Snip Your Herbs: Use or Save for Winter

by Carol Kagan, Master Gardener



My Herb Garden July 2014

Another nice morning to work in the garden although at 7:30 am it was already a bit muggy.

Some C'munks in the Back Yard

Dale is alternating between munching on bird seed and raisins and chasing some other chipmunk around and out of the garden. I'm not quick enough with the camera to catch them running in and out of the petunias, daisies and herbs.

There seems to be a few new c'munks this year, hanging out in the back yard. Maybe they're scooting around front to munch on birdseed. We'll have to throw some out back, too.

 

The weather has been kind to the plants in my yard, providing just enough rain and warm weather. The herb bed, moved this year from the back raised bed due to black walnut contamination, is thriving.

Garden Sage

 The garden sage needed pruning so I took the opportunity to document what has become known as Maria's Drying Technique (after MG Maria G.). This is in preparation for the October 18 MG Workshop: Herbs 103: Harvesting, Preserving and Overwintering Herbs. *

Here's my first try at documenting this. The big picture is that the herbs, after washing and drying thoroughly, are wrapped in a paper towel and dried in the crisper or butter compartment of your refrigerator. This won't work with all that basil. Make pesto and freeze it.

After 2-3 weeks, the dried herbs can be removed and stored. The herbs dried with this method retain their color and do not turn that funky gray-brown like many of the air dried herbs.

Wash, dry thoroughly (Tip: Use a salad spinner to get most of the water off.), and carefully remove leaves from the stems. Place in a paper towel and fold up to a triangle. Fold the flaps in toward the center.

Fold the top triangle down past the bottom fold. Wrap the flap around to the back and tuck it in to form an envelope.

Close-up of the folded envelope

* Penn State Master Gardeners, Franklin County hold workshops all year. To register for a workshop, to get on the e-mailing or snail-mailing for information about workshops and events, call 717- 263-9226.

 

Here's a few of the upcoming workshops held at the Franklin County Ag Center, 181 Franklin Farm Rd. unless noted otherwise.

Sat, July 12:  Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head: 9-11 -Learn how to use rain barrels to store and use water in your garden. Make a rain barrel ($40) or just sit-in ($10) Deadline to register to make a rain barrel is July

Sat, August 2:  Succulents: 9-11 Learn how to grow and propagate these beautiful and nearly indestructible plants

Fun Events include

Sat, Aug 23: Tomato Tasting Day: 10-2pm Day change by popular demand!    Moved to Saturday- Open to the public. Free parking. Save the Date. Do blind taste tests of over 20 tomato varieties. Taste and vote in the Salsa Contest. See the winners of the ugliest tomato and the biggest tomato contest. Pick up some great tomato recipes. See and feed the ducks in the stream. Enjoy talking with Master Gardeners.

Sat, July 26 Summer Garden Experience: 9-1 pm -Tour the center, do tomato tasting which includes paste tomatoes this year, enjoy seminars; Speaker-Stephanie Cohen, Perennial Diva $10/carload– Located at 1446 Auction Rd Manheim, PA 17545



2013 Summer Garden Experience Report

More than 600 people turned out on Saturday, July 27th to attend the 2013 Summer Garden Experience at the Penn State South East Ag and Extension Research Center in Lancaster County.



Lifelong Lancaster County resident and noted naturalist, Jack Hubley, was the Keynote Speaker.



Touring the acres of annual flower trials that test new varieties under Pennsylvania growing conditions, offerred participants an opportunity to note what new annual flowers will be available from greenhouses and nurseries next Spring.

The Pollinator Friendly Demonstration Garden attracted adult pollinators ...

...and their larvae.

Wagon trips escorted visitors to the corn and grain fields, where new varieties of grain and farming practices are being researched under field conditions.



A workshop on proper pruning of trees took place.



Master Gardeners maintained an information booth and display area.



And people were introduced to new gardening ideas from the Ideas Garden, maintained by the Lancaster County Master Gardeners.



For a fee to cover materials, folks could learn how to build and take home a blue bird nesting box, and learn how to encourage these birds to make their home on your property.



And the Franklin County Master Gardener contingent, ably assisted by Fulton County Master Gardeners conducted a tomato tasting of a plum/paste variety trial. 118 people filled out score sheets of 24 unnamed tomato varieties (labeled A - W). This data is added to the yield, growing uniformity, and marketability data gathered for commercial growers providing tomatoes to the fresh market.


Click on the Picture for a Bigger Version


And the winner is, appropriately, an old fashioned heirloom from Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Amish Paste!

