Container Gardening

Luscious Lemony Herbs

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By Dawn Pettinelli, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

With summer almost around the corner, many of us are setting in vegetables and herbs in hopes of preparing delectable culinary delights as these plants mature. Aromatic herbs bring amazing flavors and zing to all sorts of savory and sweet concoctions. A citrusy taste complements many dishes and some may not be aware of the wealth of lemon-flavored herbs that are widely available and also easy to grow.

Lemon balm plants up close.
Lemon Balm in the garden. Photo by dmp2024

Long-lived lemon balm has been a staple in my herb garden for years. The attractive heart-shaped, scalloped leaves have a delicate scent when rubbed. Lemon balm is a hardy perennial native to Europe and has long been grown for its culinary and medicinal purposes. Fresh or dried leaves can be made into a calming tea that reputedly reduces anxiety. They can also be used in savory chicken dishes, to make pesto and even in baked goods. The lemon balm I grow is the species and it produces flowers that, like many members of the mint family, are loved by bees. A dilemma ensues as to whether to leave the blossoms for the pollinators and deal with the copious seedlings that pop up the following year, or cut the plant back to encourage more leaf production. Also, once lemon balm flowers, the leaves take on an unpleasant ‘soapy’ taste. Cultivars such as ‘Compacta’ are sterile, so no seeds are produced.

As long as it is grown in a well-drained soil, lemon thyme is another long-lived herb. Growing just 4 to 6 inches tall, it’s an attractive plant in the herb garden, as an edging plant or even as a front border plant in perennial gardens. There are green, golden, and variegated leaved cultivars. Sprigs of lemon thyme can be dried but I like to use them fresh in chicken or rice dishes. The pinkish flowers usually open in July and are a big pollinator draw. Like many herbs, the best flavor is obtained collected before flowering. Plants respond well to regular trimmings.

Lemon basil is an annual in our climate but easily grown from seed. Like all basils, it does best in a sunny, fertile site with adequate moisture. Plants also do great in containers. Leaves have a fresh lemony scent and taste with some hints of mint and spices. If growing from seed, one might want to try ‘Sweet Dani’, which was a 1998 All America Selection winner. Named cultivars such as ‘Mrs. Burns’ lemon basil usually have larger leaves than the seed grown types. Pinch out flower stalks as they form for better flavor or for a longer and more abundant harvest, cut off the top third of your plants about once a month. This encourages greater branching and leaf production. Lemon basil rice is my favorite way to use fresh leaves.

Lemon grass in a garden bed.
Lemon grass in the garden. Photo by dmp2024

A tender perennial, lemon verbena, is mostly grown as a container plant and overwintered indoors. Plants have an exceptionally strong lemon scent and if happy, grow quite vigorously. They can easily get 3 or 4 feet tall and will grow into a small tree in warmer climates. Lemon verbena is native to South America, so it enjoys full sun and hot weather. Leaves can be used in potpourris, teas, and sweets.

Another tender perennial best grown in a pot is the lemon scented geranium. There are several named cultivars with some, like ‘Mabel Gray’ and ‘Rober’s Lemon Rose’, having a stronger scent. Either buy plants or start from a friend’s cutting. The lovely scented wavy leaves can be placed in the bottom of a cake or loaf pan and then filled with batter and baked, imparting a lovely pattern and slight lemony flavor. They can be used fresh or dried for a variety of culinary uses and are also good in potpourris.

Those enjoying Asian cooking are likely already familiar with the rich flavor of lemon grass. While it is native to India and only hardy to zone 10 to 12, it is a pretty vigorous grower that would do well in either a garden bed or container. Reportedly plants may reach 2 to 3 feet in height by midsummer if kept well-watered. The leaves as well as the bulbous base of

the stem are used in recipes. A few stalks can be removed as needed for cooking. Cut back potted plants to 6 inches before overwintering in a sunny window indoors.

