Tulsi (aka Holy Basil)

This is the first installment in our medicinal herb series by Sophie Cassel, Red Wagon Plants employee and Burlington herbalist. Please check our events calendar for her medicinal herb workshops this year.

Tulsi (aka Holy Basil), Ocimum tenuiflorum Ocimum sanctum, Lamiaceae

While you won’t find Tulsi- also known as Holy Basil and Tulasi- in any classic English herb gardens or older western herb books, it has risen to prominence over the years both for its medicinal benefits and relative ease of growth, even while our northern climate is far removed from its native habitat on the Indian subcontinent. There, pots of perennially-blooming Tulsi bless the doorways of houses, where the plant is considered sacred by many. What a gift, then, that those of us far away in the western hemisphere can experience the joy of growing and using this plant!

Tulsi basil is in the same genus as our culinary basils, and within the umbrella of Ocimum tenuiflorum there are multiple subtypes and varieties, including Rama, Vana, and Kapoor Tulsi. While all three can theoretically be grown in Vermont, I have found that Kapoor Tulsi is consistently the easiest and most rewarding to grow, and that is the variety we grow and sell at Red Wagon Plants. Since I began growing Kapoor Tulsi in my gardens in 2015, I have become completely, utterly hooked on this plant. From watching its little paw-print shaped leaves evolve as seedlings, to inhaling its heady perfume as the flowers open, to sipping the tea of its dried leaves in the winter, I keep Tulsi close at hand all year long.

From a medicinal perspective, Tulsi is compelling as one of the easier “adaptogenic” plants to grow- adaptogen referring to plants that have been used to regulate and support our nervous systems and have a wide range of positive actions on our body, mind and spirit. While the uses and impacts of adaptogens are too complex to dive into here (although I like Jim McDonald’s credit card analogy), it’s worth noting that Tulsi can be helpful to both calm an overactive system, as well as provide some energy to a burnt-out one. It’s packed with antioxidants and is strongly anti-inflammatory. Plus, it tastes amazing- I often hear folks liken the flavor to an herbaceous bubblegum, and its sweetness makes it palatable to basically everyone, picky kiddos included. The Indian medical system known as Ayurveda considers Holy Basil a “rasayana”, translated as “to lengthen the lifespan” in Sanskrit. Most of what we in the West know about its uses stems from what Ayurveda has taught us from a 3000 year history of use and reverence. 

Growing Holy Basil is quite similar to growing other types of culinary basils- it prefers fertile garden soil with decent moisture and full sun, although it’s not as moisture-dependent as the Italian basils. It’s important to wait for the ground to fully warm up before planting Tulsi, so start seeds indoors or purchase plants to give yourself a leg up. Once established, you can get up to three or four big harvests over the season- once the plant has started to set flowers, cut down to about a foot and watch it spring back, bushier than before. However, its important to leave plenty of flowers for the bees, who go absolutely bananas for this plant. I have spent delightful stretches of time lying belly-down on the warm summer ground, watching the insect cacophony surround my row of Tulsi plants. If you’re really lucky and observant, a blissed-out bee will leave you a little red pollen sac on one of the leaves- a tiny treat! Left to drop seed, Tulsi may actually volunteer back into your garden, but don’t expect to see seedlings until early July when it’s finally warm enough to resemble the plant’s natural growing conditions.

The real question with Tulsi is what to do with your bounty once it’s been harvested. The high water content makes it a little finicky to dry. I’ve had the best luck in a dehydrator on low heat, but it can also be hung in small bunches in a warm, well ventilated area until the leaves can be stripped from the stems, which take much longer to dry. 

The easiest way to enjoy Tulsi is to use the fresh leaves and flowers. Fresh Tulsi sun tea is a transcendent experience on a hot summer afternoon. Simply place a handful of bruised leaves in a mason jar, cover with cool water, and leave in a sunny spot for a few hours (with the lid on to keep in all those aromatic oils!) It also makes a stellar vinegar infusion:

Tulsi Vinegar

• 4-5 big handfuls of Tulsi leaves and flowers, chopped

• Apple cider vinegar

• Honey (optional)

Pack leaves and flowers into a jar, then cover with apple cider vinegar and steep for 2-3 weeks. Strain, add honey to taste, and bottle. Use this sweet, floral vinegar in salads, or mix with seltzer water for a summer-infused sparkling beverage. This will keep for at least 3-4 months, indefinitely in the refrigerator. 

