All the Dirt on Gardening

Some plantings are for the birds! This entire bed was planted by wind and birds. All I did this summer was weed out everything that wasn't Perilla, Flowering Tobacco and Petunias. BHG.com has the scoop on Nicotiana at http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/annual/flowering-tobacco/   The bed is under a dead black walnut tree and the entire area was covered with newsprint and a few inches of hardwood mulch. Last spring when it became obvious that the tree had died, we moved all the hardwood mulch to the perennial bed behind. The newsprint had all been eaten by earthworms of course. That's what they do so well. I've never seen Trailing Petunias re-seed like this. Have you had this experience?   Perilla is known for generously re-seeding itself. The original seeds were sent to me 5 years ago by my cousin in Germany where they are called Rotes Basilikum (red basil). Since then, they have returned each year but only a few plants.   Did you know that befo...

Perilla frutescens var crispa is one of the prettiest members of the mint family, and, like most of its relatives, it can be used as an edible in addition to adding practical beauty in a flower, herb or vegetable bed. Perilla's many names include: Red Shiso, sesame leaves, beefsteak leaf, purple mint, gee so, zi su, aka jiso, aka shiso, oba, dulketip, kkaennip namul, tulkkae, rau tia to and Shiso Purple Cress. My seeds came from Kitazawa Seed Company . If you eat in Japanese restaurants you may have seen the little pink flowers, ear shiso, as a garnish on your plate. The flowers are also used as a condiment, preserved as a spice and added to a traditional dip. When you see umeshiso on the menu, whether pickled, in a paste or as juice, they used Red Perilla. Shiso vinegar is simply Shiso leaves steeped in rice wine vinegar. When the flowers begin to form seed pods, they are used as a garnish, added to dipping sauces, and for pickling salted plums. The sprouts are a...