The Lingle’s Herbs Newsletter

Vol. I, 1 

About Our Newsletter - This free newsletter is devoted to educating our subscribers and customers on various aspects of herbs, and will include such varied subjects as: a focus on a particular herb (or its entire genus), growing and harvesting tips, cooking with herbs and accompanying recipes, recommendations on organic growing, and any other thoughts that happen to be crossing our minds as we go to print. We may occasionally mention special promotions on the herbs we sell, but this in not the primary purpose of our newsletter.

Frequency - This newsletter will be published occasionally, as during certain parts of the year we are absorbed in growing and shipping plants, and can not commit ourselves to any established frequency of publishing.

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And now on to our newsletter...

In this issue: 1) Herb Quiz 2) Lingle’s Musings
3) Oregano: It is Not A Plant! 4) Organic Growing Guide – Who Else is Eating your Herbs?

This Issues Herb Quiz:

1) What is the difference between and herb and a spice? 2) What are three plants which each produce two herbs or spices? 3) What common culinary herb is it a felony to grow or possess? (Answers at the end of this newsletter)

Lingle’s Musings

Ahh mid-February, when plants here in Southern California start to hint that spring is just around the corner. As I look out my office window, I see the white blooms of our evergreen pear covering the tree as though it has just been dusted by a light snowfall. The herbaceous perennials in the nursery–marshmallow (Althaea officinalis), boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), valerian (Valeriana officinalis) and French tarragon (Artemisia dracumculus sativa)–are just poking their heads through the soil as though to test the weather. And even though El Niño has given us some pause with very heavy rainfall, I am always amazed at the tenacity of these wonderful plants to renew their cycle, to push their tiny leaves through the soil as though to raise their fists in defiance to bad weather, shouting "You can’t stop me from growing!"

All of this chatter is not to make our friends in the colder parts of the country envious of our earlier springs, but to remind you of the joys to come in your gardens soon enough. Yes, we are indeed fortunate to have such mild winters here is Southern California that we can keep our plants outside year-round...but before you hate us, remember, we have earthquakes. And we have floods (El Niño again), and most recently, a natural disaster we thought wasn’t supposed to occur here–tornados! Only an F1 by classification, designating it as relatively small, but this tornado missed us by only a quarter mile. I joked about it to my friends (and thanks again to all of them for their concerned phone calls and e-mails). We were just a quarter mile away from our biggest promotion ever, as our little herb plants, along with their Lingle’s Herbs labels, would have been scattered over a significant portion of Los Angeles county. Imagine it! People all over, sweeping off their porches, raking debris off their lawns, cleaning out their rain gutters, hosing off the dog, and finding Lingle’s Herbs pots of rosemary, thyme, etc. We’d be famous! And only at the cost of our entire inventory!

But I digress...Ahh mid-February! When here in southern California, Mother Nature reminds us once again her cycle continues. The days are getting longer, the nights are getting warmer, and the perennials are getting less lonely as their deciduous and herbaceous friends join them once again to revel in the sun.
Can Spring be far behind?

Thanks for reading,

John Lingle
Lingle’s Herbs

Oregano: It is Not A Plant!

Well, oregano is not a plant, but it is a plant. Confused? So are many other people, so don’t feel bad. (For purposes of this article, we will limit our discussion to culinary oreganos, and omit the ornamental oreganos.)

Oregano is a wonderful culinary herb utilized by almost every culture in the worlds temperate and tropical zones. The word ‘oregano’ refers to many different plants from many different parts of the world, which botanical span several different plant species and families. Some of these oreganos grow low to the ground and root as they creep along, never growing more that a few inches high. And other oreganos grow in small clumps with large, thick, almost ‘succulent-looking’ leaves. And still, others grow upright into large shrubs reaching heights of 6 feet or more. They all vary widely in appearance, but have one commonality–they all smell (and, consequently taste) like oregano! "How can this be?!", you ask. (Good, we like inquisitive minds!)

The answer lies in a compound, and that compound is phenol carvacrol. It is the high presence of phenol carvacrol in a plant that creates the taste of ‘oregano’. And phenol carvacrol is present in many different, unrelated plants. Hence, any plant with a high presence of phenol carvacrol is often called, and utilized as, oregano.

To complicate things a bit more, oreganos in the origanum genus are highly promiscuous. They cross very readily both in the wild, and under cultivation or hybridization, giving the rise to many different cultivars (cultivated varieties) of oregano. The challenge to the home grower, and cook, is to find the types of oregano that suit their individual palates for a specific recipe. This may mean growing several different types of oregano to provide a variety of different flavors to utilize in the kitchen.