Let Tulsi into your garden, and you’ll reap its blessings and benefits all year long!

Resources:

De la Foret, Rosalee. Health Benefits of Tulsi. https://www.herbalremediesadvice.org/health-benefits-of-tulsi.html 

EASY Sage Recipes

This cool rainy weather has me reaching for sage a little more. It adds warmth and depth to so many dishes. 
Here is a super quick and easy soup you can make any night of the week: 
Simmer whole leaves of sage in broth in a pot, on low on the back of the stove. In another pot, sauté onions, garlic, carrots until tender and starting to caramelize. Remove (and discard) the sage from the broth and add the infused broth to the vegetables. Add any of these options: shredded cooked chicken, cooked beans, small pasta or rice (cooked), diced tempeh or tofu. Just before serving, add a handful or two of fresh spinach, chopped parsley, and a few grates of lemon zest. Very easy weeknight soup. 

I also love to use sage with roasted meats, chicken and vegetables. I stuff whole handfuls of sage inside the cavity of a chicken before roasting it. Add a lemon, a few cloves of garlic, salt and pepper, and it will add tons of flavor to your chicken. I also like to finely chop 5 or so leaves of sage along with 2 cloves of garlic, a teaspoon or two of lemon zest, and and a 1/2 teaspoon of coarse salt. I just smash and chop it all into a paste right on the cutting board, but you could also put it in a food processor or use a mortar and pestle. Then I toss washed and chopped root vegetables with this mixture, drizzle everything with olive oil, toss again, and roast in a preheated 400F oven for about 40 -45 minutes, until soft and caramelized. Or I will take the lemon / sage mixture and rub it all over a pork roast or beef roast before it heads into a hot oven.

These are all simple things to make in big batches so that you can use leftovers for lunches or hurried week night dinners. 

If you aren't able to harvest sage out of your own garden, you can find ours at  Market, Healthy Living Market and Cafe, Shelburne Supermarket, Lantman's Market, Natural Provisions Market & Deli, and Hunger Mountain Co-op. Warm up and enjoy! We will sell bulk herbs (1/2 a pound or more)directly to customers if you arrange it ahead of time. We have thyme, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, and mint. This is a great way to dry and put away herbs for the winter. I keep paper bags of herbs loosely closed all winter long.

Ramblings and a shout out to our neighbors....Late June, Early July 2016

As we transition into summer, the pace changes at the greenhouses and in the garden. The focus is on plant maintenance, fertility, pruning, culling and weeding. We are also busy transplanting at the herb farm and harvesting and selling herbs to local grocery stores and food hubs. We added the herb farm to Red Wagon Plants 3 years ago as a way to keep a few key people hired year round and to bring in revenue and activity during the months when people generally don't do any plant shopping. 

Sam weeding rosemary

In the home garden, I have been busy looking for gaps in the perennials and filling in with some colorful annuals wherever I get the chance. I have learned ornamental gardening entirely by trial and error,  approaching it all as a vegetable grower, and some things work and some things don't! But one thing I have really appreciated is that garden mistakes easily turn into opportunities. As one plant gets pulled out for various reasons - not the right amount of light, planted too close to its neighbor, or any other number of oopsies- a gap is created for a new plant. For me this is often an annual flower - something that will give color all season long, will give me time to figure out what perennial to put in, and will be a good friend to its neighbors. Right now, a combination I am loving is Nicotiana langsdorfii with Gomphrena 'Strawberry Fields' and Ratbida columnifera. The Ratbida is a perennial (we have it in 4" pots so it is possible to plant en masse without breaking the bank) and the other two are annuals. I just love how the rust and green and yellow play off of each other and catch the light. 

Gomphrena

Nicotiana langsdorfii

Ratbida columnifera

In the vegetable garden, we are harvesting snap peas, lettuces, escarole, frisée, beets, cucumbers (out of the greenhouse), swiss chard, and lots of herbs. The early plantings of mache, napa cabbage, boc choi, and lettuce have come and gone leaving spaces to fill. In go more beets, spinach, lettuce, and green beans.

