along with fertilizer or bone meal regularly while they are still growing.
Watering:
Water the plants enough so the soil stays moist but not too wet. When the chives aren’t sprouting—you can water them less frequently, but make sure that they don’t dry out.
Harvesting:
Use a pair of sharp, clean scissors to cut the long green hollow leaves of the chives down close to the ground.
Leave 5 inches (2 centimeters) of the plants to allow for regrowth. Also, it’s better if you don’t allow the plants to flower—your chives will have better flavor that way.
Cilantro
Cooking applications:
One of the most pungent of herbs, cilantro refers to the leaves of the cilantro plant while coriander refers to the dried seeds.
Some people find a bold, citrus flavor in cilantro. Others have compared it to metal or soap!
With its blend of citrus and peppery flavor, coriander makes a great curry powder and tastes delicious in Cuban and Mexican cooking, as well as in salsas, curries, and tortilla soup.
Cilantro is extremely good at balancing the sweet flavors of onion and tomato. Be careful not to overcook cilantro, as it can become bitter quite quickly.
Medicinal qualities:
Cilantro, also called coriander, is a widely-used Mediterranean herb. It also flavors many Asian dishes. The savory herb has notable compounds that prevent disease and promote health.
Cilantro is a cholesterol-free herb packed with vitamins, minerals, essential oils and dietary fiber. Traditional medicine used it as an analgesic, deodorant, digestive aid, weight loss aid, stimulant and aphrodisiac.
Best Conditions for Growing
Preferred Soil:
Cilantro grows best in well-draining soil.
Sunlight Requirements:
Cilantro, which really does not like too much light, grows best in shady places.
Temperature Requirements:
Plant your cilantro where it will get lots of sunshine (unless you live in an extremely warm climate). In terms of timing, be sure to plant it when the weather has warmed up so there’s no risk of frost.
Tips for Growing
Planting:
Place the seeds in soapy water and rinse them thoroughly. Place them on a dry towel and let them dry. Once they are fully dried, plant the seeds in soil that drains easily.
Plant the seeds one inch from each other about half an inch deep. Since cilantro isn’t a short plant—place the rows at least a foot apart.
Watering:
It’s important not to over-water cilantro. If the soil is already damp, hold off and check again the next day.
Harvesting:
Pick the cilantro leaves after the plant has grown 6 inches. Try to only cut the leaves that aren’t right next to the central stalk.
If you are planning to harvest the coriander seeds after the plant is fully grown, don’t cut as many leaves and instead cut the heads of the flowers off the plant.
Every two years, cut the stems off of the flowers when they are dead. Fasten the heads to each other and leave them hanging above a container so the plant’s seeds will fall down inside and dry.
If you don’t cut the stalks off of the flower, the cilantro plant will reseed every 14 days.
Attempt an easier method if you would like to harvest as much cilantro leaf as possible. Buy a large planter and fill it with easily draining dirt. Moisten the soil and plant cilantro seeds evenly throughout the soil.
After planting the seeds, stroke a light layer of dirt over them and a little liquid to soften the soil. Wait seven to ten days and the seeds will start to sprout. After the plant has grown up, you will be able to harvest it once a week.
Remove the leaves of the cilantro plants from one side of the plant, and the next time you harvest the plant, take leaves from a different area. Make sure to trim any flowers off the plant so it will expend more energy growing new cilantro leaves.
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