A Seed Saver's Garden

[heirloomgal]

I do, and I do dry some, like the catmint and cat thyme at the end of the year (though probably not the cat thyme this year, according to what I have read online, that should be perennial here, and I think putting it directly into the ground to give it more space might accomplish that, so it will need it's foliage to survive the transition*)

I have lots of catmint around here (Nepeta faassenii) and that is definitely a perennial. Extremely hardy. But what is the Latin name for cat thyme? Same with Syrian oregano? I'm curious about these 2, never heard of them. I once tasted this dried herb mixture which included sumac, possibly za'atar ? and it was DELICIOUS. I've always wanted to get some but never did. The particular mixture was so good I worried that the other variations out there wouldn't be so wonderful. I wonder if Syrian oregano is in that?

I made soup the other day and used the 'tarragon' given to me by a neighbour (which I suspect is Russian Tarragon) and it was AMAZING. Every single book I've read that mentions RT states it's substandard compared to French Tarragon. I'd say it's the other way around! It's very much like rosemary with a bit of a floral note.

As for the sage, I'm growing 'Pineapple Sage' this year and love the smell of it. Any idea what it's used for? I don't care for regular sage or thyme, but wonder if this can be dried and used similarly. The plant has gotten quite big compared to when I bought it, no flowers though, and no seeds.

What do you use the catmint for?

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I have lots of catmint around here (Nepeta faassenii) and that is definitely a perennial. Extremely hardy.

Mine is actually giant catmint, Nepeta grandiflora

But what is the Latin name for cat thyme? Same with Syrian oregano?

Cat thyme is Teucrium maru (same genus as germander). Syrian oregano actually covers two species Origanum maru and Origanum syriaticum (I have maru.)

I'm curious about these 2, never heard of them. I once tasted this dried herb mixture which included sumac, possibly za'atar ? and it was DELICIOUS. I've always wanted to get some but never did. Also, the particular mixture was so good I worried that the other variations out there wouldn't be so wonderful. I wonder if Syrian oregano is in that?

It is, or, at least, it can be. Za'tar sort of has two meanings. In general, it refers to the spice mixture, but some of the herbs themselves are also called Za'tar sometimes, and Syrian organo is one of them. Cat thyme is actually often another. A third (which I have grown previous years but not this one) is something called conehead thyme, Thymus (or Cordiothymus) capitatum. This is the same herb that scholars believe is what is being referred to in the Bible when they say "hyssop" (the lemon and anise hyssop we are used to don't grow anywhere in the Holy Land naturally.) I dropped it for being too finicky (it grows very slowly, and since the leaves are tiny and still, it can totally die and you won't notice until you actually touch the plant and all the leaves fall off.)

As for the sage, I'm growing 'Pineapple Sage' this year and love the smell of it. Any idea what it's used for? I don't care for regular sage or thyme, but wonder if this can be dried and used similarly. The plant has gotten quite big compared to when I bought it, no flowers though, and no seeds.

Not sure, I thought it was just an ornamental people grew for the nice smelling red flowers.

What do you use the catmint for?

The same thing as the cat thyme and silver vine fruits, keeping Juniper as happy as possible! If he's mellowed out on a kitty high, he won't suddenly have one of his "episodes" and attack mom's ankles! Plus, cat thyme makes cats SUPER affectionate (the last time I was cleaning the crop, Juniper came over, and when I gave him a bit, he crawled up onto my lap, reared up, and started rubbing my face (which he does a lot anyway, but usually only in the dining room when I'm in a chair and he's on the table; getting him to get close to me on the couch is very rare.)

 

[heirloomgal]

Thank you @Pulsegleaner!
I know that was a lot of questions to fire at once....

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Thank you @Pulsegleaner!
I know that was a lot of questions to fire at once....

Eh, I'm just killing time at the moment anyway, so not a big deal.

There's actually one other herb I need to check on, the yellow lavender. It's in a different place than everything else, so I wouldn't look at it in my normal sweep. I need to take some time to see if it is still there (the area it is in is now so overgrown with things like Scotch Broom and Black Eyed Susan that it's hard to see ANYTHING close to the ground.

 

[heirloomgal]

The first round of tomato seeds for fermenting is done. I got smart this time and used the blender for the cherries. Saved SO much time. I really like jars with lids for this, even if I have to burp them. Keeps flies out well, and those vinegar flies are crazy for the smell of fermenting toms. Every other method I’ve used is inferior to this one, especially because I don’t need to hand wash any cups. I just put them in the dishwasher.

I’m going to put these in my *almost done* seed drying room.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

At this point, all of the first flush of Spoon tomatoes are inside (though not all totally ripe; after the birds took some, I started bringing them in as soon as they started to change color and let them finish up inside where they are protected.) There's a tiny start of one one plant, but, other than that, I currently see no new flowers of a second flush (and the plants are beginning to crinkle up by now anyway.)

The first and largest of the Phil's Two tomatoes has ALSO started to color up, but, since Phil's Two is an aggregate tomato (like Riesentraube) it turns out the different lobes ripen at different rates, so I can't bring it in until ALL of them have started to change color. I just have to hope the birds don't start attacking the ripe side while I'm waiting on the unripe side.