There are many different oreganos available to the home grower, and we will elaborate on the varying aspects of just a few of them (and yes, Lingle’s Herbs offers most of the oreganos in the following discussion). Whatever type of oregano you grow, plant it out in full sun, and let the soil get fairly dry before watering.

Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare subspecies hirtum) is among the more common oreganos available in the U.S. We feel that Greek oregano is as close as you can get to the ‘true’ oregano flavor. Greek oregano grows low to the ground, rooting as it grows outward. It is a vigorous spreader, but not invasive. This is the ‘workhorse’ oregano in the Lingle’s Herbs kitchen. We use it in many of the Mediterranean dishes we cook, because it adds a wonderful warm and earthy dimension to the flavor of the dish when used moderately, and never overpowers a dish to which it is added. We have a very good ‘mother’ plant from which all of our cuttings are made, assuring you a great Greek oregano plant high in phenol carvacrol.

Italian oregano (Origanum x majoricum) is another great oregano in the kitchen. Not the ‘true’ oregano flavor of the Greek, Italian oregano has a bit of the sweet, perfumey scent of marjoram. (Must have been one of those promiscuous crosses.) In any Italian recipe calling for oregano, we use the Italian oregano. The flavor comes out as lighter, less earthy, a little ‘headier’. Italian oregano has a permanent place in our personal kitchen herb garden!

And the Italian oregano we offer from Lingle’s Herbs has a great history. Several years ago, an Italian friend of ours was touting the Italian oregano she grew in her garden, telling us it was "the best oregano to cook with". Well, we have heard these testimonials many times before. Our Turkish friends telling us that Turkish oregano is the best, Cuban friends telling us Cuban oregano is the best...you get the picture.

As it turned out, this was great oregano, and as stated above, this Italian oregano will have a permanent place in our garden. But then she told us of the extraordinary history of this particular Italian oregano plant. Her great aunt, when she emigrated to America from Italy in the early part of this century, had dug up her oregano plant and brought it over with her on the boat. When she arrived in America, she planted it and used it daily in her kitchen. And as her family in America grew, she divided up a clump of her cherished oregano and gave it to all the succeeding members of her family. The plant became a treasured heirloom in the family, and our Italian friend wanted to share it with us, and our Lingle’s Herbs customers. So now we proudly offer this very authentic Italian oregano to our customers.

Cuban oregano, also known as Spanish Thyme, (Plectranthus amboinicus) is yet another plant with a high presence of phenol carvacrol, and to look at it you would never guess that it was an oregano. The plant is related to the common Southern California ground cover ‘Creeping Charley’, or Swedish Ivy–a plant which will always have a special place in my heart, as it was the first plant my father ever taught me to take cuttings from when I was 8 years old. Cuban oregano is a large and thick-leafed plant that resembles a succulent. It is a Caribbean native, and has a very exotic scent. We know of only a few recipes for the plant, but the one below makes the best black beans we have ever tasted!

Cuban oregano came to us in a similar way to the Italian oregano, from a Cuban friend whose mother brought it to America when she emigrated from Cuba. She gave us the following Black Been recipe, which everyone we know who has tried has loved it.

Black Beans with Cuban Oregano
Makes 2-3 servings

1 15 oz. can black beans
2 T. olive oil
1 T. Cuban oregano, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
2 T. cilantro, chopped
2 T. cilantro, chopped

1. Add the black beans to a medium saucepan, place over medium heat.
2. Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat.
3. Add the Cuban oregano and garlic, sauté until garlic is lightly golden.
4. Add the Cuban oregano and garlic to the black beans, add bay leaf, salt and pepper.
5. Cover beans and simmer for 30 minutes.
6. Serve black beans, and garnish with cilantro and green onion.

Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) is the most popular oregano of the Southwestern U.S., and of course Mexico. If fact, when we in California buy dried oregano in the market, we invariably receive Mexican oregano. It is usually used in its dry form as it does retain much of its flavor when dried, unlike many other oreganos. Its oregano flavor, from the phenol carvacrol, is mixed with the slightest scent of camphor, which makes for an unusual, exotic taste.

Mexican oregano grows to be a tall shrub, with rather small oval leaves on erect, woody branches. It is very tender and can not take any freezing temperatures. In climates with colder winters it is grown as a annual, but near the Mexican border we have seen them over six feet tall, and obviously several years old. Even with our mild winters here in Southern California, we have lost our mother plants several seasons–including this one. The heavy rains we have received have ‘done it in’ again this year.