For more information about growing lemon scented herbs or on other gardening topics, feel free to contact us, toll-free, at the UConn Home & Garden Education Center at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at www.homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu or contact your local Cooperative Extension Center.

Grow Vegetables – Save Money

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By Dawn Pettinelli, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

Lettuce planted in a container.
This lettuce was planted in a container. Photo by dmp2024

Anyone who grocery shops on a regular basis has likely noticed a higher tally at the checkout counter. The latest consumer pricing analysis from the USDA is predicting a 1.3 percent increase in food prices. While we can’t do much to lower the prices, one thing we can do is grow some of our own vegetables and herbs.

The investment in a small 100 square foot or so garden is not large, and one can be assured of healthy, high quality fresh produce. Vegetable gardeners can also control what, if any, types of pesticides are used on the plants. One source suggested that a $70 investment in plants and seeds could produce a harvest worth $600 or more over the growing season. Already having basic garden tools was probably taken for granted.

If yard space is limited or too shaded, consider renting a plot in a community garden, maybe teaming up with a friend trading garden chores for produce, or consider growing in window boxes and other containers. Even small areas provide opportunities to grow your own food. While a head of lettuce can cost $2-3 dollars at the grocery store, for that same amount one can often pick up a cell-pack of 6 lettuce plants and grow them out in a large container, or 6 square feet or so of garden bed.

Starting plants directly in the garden by direct seeding can also offer considerable savings. I picked up a package of mixed lettuce variety seeds for $3.25 that contains 500 seeds. This would enable one to grow multiple succession plantings for at least 2 or 3 years. If stored in a dark, cool, dry spot, many seeds last for at least 2 years if not longer.

Good candidates for direct sowing would be bush or pole beans, lettuce and other green leafy vegetables, radishes, peas, carrots, summer and winter squash, cucumbers, and corn. If they tickle your tastebuds, you can toss in turnips and parsnips.

Some vegetable varieties have greater cold tolerance than others so your peas, radishes, and many green leafy vegetables can usually be planted by the end of this month depending on the weather. In northern parts of Connecticut, it would be good if the soil warms and dries up a bit more.

Other types of vegetables are better to set in the garden as transplants, whether you grow them yourself or purchase them in cell-packs. The main reason for this is twofold. Certain plants, particularly in the brassica family, like cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower germinate fine in warm household temperatures but like to be grown cooler than many of us keep our houses and if left in those warm temperatures grow long and leggy instead of short and stocky. So, it’s just easier to purchase healthy, stocky plants grown in a greenhouse to set in the garden or container, although the leggy ones usually catch up.

The second reason why some plants are better purchased as transplants is because vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and leeks have a long growing season – often 80 to 100 days from transplant until they produce harvestable crops. It makes more sense to plant 3- or 4-week-old transplants around Memorial Day so harvesting can start in late July or August. Contrarily, even though some winter squash and pumpkins might take 100 days or so to mature, I typically just direct seed them around Memorial Day because they seem to catch up with transplants, that usually experience a bit of transplant shock, pretty quickly so I don’t feel like I am gaining much by purchasing transplants and more importantly, the particular varieties I prefer are not always available as plants.

Fresh picked roma style tomatoes
This fabulous roma style tomato is an heirloom variety a friend brought from Italy. It makes a fantastic sauce! Photo by dmp2024

Regardless of whether you have a few containers to fill or a large garden, do some research before purchasing seeds or transplants. There are so many different cultivars available so look up variables like days to harvest, disease resistance, cold tolerance, productivity and more. Make notes on how they taste and any problems during the growing season.

When planning your edible plantings, also think about succession sowings, finding out what pest problems to be on the lookout for, last and first frost dates, mature size and space requirements, and days to harvest.

Feel free to contact the UConn Home & Garden Education Center with questions on growing vegetables, herbs and other plants or if you have any other gardening questions, contact the UConn Home & Garden Education at (877) 486-6271 or www.homegarden.cahnr,uconn.edu or your local Cooperative Extension Center.