Johannesburg - It's almost full-on Braai Season, so add herbs to your garden that will make your barbecue one to be talked about.
It is more rewarding growing herbs than other plants. They’re easy to grow in a sunny, open, but sheltered spot with fertile, well-drained soil at their feet.
Set your herb garden, be it in a bed or in a group of pots, near your kitchen door for easy access. If you’re growing your herbs in pots, use light potting soil and make sure they have good drainage. If you’re harvesting continually, don’t forget to fertilise every month. Even in winter, keep checking moisture levels every day to make sure the soil hasn’t dried out.
Because you’re using them for cooking, limit possible contamination by pets and don’t use poisonous sprays to keep bugs away – go organic. When harvesting, collect small quantities at a time, handling the herbs as little as possible or you may lose some of the flavour.
Leave two growth points on the twig for reshooting, and use the opportunity to pinch out the plant at the same time to encourage bushiness and better growth.
If you’re putting chicken on the braai, the best fresh herbs to accompany it are basil, chives, dill, fennel, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme and tarragon.
For fish, a combination of lemon grass, fennel and dill add that special something. Grow these to add spice to your cook-out.
FENNEL
Fennel is easy to grow and very hardy. As it gets quite tall, plant it towards the back of your veggie or herb patch. Harvest the leaves and the flower heads after the seeds have formed and the head has died off. The bulbs can come out when they reach about the size of a tennis ball.
TARRAGON
With a hint of liquorice flavour, the bitter-sweet tarragon can become overwhelming if too much is used at once. It loses loads of its flavour when dried so is best used fresh. Bear in mind this plant can eventually become quite large, so if you’ve got it in a pot make it a big one.
They hate having wet feet or wet foliage, so plant in sandy soil, water sparingly and keep the foliage well pruned.
THYME
Thyme is used to season meat and fish, so add some to your potjie this summer, or rub on to your chops before placing on the fire.
ROSEMARY
If you have space constraints and are wondering which of the herbs you could grow successfully in the one pot you own, make sure it’s rosemary.
This pungently flavourful herb dries well – harvest young sprigs before the plant flowers. When braaiing a rack of lamb, place large sprigs of dampened rosemary and bay leaves underneath it on a medium fire.
BRAAI TIPS
l Keeping bugs away while you’re braaiing: There are many herbs and flowers that will keep bugs away, such as basil, chives, garlic and marigolds.
You can also get herbal repellents that combine African basil and lemon grass with thyme, camphor and lavender to keep those mosquitoes at bay.
* Take a long branch of rosemary, strip the leaves off (and use in your cooking), then use the stalks as sosatie skewers.
* Don’t miss Melanie in Gardening 101 on The Home Channel (DStv 176) on Tuesdays at 9pm, with seven repeats throughout the week.
Saturday Star