Well, we planted about 10 fresh herb plants this year and the parsley and mint are growing like crazy compared to the rest of the them. I'm not having a problem making use of the mint as mojito's have become a regular after work beverage but I'm having problems finding good uses for excessive amounts of parsley. Any suggestions?

Also, all the herbs are doing pretty good but the cilantro seems to be lacking quite a bit. Any tips?

Is it curly or flat Italian parsley? I use Italian parsley probably more than any other herb, but that is partly because we cook a lot of Italian food. It’s a great way to finish almost any protein, good to mix in vinaigrettes, tomato sauce, butter sauce, add to bread crumb mixture, etc. Have never used curly parsley.

Pretty much what GlennK said. So many uses, from Osso Bucco to a light fresh herb salad.

Rob-

I've grown herbs for years. This year is my most ambitious- I have 3 kinds of Basil, dill, 2 parsleys, cilantro (that burned out, more in a minute), sage, rosemary, thyme, and (ugh) mint. I also have lavender for the smell.

Usually these all love sun, perhaps with the exception of dill which gets a little weedy in the heat. I plant in planters (except the mint, see below) and they receive water daily with my drip-irrigation system. In general you should be harvesting everything every few days once the plants get big. If you let certain ones flower (like cilantro and basil) they'll stop growing leaves afterwords and the plants burn out. That happened to my cilantro very early this year and may well have happened to yours (were there ever lots of little white flowers and very fine leaves at the top?). If you feel bad wasting the herbs then take some olive oil in a small jar and put herbs in for infusion. Then you can enjoy it for months.

As for mint, if you planted it in a garden I would suggest you pull it all out now. It is the most aggressive grower of them all and will take over your garden. The mint I have is actually coming under the fence from my neighbor's house. I pull it constantly but it develops such a dense root system that it's impossible to get rid of it. That might seem nice for a while but then it spreads by advancing the roots all over (and under) everything else in the garden. When it flowers it will drop seeds up to 10 feet away that will then start growing. At the very least prune back your mint regularly to avoid problems.

Its Italian (flat) parsley. Thanks for the recipes. I bought 10 cans of tomatoes and plan to stew up a big batch of tomato sauce sometime in the future. Good use for the parsley there I guess.

Thanks for the tips Grossie - thats a wealth of information. We have 3 big pots/planters with the following grouped together

Sweet Basil
Pesto Basil
Thyme
Rosemary

Mint
Cilantro
Sage
Chives

Oregano
Parsley
Dill

The cilantro has flowered once or twice but my wife has cut them off as soon as we had noticed them. They showed up after being away for 2 separate weekends but it still seems to be lacking.

The mint is starting to take over the pot a bit but I've been drinking mojitos and keeping it under control for the most part. Next year I presume it should be in its own pot?

Should I be cutting flowers off all of the herbs if they show up?? I can't remember but I think the Sweet Basil is flowering as well.

And even more questions, I believe chives are perennials and will come back year after year but will any others?

Great suggestions by everyone above.

I, just this year, started to plant some herbs on the back balconey in pots off the railings. Most have done very well (especially the basil).
I'm considering arranging use of a city garden plot nearby for next Summer.
Just can't get enough herbs for cooking. Nothing beats fresh!

I'd cut off the flowers, Rob. I keep watch on my basil and if I see it starting to show something up the middle I take it off along with a few leaves. That strategy has worked for me this year.

Absolutely pinch back the flowers on the basil.

I have five different basils growing this year - some in the garden some in the kitchen box window. Sweet, thai, lemon, opal, and spicy.

I transplanted a small rosemary plant into the ground years ago and it is now a rather large plant that I use continually.

I also have mint in the ground, but it is far away from the garden. I use the mint on occasion (linguine with snails and mint), but DomnVin love to pick leaves and eat when they are playing in the back yard - they do the same with the basil.

And I totally agree with GlennK and winetarelli about the Italian parsley. I use it all the time to finish dishes.

With cilantro, I don't think there's really much you can do to keep an individual plant going. I've found that I have to plant a few seeds a week apart, for about 6 weeks or so in the spring, to enjoy it all summer.
Of course, this year I got lazy. There's a Mexican grocery near me that regularly sells 3 large bunches for $1.

As to mint, if you plan on planting it at ground level, plant it in a coffee can and bury the can almost to the lip. This will keep the roots from spreading.

It's not worth trying to grow cilantro (coriander). It's so damn cheap and easy to get all year round.

[QUOTE]I'm having problems finding good uses for excessive amounts of parsley. Any suggestions?QUOTE]

If you ever make soup or stews, you can use frozen parsley and it works just as well. After you chop them, leave them on the stems, put in a ziploc bag, press out excess air and freeze.

Bill

quote:

I'm having problems finding good uses for excessive amounts of parsley. Any suggestions?

Tabouleh.

here's a real dumb question....ready? ..... what the heck is the difference taste-wise between flat and curly parsley? ...

..... I mean, ... once one chops it all up into little bits and then in it goes into the saute pan with the onions, .... can u say, .... "Mmmmmm tastes pretty good, ... but well, ... i think that i shoulda used the flat parsley, ... this spaghetti sauce woulda been much better...yessiree"....

don't get me wrong, ... i have several types of basil and there is a taste difference between the types, ... but parsley?....

I've grown both and think they taste pretty much the same. This year I went with flat Italian parsely solely for occasional presentation.

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Originally posted by Ogopogo DUDE:
here's a real dumb question....ready? ..... what the heck is the difference taste-wise between flat and curly parsley? ...

..... I mean, ... once one chops it all up into little bits and then in it goes into the saute pan with the onions, .... can u say, .... "Mmmmmm tastes pretty good, ... but well, ... i think that i shoulda used the flat parsley, ... this spaghetti sauce woulda been much better...yessiree"....

You are right, the difference is more in texture than flavor. I can tell a difference, though it is hard for me to describe. Maybe Italian is tangier? Hard to put a finger on what the difference is...

next time that i am at the farmer's market i am going to make it my mission to buy two different types of parsley and give it a go ..... i tend to do things like that from time to time (like when my wife will drink no other cola other than coca cola---> it all tastes like fizzy shite to me, but when i do a taste test with three or four different colas she can pick out the coca cola, ... every time,too)

To me, flat shows more lemon notes and freshness.

To me, the curly parsley tastes more bitter. I don't use it for that reason.

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Originally posted by steve8:

quote:

I'm having problems finding good uses for excessive amounts of parsley. Any suggestions?

Tabouleh.

I second that. A great way to use up your excess parsley.