So far my herbs looks pretty good. Perennials that never acted like perennials in the past have decided to. Fennel and tarragon have reemerged for the first time ever. That is exciting. The more predictable perennials are out and doing well, too. Those would be sage, thyme, borage, oregano, rue, chives, salad burnet, mentuccia, lovage, and all my mints. Other stuff—rosemary, marjoram, parsley, summer savory—I had to plant fresh.
I have a bay laurel bush I bring indoors for the winter and out again every spring. This year when I brought it out it got attacked by gypsy moth caterpillars, but I sprayed it with something called Monterey B.t., and that seemed to help. I just hope it stays helped. I don’t want to spray it again. I get so upset when bad things happen to my herbs. My basil—Thai, Genovese, and opal—are all completely screwed, eaten down to the dirt line. I can hardly see what’s left. I tried both Neem oil and a vinegar-water mix. There’s some type of bug that I can’t see chewing on all three types. It’s making me crazy. Now I’ve decided, without knowing if it can be effective or not, to surround the basil with hot chili plants, thinking they might deter whatever or whoever is assaulting them. Desperate. If anyone out there knows of a real solution, I’d be grateful to hear about it.
That’s it for now. I’m thinking about making a ricotta–and–spring herb calzone, maybe using parsley, marjoram, savory, basil (if it ever comes back), spring garlic, and possibly some scamorza. I’ll play around with the idea. If it comes out nice, I’ll post the recipe.
Happy spring cooking to everyone.