French sorrel is among the first garden crops to appear and the last being harvested before the garden goes to sleep for the winter. This perennial herb has a lemony tang to brighten up any salad or sandwich. It is a cooking herb, and gardeners share French sorrel soup recipes every season (here’s one). Just pinch or snip off leaves near the ground. French sorrel grows abundantly for harvesting all season long and even needs to be cut back a couple of times.
The chives on the left and garlic chives on the right are tender and delicious, and mild tasting this time of year for using raw or cooked. Pinch or snip off leaves near the ground, leaving the plant to continue growing. Like the French sorrel, chives grow abundantly for harvesting all season long and should be cut back a couple of times.
These perennial onions enhance any dish you’d use scallions or chives in. Pinch or snip off leaves near the base of the plant, but always retain some leaves on each plant. The leaves left behind will grow gnarly heads and fall or “walk” over to plant themselves and regrow—hence the name.
Young mint plants are coming up in and around Compostville. Mint is delicious for salads, cooking herbs, tea, and more. Harvesting as much as possible means pulling it right out of the ground so that plant doesn’t regrow. Before long, that will become a garden task, aka weeding.