The event was covered by the Lancaster Newspaper here.

Mark your calendars! The 2014 Summer Garden Experience will take place on Saturday, July 26th, 2014.  Don't miss it.  And if you missed SGE this year, come to next week's Ag Progress Days in State College, and experience all that Penn State Extension has to offer that both directly and indirectly benefit the citizens of Pennsylvania.

2013 Summer Garden Experience

Saturday, July 27, 2013 9:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m.

What is the Summer Garden Experience?

The summer Garden Experience is the one day every year that Landisville throws open its doors to the general public. While we always have a featured speaker and many concurrent educational sessions, the farm with its numerous research trials and the Penn State Flower Trials are the real stars of this event. Come for a fun day full of information you can use in your own garden!

What is the Penn State Southeast Ag Research and Extension Center?

The Landisville Farm, or SEAREC, part of Penn State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, is located in the heart of Lancaster County. Penn State researchers, Extension educators, and the USDA conduct cultivar testing of grain crops, forages, annual and perennial flowers, flowering crabapples, strawberries, tomatoes, pumpkins, and other horticultural crops. They also study disease, insect, and weed pest control, cover crops, inoculants, fertility, and other crop issues.

Schedule of Events

Featured Speaker Jack Hubley 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.

A lifelong resident of Lancaster County and a multimedia advocate for the natural world, Jack Hubley will inform and delight audiences with his presentations on the wildlife in your backyard, featuring live creatures up close and personal.

Farm Wagon Tours 10:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 1:00 p.m.
Take a tractor-pulled wagon tour of the research farm and demonstration plots with Center Director Alyssa Collins or Extension Educator Tim Elkner.

Variety Trials Tours 9:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 12:00 p.m.

Join the Trial Director on a walking tour of the colorful display of 1300 of the newest varieties of annual flowers for bedding and containers.

See how alternatives to standard impatiens perform.

Pollinator Trials—9:00 a.m. Which plants are best for attracting and sustaining pollinators in your garden?

Extension Educator Connie Schmotzer shares information on the ongoing Pollinator Monitoring Program.

Pruning Trees—11:00 a.m.

Is your pruning know-how a bit shaky? Extension Urban Forester Julianne Scheiffer covers basic pruning and best management practices for healthy trees in the landscape.

 

Garden Photography

—1:00 p.m.

Master Gardener Laurie Collins shares tips and techniques for getting the best photos from your camera and your garden.

Build Your Own Bluebird Box—1:00 p.m. Make and take a bluebird box. Materials fee charged; register and pay at Info Booth. Class size is limited.

Throughout the Day…

Short Seminars

Check the information booth for times and locations.

• Gardening for Wildlife
• Winemaking
• Understanding Heirlooms
• Season Extenders
• Idea Garden
• Veggies
• Herbs
• Invasive Plant Control
• Turf Topics
• Container Vegetables
• Beekeeping Basics
• Garlic, Shallots and Leeks
• Pollinator Trials

Native Plants for Sale

Purchase great native plants direct from local growers. Also available, some of the outstanding pollinator plants from Penn State Pollinator Trials.

Master Gardener “Ask the Expert” Bring your garden questions and samples for diagnosis, identification, and recommendations.

Master Gardener Idea Gardens

Lancaster County Master Gardeners will be on hand to show you their native plant, rain, and pollinator gardens, decorative vegetable and herb garden, and raised beds filled with vegetables, perennials, and annuals.

Information Booth

Get a map, schedule, times and locations for all activities How to get there….

Directions

Southeast Ag Research and Extension Center 1446 Auction Road Manheim, PA 17545-9140 717-653-4728

FROM HARRISBURG: Take PA 283 east toward Lancaster. Exit at Esbenshade Road (just past Mt. Joy exit). Turn left at top of exit ramp. Immediately after crossing over 283, turn right on Auction Road. Follow Auction Road to “T” at Erisman Road. Turn right and follow Erisman Road around the curve. Then turn left, back onto Auction Road (just before the covered bridge). The PSU driveway is on the left as you go around the curve.

FROM LANCASTER: Take PA 283 west toward Harrisburg. Exit at Salunga exit (after the Landisville exit). Turn right at top of ramp, onto Spooky Nook Road. Turn left on Shenck Road (at the old Armstrong warehouse). Turn left across the covered bridge, then turn right on Auction Road. The PSU driveway is on the left as you go around the curve.

