I WAS IN a supermarket car park once and noticed that yards from where I parked my car there was a rosemary bush. I am sure that very few people (if any) knew it was there. The plant was about 3ft tall and equally as wide – completely abundant – just sitting there, unsung and unloved churning out herbs, and crying out to be picked. Inside the supermarket, I found a herb retail display in the vegetable aisle and right there between the marjoram and sage was, yes you’ve guessed it – rosemary! €2 for a few miserly sprigs imported from Israel. Yep, sometimes the food chain hits you right between the eyes with a display of utter stupidity. I thought about standing there for a while so that I could tell anyone who came to buy herbs about the free rosemary out in the carpark. But I would probably have been carted away by the men in white coats.
Growing your own herbs is a great starting point on the GIY journey. Herbs tick so many boxes: they will save you lots of money from day one and since you simply pick as much as you need, there’s no waste (in our house, little cartons of herbs always ended up rotting in the back of the fridge, judging me silently each day as I went in for the milk). With homegrown herbs you get consistently high quality, fresh product, which can’t always be said about the shop-bought equivalent. Herbs are also generally easy to grow, relatively forgiving and low maintenance. You don’t need to have a garden to grow them since most of them will do perfectly fine in a pot or container on a windowsill. Best of all though, homegrown herbs will make your entire meal feel and taste homegrown, even if most of it isn’t.
Things to do this week – Make a Raised Bed
Firstly, decide on your bed design and where you are going to put it. A 4ft (1.2m) square bed is ideal as you will be able to reach in to the centre of it from all sides (therefore never having to stand on the soil which would compact it). 10-12 inches deep is traditional. Measure out the lengths of wood needed and cut them to the size and nail together. Bear in mind that when filled with soil there will be quite a bit of pressure on the sides of the bed so nail the planks to the pegs for support. Place a good thick layer of wet cardboard and newspaper on the surface of the grass – it will kill the grass and weeds off and then break down to improve the soil. Fill the bed with alternating layers of manure/compost and top soil – aim for a mix of 60% soil and 40% compost/manure.
Recipe of the Week – Walnut and Basil Pesto
Pine mouth would be funny if it wasn’t so bloody awful. It’s a malady you get from eating tainted pinenuts that results in a bitter, metallic taste in the mouth that can last for weeks. Every morsel of food you put in your mouth while afflicted tastes like metal. A deeply unpleasant bout of pine mouth about three years ago was enough to put me off pinenuts ever since. So, here’s a pesto recipe that uses walnuts instead of pinenuts. We’ve a big crop of basil at the moment on the verge of being past its best so making a big batch of pesto is a good way to use up and ‘store’ the leaves. Pesto can be stored for a week in a tightly sealed jar or air-tight container, covered with a thin layer of olive oil.
You can also freeze pesto, but omit the cheese and add it in when defrosting.
Ingredients
Instructions
Place the walnuts and garlic in a food processor and blitz until coarsely chopped. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper and process until mixture resembles a paste, about 1 minute. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil in until the pesto is thoroughly blended. Add the Parmesan and process a minute more.
Tip of the Week – Growing Herbs
When it comes to working out what herbs to plant, have a think about what herbs you like the taste of and for what uses you need them. A lot of the herbs which we are familiar with, like marjoram, oregano, lavender, thyme, rosemary and dill are native to the Mediterranean region and will therefore need moderate warmth and sunlight to really thrive. Some herbs like parsley and mint however will do well in partial shade. Some herb plants (like rosemary, chive and thyme) will last for years, but others (like basil, dill and borage) have to be grown each year.
Michael Kelly is a freelance journalist, author of GROW COOK EAT and founder of Grow It Yourself (GIY).
GIY’s vision is for a healthier, more connected and more sustainable world where people grow some of their own food. Each year, it supports over 65,000 people and 1,500 community food-growing groups and projects around Ireland, and runs food-growing campaigns, events and publications. www.giyireland.com
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