The secret to a thriving, abundant and pest-free kitchen garden is to keep it jam packed with a wide selection of vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs. At the moment I have zucchini, cherry tomatoes, green runner beans and capsicums growing alongside different varieties of lettuce, ruby chard, silverbeet, dahlias, calendula, cosmos and cornflowers. These are all happily meandering together in a 1m x 2m bed, so it may sound like there isn’t much room for anything else, but I have just added another edible to the mix - a light sprinkling of herb seeds everywhere there is bare soil.
This will complete the dense planting needed to create successive and abundant harvests, as well ensuring a healthy garden eco system to encourage beneficial insects and pollinators. A living mulch of herbs also helps to keep the roots of the larger plants around them cool without fear of growing competition. Basil, dill, rocket and coriander all make fantastic gap fillers, and their cut and come again nature will ensure continual harvests for the kitchen bench, so you can easily transform your meals with minimal effort.
In the shady spots of this small garden - such as underneath taller existing plants - I have popped in seedlings of Italian parsley; these were sown undercover in trays back in September. Another herb that does well in the shadier corners of a garden bed is chives; just chop off a section from an existing plant and replant it, cutting the tops right back after you do so. This way the chive plant can put all it’s energy into rooting into its new home.
If the weather isn’t favourable, you can plant heat loving herbs such as basil undercover into trays ~ plant seed densely then transplant as a mass to keep plantings thick. This is also a helpful way to avoid having to prick the tiny seedlings out, which can be very fiddley.
Planting densely means you have to keep your soil well fed, so I like to regularly fork worm castings into the ground as a replenisher. Compost would also work fine, but if you want to learn more about how to make your own worm castings (often referred to as “Black Gold”) you can read about how we make ours here.
When harvesting herbs for the kitchen, remember to cut the leaves to encourage new growth ~ this may mean only pinching out the tips at first to encourage bushy growth (basil), or cutting the larger outside leaves only (parsley) or snipping the tops of the plants to allow new young leaves to come through (dill, coriander and rocket). Experiment with what works at different stages of the herbs life, and be observant.
Store fresh cut herbs in a vase of water on your kitchen bench,
or in a jar in the fridge..
Basil & Sunflower Seed Pesto
Sunflower seeds make a beautiful yet cost efficient pesto, and toasting them first gives them a nuttiness akin to a far more expensive traditional pesto ingredient - pine nuts, so much so that you may even fool the most decerning of pesto aficionados.
Pesto can easily be adapted to your tastebuds, and whatever herbs you happen to have on hand. If you are short on basil you could use Italian parsley, or a mixture of the two. Rocket and mint make nice additions too, as does a touch of fresh coriander. If you don’t want to use sunflower seeds, you could use almonds, cashew nuts or even walnuts.
Ingredients
¾ cup sunflower seeds
4 – 5 cloves garlic
4 packed cups fresh basil
100 grams / ½ packed cup grated parmesan
½ teaspoon sea salt
Juice from 1 – 2 lemons
½ cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
Method
Dry fry the sunflower seeds in a shallow pan for a couple of minutes, shaking the pan as they toast, then allow them to cool before using.
Place the seeds, garlic and a handful of the basil into a food processor and blend until the seeds are finely ground. Add the parmesan, salt and lemon juice, and blend again, adding the remaining basil a handful at a time through the chute of the processor. You may need to scrape down the processor bowl a few times to ensure your pesto is nice and smooth.
Once all the basil is added slowly drizzle in the olive oil with the motor running and continue blending until the pesto is the consistency you like it. Have a taste and see if you would need to add more lemon juice, salt, garlic or olive oil. Pesto is an individual thing; everyone likes it a certain way, so this is your chance to season it to your liking.
Place into a clean jar, cover the top with a thin layer of olive oil, and store in the fridge for up to a week.
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