In the kitchen, I keep making the same salad dressing over and over again - a crushed clove of garlic in a one pint mason jar, 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar, a hefty teaspoon of dijon mustard, 1/4 tsp salt, a good 2-3 grinds of the pepper mill, and 1/2 cup of sunflower oil. Close tightly, shake like mad. It is perfect for everything. If you like it more or less acidic, just adjust the proportions of oil to vinegar. Olive oil is good here too, but sometimes a more neutral oil like sunflower highlights the flavor of the greens a little more.  See my rave below about the sunflower oil at Family Cow Farmstand, our neighbors on the farm. 

Garden Chores this week:

• fertilize with Pro-Gro all of the annual flowers to give them a little boost during the heat. Sprinkle a bit around shrubs and perennials that are finished blooming too. 
• water everything religiously in the mornings
• weed the vegetable garden and replant as needed
• throw a handful of Compost Plus in the flowering hanging baskets and other potted plants
• bring (finally) all the poor and neglected house plants outside for a good shower and leave them on the screened in porch.
• fertilize the garlic with Pro-Gro (should have been done a few weeks ago, whoops). 
• hill the potatoes 
• plant a row of beans
• transplant beets, spinach, and more lettuce

Public Service Announcement! 

And finally,  I have been meaning to let you all know about our new neighbors! Family Cow Farmstand was purchased in April by Scott Hoffman and Aubrey Schatz. You may have noticed the cows sweetly grazing next to the greenhouses this spring. Please go visit Scott and Aubrey's farm stand! They are selling the cows' delicious raw milk (they do sell out, so consider signing up for a weekly membership), pork from previous Family Cow owners Lindsay and Evan (best pork chops and chorizo ever), veggies and strawberries from Shaky Ground Farm, their own eggs (the hens are pastured out with the cows), sheep's cheese from their friends in Marathon, NY, and their own pastured, organic chicken. And lots of other goodies like sunflower oil, yarn, maple syrup, caramels, etc. Some of you know me personally, and you will know that I can be a little particular about how food is produced and how it tastes (okay, not a little .... a lot). So please hear me clearly when I say that you should absolutely try everything at the Farmstand! The chicken is the best I have EVER had. Yes, EVER. It is huge, with plump, juicy meat and that iconic chicken flavor that is often masked by  poor feed or improper processing. Scott and Aubrey move the birds onto fresh grass every day and use the birds and cows together as a way to manage the grass. The sunflower oil is velvety and perfect for any dressing. The sheep's cheese is some of the best cheese I have had in the this country (the French person in me is being extra emphatic here, my hands are waving around, and I am really begging you to listen)...a blue cheese like a mild Roquefort and a sheep's Tomme that is perfectly aged and has that nutty, sparkly taste and texture unique to the best alpine cheeses. The chickens are available fresh every other Friday or in the freezer anytime. To get a fresh chicken, you have to sign up - just email Aubrey and Scott (familycows@gmail.com) or stop in and talk to them....they are often around and do their evening milking between 5:30 and 7:30.

Pardon the horrible picture, but I just wanted you to see how plump and huge these chickens are from Family Cow Farmstand. Before putting it in the oven, I took out the backbone (just slice down either side of the spine with a sharp knife) and split the chicken open so that it would cook faster (about 1 hour and 15 minutes) and so that the skin would be super puffed and crispy (it was, yum). I also slathered it in softened butter mixed with finely chopped fresh oregano, salt, pepper, and a little lemon zest. The whole thing got laid on a bed of sweet potatoes and sweet onions.  I roasted it in a super hot oven (450F) for 15 minutes then turned it down to 375F.  Prep time - 10 minutes. While it cooked, I ran some errands, weeded a raised bed and planted a whole tray of annuals. How easy is that? 

One more bit of business: We are starting our summer hours this week.

We will be open every Tuesday through Saturday 8 am to 6 pm. Closed Sundays and Mondays.

It has been a great season, and I hope you have enjoyed your spring and early summer with us. We certainly have loved seeing all of you. We are staying open through August this year with lots of fantastic perennials, veggie and herb plants to replenish the garden, annuals for pops of color, and houseplants and succulents for gift giving and adding to your personal collection. Come visit!