Gee, Sarah, if they followed you home I guess you'll have to keep them---for a short while.

I'd be concerned about planting them now, however. It's a bit late for spring planting (even in the Great White North), I believe, and too early for fall planting.

Try storing them in a cool, dry place and see if they'll keep until fall.

I love those Red Pearls. Wonder where I can find some?

GardenLad i will follow your advice and *TRY* to keep them in a cool dry place till fall. I dont know if i can keep from eating them all tho. The culinary treasures that i've been turning out are FANTABULOUS!!!! Like a mushroom with prociutto and onion stuffing for a puff pastry topped with asparagus and cheese, a simple mushroom onion prociutto rice, donairs, omelettes, tonight it will be bacon, mozza and onion Quiche.

I found them all on the grocer's shelf, you might wanna keep a look out for them. they were all ~$4/lb bag and worth every penny!!! If you cant find any pm me...

Sarah

Ooh, ooh. I'm coming to your house for supper. When are you making those mushroom/procuitto puff pastries again?

lol, not anytime soon, it was a very RICH dish loaded with butter, cheese and CREAM!!! and im *trying* to watch the waistline lol ;) But you're welcome to dinner ANYTIME as long as you dont mind a light salad ;)!!! Right now im able to harvest some of my lettuce, mustard greens and a few radishes. We could also enjoy a nice after dinner cup of fresh chamomile, lemon balm, mint and catnip tea ;) Wait a week and i might be able to offer you a pea or two as well ;)

>not anytime soon, it was a very RICH dish loaded with butter, cheese and CREAM!!!Yeah, so? What's your point?

Remember, I live in the South, where the two basic food groups are sugar and cholesterol.

lol

What is catnip tea like? Any effects? I am drinking lots of teas these days as part of my weight control, and can only drink so much caffeinated tea. So I am searching for new herbal teas to add to my repertoire.

Uncle john, green tea is the best for weight loss, i encourage you to google greentea , im sure you will find it informational:)

as for herbal teas i have recently started blending my own. I like the catnip mixed with lemon balm and lemon mint. The catnip on its own is very lemony and is said to be a sedative. It always seems to calm me, but that could be a placebo effect, or something else that ive blended with it... i dunno ;)

A good licorice blend would be anise seed, anise hyssop and fennel seed. I like to add some dried zest of lemon, lime or orange as well.

If you have a bulk food store near you you can check for decaf green tea leaves.. try creating your own blends with the herbs you like :)

The most refreshing tea is plain spearmint. i love to put the kettle on, go out to my garden and clip some spearmint, rinse it, put it in my teapot and enjoy :)

You will be able to grow a lot of your herbs for teas but you can also purchase the more exotic herbs from your local bulk food store for cheap.

Catnip can be a gentle nervine that calms the system, and can thus be used for sleeplessness. But it's not a true sedative.

It's primary use is as a gentle antispasmodic for relieving indigestion and gas. And it's a specific treatment for colic in babies. That's why catnip tea---alone or mixed with other herbs like fennel and peppermint---goes down so well after a rich meal.

For sleeplessness, chamomille is a better choice. If that doesn't do it alone, combine it with equal parts of jasmine. If you need something still stronger, mix equal parts of chamomille, jasmine, and passionflower.

If that doesn't work, see a doctor. :>)

For the ultimate in restful sleep, try an herbal salt bath before climing into bed. This relaxes and calms the entire body. Then sip on a cup of the chamomille/jasmine/passionflower tea.

How'd we get on this subject, anyway?

BTW, my brother used to import gourmet teas into the US, and let me in the secret of decaf tea. Simply steep the tea (black or green) for thirty seconds in water just cooler than boiling, and then pour that off. Most of the caffeine will be in that first draw. Proceed to make your tea with the now decaffeinated leaves. He said that this is how commercial outfits do it.

For my herbal teas, I grow Spearmint, Peppermint, English mint (similar to spear, but distinct), Chammomile, and Monarda (Bee Balm). This year I am adding Orange Mint, Lemon Balm, and Bergamot (similar to Monarda) to my tea garden. I have some old catnip seeds, and will try those as well, provided that our abundant feline population will permit it to grow to harvest.

You should like the Bergamot. It's what gives Earl Gray its distinctive flavor. But I'm confused. Monarda is merely the genus that Bergamot belongs to. Bee Balm (aka Oswego Tea and Red Bergamot) is Monarda didyma

There are two other Monardas commonly used in teas: Lavender Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), and Lemon Bergamot (Monarda citriodora). But the one called Bee Balm is the Red.

Melissa (Lemon Balm) is a great addition to many teas. It provides a lemony flavor and aroma, but without the sharp citrus taste some of the others have. Melissa is a classic medicinal herb, with many attributes, including helping to control high blood pressure, hysteria, melancholia, and, in conjunction with a feverfew regimen, migraine and cluster headaches.

The Monarda we have is the red; it is one of the highlights of my wife's flower garden. I have long loved the scent, and recently started using it as a tea, mainly the dried flower heads that hold the petals. Is there another part of Bee Balm that I should be using as tea instead?

Far as I know, the flowers are the part most people use, although at least one of my references says the leaves and flowering tops.

With Lemon Bergamot the leaves are where you find the lemon scent.

mmmmmm monarda!!! i have planted one and am anxiously waiting for the sweet sweet flowers. I received some lemon monarda seeds in a trade not long ago but it was too late to start them so i have to wait till next year !