Farmers Market Cucumber Salad with Honey-Lime and Yogurt Dressing

One of the tastes of summer is cucumbers and this salad rocks with a Greek yogurt based dressing. Perfect for diner or lunch.

Ready to Use Herb Transplants

There here is nothing better than fresh herbs for your cooking. They have the kick of flavor the way you remember herbs should taste. Often you find herb starts at the local green house are very modest in size and you resign yourself to several months of growing time before can use them.

We have found that people really like our larger herbs that you can take home and use immediately.

Top 10 Vegetable Freak Posts for 2014

On reflection over the past year I though it would be good to review some of the top Vegetable Freak posts for 2014.

Here they are...

A Little Love for Chocolate Mint - Guest Post by Jenna Petersen

Hello, VegetableFreak community! I hope to be able to give you some tips for incorporating fresh herbs into your cooking, since my Dad affectionately calls me the “herb expert” of the family. I wasn’t always such a foliage specialist, but I do remember the day that I wandered over to Dad and found him picking something green and incredibly fragrant in the field. I quickly learned that this was an herb called basil, and that if I wanted to join him in picking it, I needed to carefully pinch off the leaves to avoid bruising them. This was the beginning of a long relationship of herb cultivation that has only flourished in recent years. While basil remains a staple in our garden and at our Farmer’s Market booth, we have added a variety of other culinary plants. These include parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and many others, one being mint. We sell seven (!) varieties of it as plants: Spearmint, Peppermint, Mint Julep, Mojito Mint, Orange Mint, Chocolate Mint, and Pineapple Mint. Of these, my favorite by far is Chocolate Mint. It has a unique taste, beautiful purple stem, and smooth leaves. Compared to the typical spearmint, I think it has a cooler, stronger taste. It also grows vigorously, a stereotypical trait of most mints. Chocolate mint is amazing, and I have a few suggestions for using this tasty plant.

How to Grow Mint Julep and Mojito Mint

How to Grow Mint Julep and Mojito Mint. By special request we have acquired starts of the  mint (Yerba Buena) used in these summer time drinks. We will have this mint all summer.

Serendipity in the Herb Garden

We noticed that oregano, mints, thymes and chives would come back year after year in old garden plots and around old homesteads. These were always earlier than herbs we grew and planted. Why were these established plants "way ahead" of their more domesticated cousins. Could we establish our own "persistent" or perennial herb garden.

How to Grow Mint - Our Featured Herb of the Week

Mint is one of the easiest of the herbs or garden plants to grow. It is extremely winter hardy. During the summer it is so aggressive that some people plant it in a large pot in the ground so it doesn't spread to the whole garden bed.

We had an extremely harsh winter and a number of people have reported that their mint did not survive the winter. So what to do...

How to Plant Jenna's Herbs

How to plant herbs is not a one size fits all so let me break it down into families of similar plant types.

Basil and Mint

Believe it or not these are close cousins. They can be started from root cuttings and are very easy to grow from our large from our large transplants. Typically plant at the level that they were in the pots, though they will tolerate being planted a little deeper. Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. If you are potting to a larger pot use our organic potting mix or mix in some worm castings to your favorite mix.

Thyme - English, Lemon, Silver, Winter

Easy to grow and should be planted at the same level as grown. Will tolerate a little deeper and will root from any stem that touches the ground. Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. If you are potting to a larger pot use our organic potting mix or mix in some worm castings to your favorite mix.

Cilantro

Transplant to the garden at the same height and clip regularly. Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. If you are potting to a larger pot use our organic potting mix or mix in some worm castings to your favorite mix.

Parsley - Curly, Triple Curled, Italian Flat Leaf

Can be left in the pots they were grown in or transplanted to the garden. Do not plant deeper than they were in the pot. They will not root from the stem. Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. If you are potting to a larger pot use our organic potting mix or mix in some worm castings to your favorite mix.

Rosemary

The woody stem will root if buried a little deeper than grown. Let the plants get about 12 inches tall and then pinch the growing tip. The side shoots will then start to grow and you can harvest them readily. Grows great in pots or in the garden. Is not perennial in Minnesota.

Dill

Plant in the garden for maximum harvest. The plants will get quite tall and become root bound quickly in pots. If you do leave them in pots, water daily. Plant several times for continuous harvest.

Fennel

Separate plants when small and plant in the garden at the level it was grown at in the pots. Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. 

Hyssop

Plant at the level the plant was grown at. A nice herb and beautiful flower later in the season. The bees love this Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. If you are potting to a larger pot use our organic potting mix or mix in some worm castings to your favorite mix.. 

Curry

Plant at the level the plant was grown at. Great aroma and flavor. Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. If you are potting to a larger pot use our organic potting mix or mix in some worm castings to your favorite mix.

Cumin

Plant at the level the plant was grown at. Nice spice and great flavor. Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. If you are potting to a larger pot use our organic potting mix or mix in some worm castings to your favorite mix.