FROM YORK: Take US 30 east toward Lancaster. After crossing the Susquehanna River, take second exit (Prospect Road). Turn left on Prospect Road and follow for several miles. About ½ mile after crossing over PA 283 (4-lane highway), turn left on Shenck Road (at old Armstrong warehouse). Turn left across the covered bridge, then turn right on Auction Road. The PSU driveway is on the left as you go around the curve.

New Guinea Impatiens "Harmony Strike"




Harmony Strike Orange

 

Harmony Strike White

I was in Landisville on Friday, rescuing ornamental sweet potato roots (more on that in a later post), and took some time to check out some of the other annuals that were trialed this year, since I missed July's Summer Garden Experience.

I was particularly impressed with the new series of New Guinea Impatiens (Impatiens hawkerii) from Danziger called the "Harmony Strike" series.

Harmony Strike Plum

Six different flower colors on beautifully variegated green and yellow foliage.

Harmony Strike Pink

Those of you despondent about the downy mildew disease on regular impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) have a great alternative here, since New Guinea impatiens are resistant to the disease.



Harmony Strike Orchid

 Not pictured: Harmony Strike Salmon.  The University of Georgia also had them in their 2012 trials.  They should make a nice annual addition to shade containers (along with coleus and begonia), or in your shade gardens.

Summer Garden Experience 2012 - Saturday, July 28th

2012 Calibrachoa and Petunias

Penn State Extension’s Summer Garden Experience will be held July 28, 2012 at the Penn State Southeast Ag Research and Extension Center in Manheim, PA from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  The day is filled with educational lectures, demonstrations, and farm tours.  Our feature speaker this year is Dr. John Scala from the News 8 Storm Team. He will be presenting Recent Temperature and Precipitation Extremes: What Do They Mean for Pennsylvania Gardeners?

Grill food and milkshakes are available for purchase. There is no registration fee other than $10/vehicle for parking, so bring a carload!

This is where new varieties of annual flowers are trialed and rated each year on how well they do in our climate.  In addition to annual flowers, tomatoes, vegetables, and other Agricultural Crop trials are also conducted here.  This year, there will also be a tomato tasting of new cherry and grape varieties, where the public gets to have their say, rating unnamed varieties for looks and taste.

Other learning activities at this year's event include: 

• Pollinator Certification   Gardens
• Overwintering Insects - How do insects survive our winters?
• Killing them Softly - Safer and more targeted pesticides 
• Wagon Tours of the Trials

To learn more, and get a full schedule of events, go here.  Directions to the site in Lancaster, about an hour and an half from us in Chambersburg can be found here.

Pictures from previous years here, here, and here.

Summer Garden Experience 2010

You are cordially invited to the “Summer Garden Experience”, A Cornucopia of Ideas at the Penn State Horticultural Research Farm
9 AM - 2 PM on Saturday, July 31, 2010, 1446 Auction Rd, Manheim, PA(2.6 miles west of Rte 72 on Auction Road)

(Picture at left from Landisville Website)


Carpool and come early. The entrance fee, including parking, is $10/vehicle. This covers all events except Kid’s Camp and the Autumn Container Garden workshop.

WHO’S INVITED?

You, your family, friends, and anyone interested in learning more about gardening and Penn State horticulture research.

WHAT IS THE SUMMER GARDEN EXPERIENCE?

It’s the savor of summer on the farm. Join the Penn State Capital Region Horticulture Team for our 5th annual open house event showcasing Penn State horticulture and agriculture research with farm wagon tours, variety trials, speakers, demonstrations, and much more. Come for a fun day full of information you can use in your own garden!

WHAT IS THE PENN STATE SOUTHEAST AG RESEARCH EXTENSION CENTER?

The Southeast Center, part of Penn State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, is located in Lancaster County. Penn State researchers, Extension educators, and the USDA conduct cultivar testing of grain crops, forages, annual and perennial flowers, flowering crabapples, strawberries, tomatoes, pumpkins, and other horticultural crops. They also study disease, insect, and weed pest control, cover crops, inoculants, fertility, and crop management practices.

Featured presentations by leading scientists include:

Dr. Lee Reich - insight into growing worthy but less common fruits, including natives such as pawpaw, persimmon, and juneberry, that can be incorporated into an edible landscape. Lee also describes his system for getting rid of weeds in the garden. Lee, an avid “farmdener” (more than a garden, less than a farm) is a wellknown garden writer, lecturer, and consultant whose works include The Pruning Book and Growing Fruits in Your Backyard. His weekly gardening column appears in newspapers across the country.

