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The benefits of gardening are healthy exercise, tasty and satisfying menus, creative and rewarding hobbies.
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One of the incomparable joys of summer is loading the table with dishes made from fruits and vegetables plucked straight from the garden. And complementing those dishes by cooking with fresh herbs is a way to brighten up flavors even more. The key to getting the zestiest taste from homegrown herbs is to harvest then at their peak.
Optimum cutting time for using or preserving fresh herbs is late morning after the dew has dried but before the sun is at its highest point, says Renee Troyer Campbell, owner of Prairie Trail Farm, 16206 County Road 40, Goshen. The oils that produce the flavor (are at their) strongest then, she explains. However, if you realize at supper that you need a fresh herb for a dish, please do not hesitate to run to the garden right then and pick some.
Troyer Campbell grows more than 200 kinds of herbs at her farm and greenhouse, which is open to the public.
I always enjoyed gardening, cooking and being creative, so herbs were a natural addition. The more I learned about herbs, the more I wanted to grow and experiment.
Both the foliage and flowers of herbs have been used in culinary traditions for centuries. Troyer Campbell says that herbs also are planted for use in cosmetic and health products and for natural dyes. They are widely appreciated for their fragrance and delightful decorative and landscaping qualities as well.