If you can find the plant, Mexican oregano is worthy growing as an annual. The scent of the leaves is the essence of Mexican cooking, and there are several recipes we could not cook without it, including enchiladas, chile rellenos, and posole. We’re sad to report that our back-up mother plant of Mexican oregano will supply few of the orders we receive for this plant this year.

In addition to the few, basic oreganos we have covered here, there are cultivars too numerous to mention in this newsletter–owing again to the notorious promiscuity and relative ease of hybridization of origanum species.

So now you know that oregano is not a specific plant, nor even a certain genus or family of plants, but any plant containing a high level of the compound phenol carvacrol.

Organic Growing Guide: Who Else is Eating Your Herbs?

We get the question all the time. "Something is eating my herbs, what is it?" Our patent answer: "We hope you are!"

But bugs in the herb garden are a fact of life. Herbs are little chemical factories, prolifically producing their essential oils that give them their wonder flavors, scents, and healing properties. That is why we are so attracted to these herbs. Can we expect plant-eating bugs to ignore these wonderful aromas and just eat the crabgrass!? The same aromas that attract us to herbs also attract the bugs, and they come wearing little bibs with basil leaves on them.

In upcoming issues of the Lingle’s Herbs Newsletter, we will try to cover all of the bugs which damage the herbs in your garden. But for this issue, we are going to address the ones that conspicuously consume your plants, leaving noticeable holes in the leaves.

Firstly, let us state that in organic gardening it is essential that gardeners identify the exact bug that is eating their plants. This is because we are not using broad spectrum chemical insecticides that indiscriminately kill every bug (insect or arachnid, harmful or beneficial) in the garden. We use very specific organic means of barring, deterring, or killing the specific bug that is doing the damage to our plants, while inflicting little or no damage on the beneficial bugs in the garden.

So, something (other than you) is eating your herbs. You can tell by the holes in the leaves of the plant. As several different bugs eat holes in leaves, it is important to identify which bugs are doing so. And we try to do that by examining the holes in the leaves, and trying to answer this question: Are the holes in the leaves emanating from the outside edge of the leaf and being chewed in, or are the holes originating in the center of the leaves?

This is because two of the major groups of leaf eating scoundrels in the garden are 1) snails and slugs, and 2) caterpillars. And they both eat holes in leaves, but usually in different ways.

Snails and slugs are a major problem in states with mild winters, but the freezing temperatures in winter of more northern states kill them, so they can not become established pests.

Snails and slugs generally start eating leaves from the outer edge of the leaf. They usually do not begin chewing on the center of a leaf. Snails and slugs lay their eggs in soil, not on leaves, so young or mature snails and slugs crawl up the branches of the plant and start chewing the edges of the leaves. The other tell-tale of snails and slugs is that they leave a shiny trail along their path from their ‘slime’, which glistens in the sunlight.

Caterpillars are the larval stage of any butterfly or moth, and are found throughout the U.S. in many different forms, and all of them feed on plants.

Caterpillars usually begin chewing on a leaf in the center, or away from the edge of the leaf. The adult butterfly or moth usually lays its eggs on the leaf surface (or sometimes the bloom). As the egg on the leaf hatches, the tiny caterpillar comes out and immediately begins eating the leaf. They don’t crawl to the edge of the leaf to begin eating. These holes start out as tiny pinholes, and as the caterpillar grows, become increasingly larger.

The tell-tale sign of caterpillars: They leave their waste in the form of small black or green ‘pellets’, which collect on the leaves below where they are residing and eating.

Now, what do we do to rid our garden of these pests organically?

Controlling Snails and Slugs: The four main organic means of ridding our gardens of snails and slugs are 1) collecting, 2) trapping, 3) diatomaceous earth, and 4) copper barrier. Most people pass right over collecting, as it is not entirely pleasant going out after dark and picking up these slimy creatures from the garden. And then what do you do with them? Smash them, put them in salt water, throw them in the neighbors yard?

We often collect snails and slugs at night, and quickly euthanize them with our big garden boots. But...yuck!...who wants to do that after dinner!? Traps, which are usually laden with beer (because snails and slugs like yeast), are effective and will sometimes catch earwigs and sowbugs too. But emptying these traps may make you look at a frosty cold beer in a whole new light. Still, these methods are more appealing than using poison snail bate. Especially if you have pets or children.