Dr. Jay Holcomb - techniques for growing orchids

From PSU On Demand Podcast - Repotting Orchids

Steve Bogash - latest techniques and best vegetable varieties to grow in containers – great for small gardens! Steve Bogash is a Regional Horticulture Educator with Penn State Cooperative Extension. Among his specialties are small fruit and vegetable production and marketing and vegetable IPM. 

There will be seminars on a wide variety of subjects including Tree Fruit Espaliers, Herbs in Cooking, Composting, Lawn Care, Identification of Toxic Weeds, Pesticides for the Home Garden, Fertilizing Vegetables, Pollinator Habitat, Soil Health, Water Quality and Green Roof Gardening.

“Ask the Expert” is an opportunity for homeowners to bring their garden questions and problem plant samples to Master Gardeners for diagnosis, identification, and recommendations.

Kid’s Camp has fun activities for ages 5-12. Preregistration and a $5 fee are required. Call Lebanon Extension at (717) 270-4391 to register.

The Autumn Container Garden workshop has a fee of $25 for materials. Call Lancaster Extension at (717) 394-6851 to register.

Bring your camera for a walking tour of the flowers and a tractor-pulled wagon tour of the picturesque farm in the rolling hills of Lancaster County.

It’s a family outing with lots of activities for parents, children, and grandparents.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Keynote Speaker: Lee Reich

9:00 — Uncommon Fruits for the Home Garden
11:00 — Weedless Gardening
12:00 — Book Sale & Author Signing

Feature Presentations

10:00 — Orchids
1:00 — Container Vegetable Gardening

Farm Wagon Tours—10:00, 11:30, & 1:00

Take a tractor-pulled wagon tour of the research farm and demonstration plots with Center Director Alyssa Collins and Extension Educator Tim Elkner.

Variety Trials Tours—9:00, 10:30, & 12:00

Join Trial Director Alan Michael on a walking tour of the colorful display of over 1200 of the newest varieties of annual flowers for bedding and containers.

THROUGHOUT THE DAY…

Short Seminars - Soil Critters, Tree Fruit Espaliers, Composting, Toxic Weeds ID Water Quality, Lawn Care, Herbs in Cooking, Pollinator Habitat Green Roof, Fertilizing Vegetables, Soil Health, Pesticides for the Home Garden

Master Gardener Idea Gardens - Lancaster County Master Gardeners will be on hand to show you their native plant, rain, and pollinator gardens, decorative vegetable and herb garden, and raised beds filled with vegetables, perennials, and annuals.

Information Booth - Get a map, schedule, times and locations for all activities. Sign up for our mailing list.

Master Gardener “Ask the Expert” - Bring your garden questions and samples for diagnosis, identification, and recommendations.

Displays - Learn about rain barrels, food safety, and more.

Native Plant Sale - Purchase great native plants direct from local growers.

SPECIAL WORKSHOP—1:00 Autumn Container Garden ($25.00 fee covers cost of container, plants and supplies) - Make and take a fall-themed container garden with help from Penn State Master Gardeners.

HOW TO GET THERE….

Southeast Ag Research & Extension Center
1446 Auction Road
Manheim, PA 17545-9140
717-653-4728

FROM HARRISBURG: Take PA 283 east toward Lancaster. Exit at Esbenshade Road (just past Mt. Joy exit). Turn left at top of exit ramp. Immediately after crossing over 283, turn right on Auction Road. Follow Auction Road to “T” at Erisman Road. Turn right and follow Erisman Road around the curve. Then turn left, back onto Auction Road (just before the covered bridge). The PSU driveway is on the left as you go around the curve.

FROM LANCASTER: Take PA 283 west toward Harrisburg. Exit at Salunga exit (after the Landisville exit). Turn right at top of ramp, onto Spooky Nook Road. Turn left on Shenck Road (at the old Armstrong warehouse). Turn left across the covered bridge, then turn right on Auction Road. The PSU driveway is on the left as you go around the curve.

FROM YORK: Take US 30 east toward Lancaster. After crossing the Susquehanna River, take second exit (Prospect Road). Turn left on Prospect Road and follow for several miles. About ½ mile after crossing over PA 283 (4-lane highway), turn left on Shenck Road (at old Armstrong warehouse). Turn left across the covered bridge, then turn right on Auction Road. The PSU driveway is on the left as you go around the curve.

All uncaptioned pictures courtesy of Franklin County Master Gardener Laurie Collins, all rights reserved, from the ones she took at the 2009 event. 

 Please cite her name when using.