There are six other fruits on those plants, but all are much smaller than the first one, and, based on their rate of growth over the last few weeks, I'm not sure any will get any bigger.

 

[Branching Out]

At this point, all of the first flush of Spoon tomatoes are inside (though not all totally ripe; after the birds took some, I started bringing them in as soon as they started to change color and let them finish up inside where they are protected.) There's a tiny start of one one plant, but, other than that, I currently see no new flowers of a second flush (and the plants are beginning to crinkle up by now anyway.)

The first and largest of the Phil's Two tomatoes has ALSO started to color up, but, since Phil's Two is an aggregate tomato (like Riesentraube) it turns out the different lobes ripen at different rates, so I can't bring it in until ALL of them have started to change color. I just have to hope the birds don't start attacking the ripe side while I'm waiting on the unripe side.

It is so interesting to read about these unique varieties of tomato-- especially that Phil's Two aggregate tomato. The photos of it that I found online are absolutely crazy looking. And I had never heard of the teensy weensy Spoon tomatoes, but do they ever sound fantastic too.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

It is so interesting to read about these unique varieties of tomato-- especially that Phil's Two aggregate tomato. The photos of it that I found online are absolutely crazy looking. And I had never heard of the teensy weensy Spoon tomatoes, but do they ever sound fantastic too.

It is important to keep in mind in this case that "interesting" and/or "unusual" do not always translate out to be the same thing as "good". Spoon is perfectly edible, but doesn't (at least to me) taste all that different from any other red currant tomato (and the fact that they ARE so tiny means they are more or less impossible to spear with a fork, I suspect the reason someone named it "Spoon" is that that is what you are supposed to EAT them with!)

"Honor Bright" a.k.a. "Lutesecent" is interesting with it's pale, perpetually sickly looking foliage and near white flowers, but the tomatoes you get at the end are pretty blah. Ditto "Stick", having tomatoes that come more or less straight off of the central stalk may be visually arresting, but it doesn't mean those tomatoes themselves are anything all that special.

It feels sort of odd to say this (since pretty much everything I grow I grow BECAUSE it is unusual.) but even I can see that a lot of my stuff, while novel, is not inherently better foodwise that the regular, and quite often worse. They're fun for the casual grower, but few would revolutionize the agricultural industry (well, maybe the soybean idea, but that's assuming I was ever right about those truly existing.)

 

[ducks4you]

I have lots of catmint around here (Nepeta faassenii) and that is definitely a perennial. Extremely hardy. But what is the Latin name for cat thyme? Same with Syrian oregano? I'm curious about these 2, never heard of them. I once tasted this dried herb mixture which included sumac, possibly za'atar ? and it was DELICIOUS. I've always wanted to get some but never did. The particular mixture was so good I worried that the other variations out there wouldn't be so wonderful. I wonder if Syrian oregano is in that?

I made soup the other day and used the 'tarragon' given to me by a neighbour (which I suspect is Russian Tarragon) and it was AMAZING. Every single book I've read that mentions RT states it's substandard compared to French Tarragon. I'd say it's the other way around! It's very much like rosemary with a bit of a floral note.

As for the sage, I'm growing 'Pineapple Sage' this year and love the smell of it. Any idea what it's used for? I don't care for regular sage or thyme, but wonder if this can be dried and used similarly. The plant has gotten quite big compared to when I bought it, no flowers though, and no seeds.

What do you use the catmint for?

I keep sage for poultry. Somehow I have harvested the one lone plant correctly, since it has bushed out.
I do NOT dry it out, but often break off leaves during the winter to turkey.
If I had been on the ball, there was this Illini FS that used to sell bulk seeds, which they stored in wooden boxes made of plywood and painted, and they each had a plexiglass hinged lid, and a scoop. You filled up a bag, labelled it, then bought by the pound.
They also sold plants. One year they had about 8 varieties of sage INCLUDING pineapple sage.
They shut down this operation some 3 years ago, in lieu of only working with professional farmers.
I could have had an herb garden full of different kinds of sage.
**sigh**

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Only a little new news this time.

Today, I once again managed to actually find the second lablab flower cluster (because it is lower that the leaf level, it actually camouflages in to the base, so actually locating it in the mass of leaves is sort of hard,) and I noted two things.

One, it has another flower (I thought it was a sucking insect at first, but no it's a flower).

Second, it is now clear the second group is NOT on the same plant as the first. Not only are the flowers different colors (pink on the main cluster, white on the second.) but the developing pods are TOTALLY different shapes (I think the second may very well be one of those "long" lablabs I mentioned.

I also am now VERY glad that lablab beans can apparently pollinate themselves. If they couldn't this one would be hopeless. Not only does the lowness mean that no insect could ever see it under the leaves, but it looks like the flowers are born very differently than is normal. Not only are they more or less born singly (rather than as a bunch), but also incredibly close to the stem, and more or less backwards (as in, the keel of the flower is pointing IN towards the stem, and is in fact basically appressed to the stem surface. Now you know why I originally thought it was a bug!)

I can't really show you, since it would take four hands (two to push the leaves back and two to take the picture.) But if I can get my dad to help, maybe.