Spearmint and the other herbs

Spearmint

The fall season that wouldn’t quit has more or less come to an end. For the last few days, overnight temperatures plunged well below zero, we’ve had hard frosts and some snow, but the ground is far from frozen, and there are apparently warm days ahead (for more tilling, planting additional garlic, harvesting the last of the carrots and beets)! In the herb garden, there’s not much to do, except bring in the rosemary. Flat leaf parsley is in fine shape, doing better than the curly stuff. Sage seems indestructible, thyme and oregano are largely toast above ground, while the tarragon starters seem to be fine—I’ll put them all under a couple of layers of row cover, although the sage, oregano and thyme have come back no problem for the last two years after overwintering right out in the open. Some of the peppermint was killed off, although the roots may be okay. Apart from a few cold-burned leaves, the spearmint, in the picture, is right as rain…

Parsley and oregano in November

Here’s the flat leaf parsley, looking fresh (and tasting great!), in front of the burnt off oregano (there are still some green leaves nestled near the ground).

Sage in November

Here’s the sage, a dense, unthinned mass from two years of growth, looking quite unconcerned.

5 thoughts on “Spearmint and the other herbs”

  1. Are the peppers still hanging in there after the hard frosts? Dreamy weather in North Texas right now–80s/60s–tomatoes still cranking out a bumper crop, while still cool enough for the winter crops to thrive…hope this temperature slot keeps going for awhile!

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  2. Steve: Nah, the peppers are now officially toast. A few -15°F nights, heavy wind and me not keeping the row cover in place did ’em in. I have some heavier row cover I could’ve used to keep them going for a while longer, but we’ve already had our fill for here—froze some, dried some hot—and there’s no more market for ’em. So, yesterday, I took a last picture and tilled them under… Your endless summer, huh. Well, sounds good. :)

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  3. Rats, spoke too soon–38 degrees tonight, probably freezing next week…party’s almost over for the summer stuff!

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