Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

on a lighter note - 

paul tradingpost@lobo.net
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Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
http://www.cce.cornell.edu/yates/MG8.29.01.htm
By, Katie Tomlinson
August 29, 2001

Herbs have captured people's attentions over the centuries. Invariable they
have turned up in everyone's life at one time or another; in your garden as
a weed, in your food to enhance the flavor, literature whether it is
fiction or fact, medicine and vitamins and as a purposeful part of your
landscape. The list can go on forever. My family enjoys going out to the
garden and picking lavender, yarrow, mint, sage, savory or oregano for
flower arrangements. Herbs can add color, foliage and fragrance to any
flower arrangement. My two young children enjoy chasing butterflies and
petting the bees as these tiny creatures indulge upon the flower's sweet
nectar. I enjoy scented geraniums and keep them on an entrance porch so I
can enjoy their fragrance as I walk by or as the wind blows. In addition to
their scented presence, their foliage is warm and welcoming. The
possibilities and discussions surrounding herbs are too numerous to include
in an article of this nature. But as the title may imply, I would like to
touch down upon the four herbs mentioned in the 1966 song Scarborough Fair
by Simon and Garfunkel.

Parsley is rich in vitamins and minerals, aids digestion, cleans the
palate, prevents flatulence, makes a nice garnish and can be an essential
ingredient in a recipe. Parsley is treated as an annual by most gardeners,
but parsley is a biennial and will self-sow the second summer. Parsley
enjoys full sun and well-drained soil and would enhance any flower or
vegetable garden if planted as an edging. When it comes time to use
parsley, harvest the older leaves or cut the whole plant, leaving one inch
about the ground, trying not to damage the growing point. The leaves may be
used fresh, dried and frozen in or on a variety of foods.

Sage is a beautiful bush or shrub like evergreen that comes in an array of
colors. Sage's foliage can range from a deep green to a deep purple to a
green, white and pink variegation with stems of lilac sometimes pink or
white flowers in June. Sage could be the perfect plant for any garden
either for its ornamental texture or for its culinary delight. The flowers
can be cut for dry or fresh flower arrangements. Full sun and well-drained
soil are the conditions most varieties enjoy and with an annual spring
pruning, sage will become bushier. Sage can be used to flavor any type of
food and is especially complimentary to meat.

Rosemary is native to the hillsides along the Mediterranean Sea. In its
native warm and dry region this perennial will grow up to six feet tall.
Rosemary is another evergreen herb and will not withstand cold temperatures
and so should be brought inside during winter months. Indoors, rosemary
will need a cool, sunny, humid location to thrive in and does well in a
container. Outdoors, it does well in full sun and dry alkaline soil.
Rosemary can be used to flavor a wide range of foods including lamb,
poultry, pork, vegetables, bread, vinegar and jam.

I know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows,
Where oxslips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite overcanopied with lush woodbine,
With sweet musk-rose and with eglantine.
-Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 2, scene 2

Have you ever walked on a lawn with thyme growing wild in it? It's presence
is so captivating. The soft canopy invites you to sit in, the smell is
relaxing and the flowers dazzling. An herb garden is not complete without
the one or more thyme plants growing in it. Choose from shrubs, creepers,
different flavors, and light to dark leaves. There is thyme to please every
gardener. This evergreen shrub typically grows three to fifteen inches tall
and enjoys full sun, dry soil and sandy locations. Thyme like parsley, sage
and rosemary has a similar place in the kitchen and is found in many
recipes and dishes. The French use thymus vulagris (common thyme) to make
bouquet garni, the traditional flavoring for stew, stock, meat, stuffing,
sausage and cheese.

Bouquet Garni

Fresh or dried herbs can be used. If they are dried, use less because dried
herbs tend to have a stronger flavor.

4 springs parsley (chervil can also be used)
1 bay leaf
2 springs thyme

Combine the herbs and tie them into a 4-inch square of cheesecloth. Add
during the last 20 minutes of cooking time. Can be used to flavor soups and
stews.

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 http://www.echoedvoices.org/Jul2002/Scarborough_Fair.html
The meaning of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

      The herbs parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, recurring in the second
line of each stanza, make up for a key motive in the song. Although
meaningless to most people today, these herbs spoke to the imagination of
medieval people as much as red roses do to us today. Without any
connotation neccesary, they symbolize virtues the singer wishes his true
love and himself to have, in order to make it possible for her to come back
again.

      Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)
      Parsley is still prescribed by phytotherapists today to people who
suffer from bad digestion. Eating a leaf of parsley with a meal makes the
digestion of heavy vegetables such as spinach a lot easier. It was said to
take away the bitterness, and medieval doctors took this in a spiritual
sense as well.

      Sage (Salvia officinalis)
      Sage has been known to symbolize strength for thousands of years.

      Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
      Rosemary represents faithfulness, love and remembrance. Ancient Greek
lovers used to give rosemary to their ladies, and the custom of a bride
wearing twigs of rosemary in her hair is still practised in England and
several other European countries today. The herb also stands for
sensibility and prudence. Ancient Roman doctors recommended putting a small
bag of rosemary leaves under the pillow of someone who had to perform a
difficult mental task, such as an exam. Rosemary is associated with
feminine love, because it's very strong and tough, although it grows
slowly.

      Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
      According to legend, the king of fairies dances in the wild thyme
with all of the fairies on midsummer night; that's the best known legendary
appearance of the herb. But the reason Thyme is mentioned here is that it
symbolizes courage. At the time this song was written, knights used to wear
images of thyme which their ladies embroidered on their shields when they
went to combat, as a symbol of their courage.

This makes it clear what the disappointed lover means to say by mentioning
these herbs. He wishes his true love mildness to soothe the bitterness
which is between them, strength to stand firm in the time of their being
apart from each other, faithfulness to stay with him during this period of
loneliness and paradoxically courage to fulfill her impossible tasks and to
come back to him by the time she can.