Best herbs to add to garden?

[elnewt]

Hello all,

I've been absent from the forum but still plodding along with a few peppers. This year I am getting a raised bed in a community garden and am very excited to be growing 4-5 types of peppers. I wanted to add a few herbs to the garden as a barrier between my peppers and legumes (I've read mixed messages on whether they should be planted next to each other). I know I want oregano, probably some cilantro, maybe a basil. I would really like a rosemary plant, but from what I've seen, they go crazy and take up a lot more room than I'd want them to. Can a rosemary be kept controlled with regular trimming? Are there any other herbs that I'm not thinking of that might make a good addition?

Thanks!

 

[Grass Snake]

And for the next herb that should be up for discussion is Rue or Ruda

 

[Grass Snake]

Please quit hatin on my herbalicious knowledge

 

[Ratatouille]

Rue: had it in my garden, didn't know how to cook with it, got some big-ass blisters from this shitty plant, ruthlessly janked it out of my garden.

Not a fan, but.maybe you guessed that already?

 

[Tinkerbelle]

I had problems with rue as well, burnt my skin when I brushed against it

 

[Tinkerbelle]

Next herb I would suggest that hasn't been mentioned is Epazote

the flavour on that one looks really good - stop enticing me to buy more seeds

 

[Grass Snake]

Rue is weapon and must be handled properly

 

[HellfireFarm]

Papalo is more like your dishwashing detergent, not so much the generic flowery hand soap. (That's the regular cilantro.)

I'm not sure I want to know how you know that...

 

[Ashen]

I think your autocorrect did something there @Tinkerbelle. I mean, no-one puts baked beans on pizza, right? (Honestly, never heard of baked bean pizza.)

Also, team oregano here, when it comes to pizza.

And as for herbs in the garden, have a go at papalo and pipiche. My partner hates papalo with a passion, I would kill for it. We make a lovely, but dangerous couple.

Mad Dogs and Englishmen.

my Herb list most years

Chives
parsley
rosemary
globe basil
sweet basil large leaf
Golden (lemon thyme)
sage
Greek oregano
Sweet marjoram
Rhubarb (technically a herb apparently)

I want to add dill and lavender this year.

 

[Grass Snake]

Too bad Rhubarb doesn't like the heat we get here in Texas. Beautiful as a landscape plant.

 

[Ashen]

not sure exactly where you are but there is a variety with a very cool name., KangaRu rhubarb . it is supposed to be more heat tolerant. I just googled, says zone 8 if that helps.

 

[Grass Snake]

not sure exactly where you are but there is a variety with a very cool name., KangaRu rhubarb . it is supposed to be more heat tolerant. I just googled, says zone 8 if that helps.

Thanks I'll check it out. The variety I grew was Victoria.

 

[ahayastani]

the flavour on that one looks really good - stop enticing me to buy more seeds

Epazote is an easy herb. I use it primarily with beans to reduce flatulence. Also in a stir-fry with zucchini flowers.
The herb caused numbness in the tongue when I tried it fresh, but seems to loose this property once it is used in a preparation.

 

[ahayastani]

I was trying to remember where in France I'd bought seeds before, and now it has come back to me: Germinance. I see they offer epazote, but also one of my favourite basils: basilic marseillais.

 

[elnewt]

So y'all never heard of Cilantro tasting like soap to some people? Rata was more accurate with her description of Papalo having hints of mint and that's what I think I was tasting and described it as soap. There is mint soap I'm sure

Weirdly, the very first time I ate cilantro, it tasted overwhelmingly of soap! And yet, I've never tasted soap in cilantro again. I have never heard of anyone else who has both tasted and not tasted the soap in cilantro. I feel for those who taste the soap, because that's AWFUL.

 

[Grass Snake]

Taste buds work in mysterious ways. Tasting soap could be a survival trait humans have. I can see cilantro overwhelming the taste receptors for the first time, sending warning signals to the brain saying "no stop poison soap!" Then you try it again then it's like "ok false alarm, actually pretty good stuff." At this point you can then start to enjoy the complexity of Cilantro. Just a half ass theory of mine haha

 

[Tinkerbelle]

You could have a point Grass snake.
I love ground coriander and the crushed seeds but can't tolerate too much of the leaves.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Taste buds work in mysterious ways. Tasting soap could be a survival trait humans have. I can see cilantro overwhelming the taste receptors for the first time, sending warning signals to the brain saying "no stop poison soap!" Then you try it again then it's like "ok false alarm, actually pretty good stuff." At this point you can then start to enjoy the complexity of Cilantro. Just a half ass theory of mine haha

It's actually been traced to a gene. Only some people experience this.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Here you go:

A genetic variant near olfactory receptor genes influences cilantro preference - Flavour

Background The leaves of the Coriandrum sativum plant, known as cilantro or coriander, are widely used in many cuisines around the world. However, far from being a benign culinary herb, cilantro can be polarizing—many people love it while others claim that it tastes or smells foul, often like...

flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com

 

[Grass Snake]

I'm not all that convinced that it related to your sense of smell but I do agree genetics plays a factor somehow.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Taste IS smell. Hold your nose and try to taste ANYTHING.