It snowed last week in Michigan, a reminder why the wisest people here do not plant anything tender until May 15 at the earliest. I try to hold out until Memorial Day, just to be safe.
But, this is National Gardening Week, and I have begun thinking about what I want to plant this year. My gardening is limited to two places, a long border across the front of my home that is largely perennials, and my deck, where I concentrate on containers.
That hasn’t stopped me from growing things to eat. At various times, I’ve raised tomatoes, tomatillos, snap peas, Japanese eggplants, potatoes, strawberries, pimiento peppers, chili peppers, and most abundantly, herbs.
I recently read an article about serving herbs as side dishes, not just as garnishes, and I had to laugh, because I have done this my entire life. “Go snip me off _______,” my mother would say, handing me her herb scissors. (Some day, I’ll tell you about my scissors wardrobe.)
I would dutifully come back with dill, or basil, or greens, and she would dress it or add it to the salad she was preparing.
The Connection Between Cooking and Gardening
I didn’t really connect gardening and cooking until I was an adult, though. One of my friends told me they were planting a salsa garden - tomatoes, peppers, onions, tomatillos and chile. Then, the light went on, and now, I’ve drawn a straight line from my deck to my kitchen. I don’t grow anything now without a plan for how I will deploy it later on.
For far too many people, gardening is scary. “I kill everything I plant,” they say. “Oh, I don’t have a green thumb.” Then, they spend $4 on a plastic box of herbs when one herb plant for the same price would have yielded two seasons worth of flavor. Or, they’ll overpay for a variety of heirloom tomatoes that might have flourished in a planter.
I’m here to say you can do this. You may not start out like Martha Stewart in her lush gardens in Maine, but you can enjoy the accomplishment of dining on something you grew. Here are a few tips to help you think about it.
1) Grow one thing at a time. Those herb gardens you see at farmer’s markets and Trader Joe are decorative, but they might not suit the space you have for them. Something in those collections always seems to grow better than the other plants, and you wind up with one side that flourishes and the other that wilts.
Instead, pick a pot of a single variety. I find rosemary is bulletproof. Sage, thyme and oregano are easy to grow. I have mixed luck with basil, which is temperamental in northern climates, and cilantro either takes off or dies.
I highly recommend growing vegetables in pots with plenty of room, and you will want to have stakes and trellises available as supports.
Ask a grower. If you need help, ask any grower, especially those who sell at farmer’s markets. For years, I have bought my herb plants from Gracia’s Greenhouse in Belleville, Mich. They are on top of food trends and happy to give advice.
It’s smart working with someone local, rather than purchasing plants at a big box store.
Along with helping your neighbor stay in business, you’ll take home plants suited for your area’s growing conditions, not sent across country on a semi.
Figure out your sun and zone. The one pot method is also useful for you to test out how much light and heat a spot receives. My deck is in full sun in the morning, shaded until late afternoon, and gets sun again at the end of the day. I put anything that needs direct sun at the east and west ends; the center, which will get tree cover, gets plants that like a little shade.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people try to grow geraniums under pine trees and impatiens in full sun, only to wonder why neither thrive. You need to match your plants to light, and to heat, too.
I’m a huge believer in xeriscape gardening, which minimizes watering. Remember that you will have to water things, unless you live in a particularly rainy place. How many trips are you willing to make with a hose or watering can?
You also need to know the agricultural zone for your location. Michigan is Zone 5 or 6, depending on proximity to the Great Lakes. Washington, DC is zone 7(a); when I lived in Phoenix, we were in Zone 9.
The zones directly govern what will do well where you live, and you can’t assume the plants you successfully grew in one place will do well in another. Also, growing seasons arrive earlier the farther south you are. I’m so jealous of my New Orleans friends, who got strawberries over a month ago, when Michigan’s season is easily six weeks away.
What are you most likely to eat. My friend with the salsa garden clearly loves salsa. Likewise, you should select things you are likely to use. I love making roast dinners, incorporating all kinds of herbs on chicken, fish and veggies. I make tomato sauce, and flavored herb vinegars, and I give gifts of herb salt. I make bouquets of herbs and give them to friends, and use them as decorations.
It’s worth thinking about what you eat, and designing your garden from those menus. If you do it the other way around, you might have a pretty planter that ends up going to seed because you never snipped off what you were growing.
Make sure it’s fun, and not a chore. A kitchen garden is supposed to be functional, but you also should enjoy it. If something is too high maintenance - basil that flowers before you can eat it, geraniums that constantly need dead heading - then grow something else. Don’t stay with tradition if it no longer suits you, and never compete with other gardeners.
I struggle growing conventional basil, but I love globe basil (the kind with the tiny leaves) and my mint production would supply a year’s worth of limeades.
As you go forth and garden, aim for what makes you happy, whether it’s a flowerpot in the window or an entire raised bed.
Dorie Greenspan is my culinary fairy godmother, as you know from reading this newsletter. And she is remarkably prolific. Every couple of years, there is a wonderful new Dorie book, and now the latest is on its way.
Baking With Dorie comes out in October, and you can pre-order it now wherever you get your favorite cookbooks. It will include a collection of sweet, savory, and simple recipes, all of which beginners can master.
They include cheese sticks made with cream puff dough, apple pie with browned butter spiced like warm mulled cider and a s’mores ice cream cake with velvety chocolate sauce.
If you do pre-order, save your receipt. Dorie promises a bonus for her early birds.
In the meantime, look up Dorie’s other books, too. She has her own shelf in my bookcase.
A Netflix Series on Black Culinary Culture
Set yourself a reminder for May 26. That’s when Netflix will launch High on the Hog: How African-American Cuisine Transformed American Culture.
It features Dr. Jessica B. Harris, the well-known New Orleans culinary historian, and is hosted by Stephen Satterfield, the founder of Whetstone, which tells food stories from around the world. I’ve had the honor of meeting them both and admire their work.
High on the Hog promises to explore everything from West African stews to barbecue and fine dining. It is directed by Roger Ross Williams, who won an Academy Award for his short filmMusic By Prudence.
If you enjoy music, you might have seen his documentary The Apollo, about the Apollo Theater.
Netflix is jam packed with culinary series, but you won’t want to miss this one. It sounds like perfect Memorial Day weekend viewing.
What I’m Writing
The announcement from General Motors might have slipped by you last week. But GM is allowing its 155,000 employees worldwide to work from home indefinitely, if their jobs are suited to remote work.
As I wrote for the Washington Post, if you’ve spent any time around corporate America, you know how historically momentous a move this was. No more long commutes and 12-hour days, barely seeing your spouse and kids.
All those traditional headquarters perks, like the executive dining room and corner offices, gone.
I think it will take a while for businesses to digest the changes brought about by work from home culture. But, it seems to be a good thing, even though it puts an end to the settings for films like Sabrina.
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