Diatomaceous earth (DE) is the residue of a single celled plankton called the diatom. It comes in the form of a white powder which is spread around the garden. It kills snails and slugs in two ways. First, DE lacerates the underside of the snails or slugs as they crawl over it, and they eventually die from the injury. Second, DE absorbs the moisture from the underside of the snails or slugs, drying them out so they can’t crawl anymore, and they eventually die. But DE must be reapplied often to remain effective.

Lastly, you can use a copper barrier, which ‘shocks’ snails and slugs as they come into contact with it. We have found this to be the most effective means of keeping snails and slugs from damaging our plants. We use a product called Snail-Barr® (which yes, we also sell). It is the most effective means we have ever found for deterring snails and slugs from damaging our plants. It comes in 20 foot lengths by 3 inches high and you can just cut it into 12-16 inch lengths and collar a plant, or use longer lengths to surround a garden bed with it like a copper ‘benderboard’. No snail or slug will ever cross it. We experimented with an 8 inch diameter ring of it one time, placing a big snail inside if the ring. It was in there for a week, unable to get out, before we euthanized it with our big garden boots. The copper Snail-Barr lasts for years, developing a nice patina, but never loosing its effectiveness. Look for it in your local garden center, or we sell it for $15.50 for a 20 foot length. We are now shipping it only with plant shipments, but plan to ship it on its own when we find suitable boxes.

Controlling Caterpillars: Firstly, let us state that if there were no caterpillars, there would be no beautiful butterflies. No monarchs, no swallowtails, etc. Tolerating a few caterpillars in the garden is part of encouraging nature, and that is what gardening is all about. Here at Lingle’s Herbs, we always have a common fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) growing to insure some safe habitat for our native Swallowtail butterfly, whose native habitat is diminishing with increased development. However, when we have an infestation of ‘bad’ caterpillars devouring our basil before we have a chance to, it’s time to dispose of them on that particular plant.

The best and safest means of doing so is by using a naturally-occurring soil bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, a very specific organic insecticide. It affects only leaf-eating cutworms, and does no harm to ladybugs and their larva, lacewings and their larvae, spiders, the wasps and hornets which devour caterpillars, or humans. You simply spray a liquid form of Bt on the leaves of a plant, and when the caterpillars come to dine the next time, they ingest the Bt, which proliferates in their intestines and paralyzes their digestive systems. The caterpillars quickly starve to death.

Too graphic a description for you conscientious objectors out there? Sorry, but consider this: Malathion, a neuro-toxin, was formulated from a derivative originally used in the trenches for chemical warfare in World War I. (Pretty nasty stuff.) If you prefer, you can get out your magnifying glass and pick off the caterpillars from you plants and quickly euthanize them with your big garden boots, as we occasionally do.

Bt is available to the home gardener under the brand Safer® Caterpillar Killer. You can find it at your local garden center. Or a couple of different brands of Bt are available via mail-order from Gardens Alive®, 5100 Schenley Place, Lawrenceburg, IN 47025, (812) 537-8651.

In conclusion, if you find large chewings on the outside edge of plant leaves, accompanied by slimy trails, you have snails or slugs eating your plants, and we recommend Snail-Barr copper barrier. But if you have small holes chewed in the center of the leaves, and tiny green or brown ‘pellets’ on the leaves, you have caterpillars and we recommend applying Bt to the affected plant.

Plant Quiz Answers

1) Herbs are the aromatic leaves, and sometimes flowers, of plants. Herbs are usually native to temperate climates. Spices are aromatic natural products which come from the dried seeds, buds, fruit, flower parts, bark, or roots of plants. Spices are usually native to tropical regions.

2) A) Myristica fragrans, which produces both the spice nutmeg (the seed), and the spice mace (the fine covering around the nutmeg seed).

B) Coriandrum sativum, which produces both the herb cilantro (the leaves), and the spice coriander (the dried seeds).

C) Sassafras albidum, which produces both the spice filé powder (the leaves), and the spice sassafras (the bark of the root).

3) Papaver somniferum, breadseed poppy, or more appropriately, opium poppy. The dried seeds are available in any grocery store for use in baking. And the fresh seeds are widely offered for home gardeners to plant, although possessing any part of the opium poppy plant is a felony under federal law. The seeds contain very little opium, but enough to show up in drug testing. There was a story a couple of years ago in the press about a man who was fired from his job for testing positive to opiate use, because he ate two poppyseed muffins for breakfast that day. Caveat emptor!