Editorial
Front Page - Friday, June 18, 2010
Herbies share garden foods, tips and recipes with community
Erica Tuggle
The Chattanooga Herbies association meets the second Tuesday of each month to discuss history, usage and recipes of the “herb of the month.” In one year, the group has gained over 30 members, and is now planning field trips to regional botanical gardens and dining-out at an ethnic restaurant each month.
- Erica Tuggle
Having a green thumb is not required to be one of the Chattanooga Herbies, because with several of the members as certified master gardeners there is more than enough plant know-how to go around. They put their knowledge to good use, too, by sharing their growing love with the community in everything they put in the ground.
The Chattanooga Herbies group began when Jane Goodin, a master gardener and a lifetime herb member, asked those on the Chattanooga Master Gardener group Web page if they wanted to join and also put an ad out for members. A year later, the club has grown to 45 people on the email list, 30 of whom were at the most recent meeting.
Goodin said she likes that there is a mix of master gardeners and community members, because she doesn’t want the club to be exclusive.
The Herbies meet the second Tuesday of every month to discuss research on the herb of the month, share recipes and taste dishes with the herb in it. June’s herb of the month presentation on oregano was done by Nancy Anderson.
Anderson explained to the group that oregano means “joy of the mountain,” and belongs to the mint family. It is used for cooking, groundcover and for hedging and has very few problems with pests. It was American soldiers who originally brought oregano to the U.S. in pizza sauce, and one gram of it is four times more antioxidant than the same amount of blueberries.
After Anderson’s presentation, oregano tea and dried oregano was offered straight from members’ gardens. The dishes brought by members that night were a Greek Feta pasta salad, a dish called Eve’s Southern Medley and a five herb pesto salad. These were served with sweet tea and lemon water, and the group kept the plastic cups and silverware to wash and reuse at the next meeting.
Donna Smolinski, the secretary of the Master Gardener’s club and a member of Herbies, became a master gardener in 2008. She says the distinction requires a 15-week course through the UT extension service, and 40 hours of community service upon graduation.
Smolinski said volunteering is the most important part of the master gardener program because of the return to the community. She cites the Chattanooga Food Bank, where the Herbies hold their monthly meetings, as a prime example.
The greenhouse and the 23 plant beds behind the food bank were paid for, built and maintained by the Master Gardeners Association and the Herbies. The crops grown in the plant boxes behind the food bank are used to supplement the food bank’s emergency food box, and the proceeds from all plant sales and events go to the charity as well. All of the plant beds, except the one belonging to the Herbies, are part of the demonstration garden for the UT system. Smolinski said the group is now experimenting with their bed by weighing all their items before they go into the food bank program to see how their production is progressing.
The first night the group was working on their bed, everyone was asked to bring an herb that could be used in a salad. Smolinski said the bed is temporary, and a more permanent one will be planted next spring. When the time comes, they will harvest the items in the bed and make a salad for the Herbies to share.
The Herbies have big plans for the rest of the year. For the month of July, the herb choice will be dill, which is also the herb of the year as chosen by the national herb society. In August, the Herbies will research and discuss catnip and other herbs for animals. September the herb of the month will be cumin. For October, Vice President Buck Staats suggested the group try to make beer for the herbs of the month presentation on hopps and caraway. In November, the group is sure to whip up several tasty dishes with the herb cinnamon, and for December, they are planning to organize a high tea for their meeting. They plan to get a head start during their January 2011 meeting which will be themed “Planning your 2011 herb garden,” Staats said.
The planning committee of Herbies is working to organize trips to regional botanical gardens such as the one in Birmingham with a stop at a spice and seasoning store, as well as making an effort to plan a dining out opportunity each month to an ethnic restaurant to try the different seasonings, Staats said.
Goodin said she was surprised by an early meeting of the Herbies last year when 14 people showed up, but will be pleased with however many come to get their hands dirty.
For more information on how to become a member of the Master Gardeners or the Herbies visit http://mghc.org.
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