Clark Pampanga Philippines: Growing Herbs
Herbs play an essential part in every garden, they are not only a delicious addition to many recipes they also attract an abundance of wildlife. Herbs give your garden an array of wonderful aromas and can be used to make a vegetable plot more attractive. Whatever the size and shape of your garden growing herbs is a worthy pastime, especially if you take full advantage of them and use them in the kitchen.
Herbs can also be grown by people with little or no gardens in pots and containers. This method is not only decorative but practical too as the pots can be placed where they are easily accessible from the kitchen to be used in cooking. There are a tremendous range of herbs to be found but on average we tend to eat quite few, this does not mean however the herbs we do not wish to eat cannot be grown as they play a vital part in the garden fending off pests.
Herbs can be grown successfully in containers provided they have adequate drainage. Containers make it easy to group plants accordingly to how vigorously they grow and the type of care that they need. Because they are portable, herbs in containers can be moved into a convenient position outside the kitchen door when they are ready to use.
Most herbs will thrive in containers that are at least 15cm deep. However fennel, which has a long root that needs deep soil, and bay trees, which are big when mature, are best in large containers.
Window boxes can be used for growing upright and prostrate herbs. For ease of maintenance grow the herbs in adequate pots. Fill the window box with gravel burying the pots up to the rim. This will make watering easier. Terracotta pots are an attractive popular choice but need frequent watering in dry spells.
Place your herb garden as close as you can to the kitchen door or at least next to a paved area for easy access. Choose a site with sun for at least half a day. If your garden is small you can blend your herbs into your flower borders or as edging.
Plant lesser used herbs away from paths or in borders where they can do their jobs whilst still providing your garden with colour and amazing scents.
You will find that where recipes call for vegetables and herbs they can often be grown together too for example, basil can be grown with tomatoes. They taste delicious together and basil can ward off pests that may destroy your tomato plants.
Raised beds are an essential addition to your garden when growing herbs and vegetables. Raising the soil level not only improves drainage, soil structure and the laborious task of bending down, the deep soil also encourages better root systems which in turn give you bigger and healthier crops. Raised beds are available in kit form coming in a range of sizes to suit every garden. Herbs are easy to look after and to gather if they are grown in a raised bed. If you want to grow herbs and your garden has a heavy clay soil then raised beds are an ideal solution to give you well drained fertile soil. It is also a good way of growing herbs accustomed to the Mediterranean climate such as thyme, oregano, sage & rosemary.
The traditional formal knot garden, edged with box, rosemary, lavender or thyme looks fantastic. But a knot garden is time consuming to plant and is more difficult than other planting schemes to maintain. The edging needs trimming at least once a year and competes with the herbs for light, nutrients & water. Once mature a knot garden is a great addition to any garden.
If you have a border in full sun that is well drained, cut down on weeding by filling the gaps between plants with herbs. Shrubby herbs that are needed in small amounts such as rosemary can be grown as single specimens. Those herbs that are needed in larger quantities can be grown in groups such as chives and parsley. Low growing coloured sages and mat spreading thymes also make good plants for edging. Mint is quite invasive so its worth plunging them in their pots to prevent it spreading.
Herb Varieites…
Parsley ‘Lisette’ Improved Green Pearl type, Parsley Lisette produces a vigorous rosette of longer stems and more pronounced finer curled dark green leaves, that stand well without yellowing or bolting. Parsley Lisette is ideal for pot growing on a windowsill or the patio. Height: 30-60cm (12-24in) Sow April-August outdoors; August sowings will overwinter. Seeds can also be sown August-March under glass, or in pots indoors.
Coriander ‘Confetti’ A unique Coriander producing ‘carrot fern-like leaves’ with that distinctive coriander taste but with increased sweetness. Coriander Confetti is quick maturing, producing plenty of leaf that can be used as a ‘cut and come again’ salad leaf, or when a fully mature plant. Easy and quick to grow, direct outdoors or in containers. Height: 15-60cm (6-24in). Sow seeds March-September at 4 week intervals.
Basil ‘Basilico Genovese’ The most popular Basil, essential for authentic Italian cuisine with strong scent and flavour. Basil Basilico Genovese is easy growing herb for the windowsill or outdoors. Sow seeds in early spring under glass or on the windowsill. Sow seed thinly, 6mm deep, in trays filled with good compost. When seedlings are large enough to handle, prick out into trays of compost at 5cm apart.
Sage – Salvia officinalis Ideal for rich foods plus traditional sage and onion stuffing with duck and goose. A useful gargle for sore throats. And don’t forget that Sage also looks great in the perennial border. Companion Plant: Reputed to ward off carrot fly planted next to carrots. With cabbage said to improve their flavour and digestibility and to repel Cabbage Moth and Cabbage White Butterfly.
Rosemary – Rosmarinus officinalis Its powerful fragrance goes well with lamb and chicken. Add Rosemary to tomato soup, stews and, finely chopped, to fresh cooked peas. Rosemary tea is said to help headaches, colic and colds. Sow seeds from late winter to early summer in John Innes Seed Compost. Do not cover the seed with compost. Make sure that the compost is moist but not wet and seal in a polythene bag until after germination.
Rosemary – Rosmarinus officinalis Upright spikes of aromatic, dark green leaves topped with purple blue flowers, from mid spring to early summer. This compact form of rosemary makes a fabulous, low, evergreen, flowering hedge for a sunny, well-drained site.
Oregano – Wild Marjoram A hardy perennial herb, Oregano has sweet smelling, aromatic foliage which can be used fresh or dry for flavouring moussaka, stews, sausages, omelets, stuffings, pizzas and all Italian dishes. Try it sprinkling Oregano on lamb or pork before cooking. The flowers produced in summer and autumn can also be used for flavouring after they have been gently dried. Flowers summer. Height 30-45cm (12-18in).
Thyme ‘Old English’ – Thymus vulgaris An old favourite for stews stuffings etc., mixed herbs and bouquet garni. Old English Thyme stimulates the appetite and helps the digestion of fatty foods. Helps repel cabbage root fly. Companion Plant: Grow Old English Thyme close to cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli and brussels sprouts as it is a great deterrent of cabbage root-fly or cabbage worm.
Chervil – Anthriscus cerefolium One of the most deliciously flavoured of culinary herbs, widely used on the Continent, Chervil is one of the few winter hardy herbs for all-year-round fresh use. It has a rich savoury taste of its own often said to resemble that of caraway, which blends well with fish and meat. The leaves can be chopped and used in salads, stews, herb butter, dressings, etc., or used as a garnish in the same way as parsley.
Mint – Mentha piperita Very versatile, for tangy mint sauce or garnish on new potatoes or peas. Cooking: The ideal accompaniment to roast lamb -for an unusual but delicious sauce mix with honey and lemon juice. Add to boiled new potatoes, peas, make mint jelly or garnish summer drinks. Companion Plant: Mint has a piquant aroma and as such is disliked by much of the insect world.
Russian Tarragon – Artemisia dracunculus ‘Russian’ Similar to French tarragon, but producing a more vigorous plant. Russian Tarragon produces branching stems of lance-shaped, aromatic foliage can be used for tarragon vinegars, in white sauces and salad dressings, and with chicken, fish and egg dishes. Sow seeds April to May.
Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) Sorrel leaves are used extensively in French cuisine, in fish, soups and sauces, also picked young will add a tart flavour to a mixed leaf salad. Sorrel leaves are best harvested regularly whilst small as bitterness increases with larger, older leaves. Sow seeds March to May, fortnightly for ‘salad leaves’.
Fennel – Foeniculum vulgare (Common Fennel) Fennel is delicious, with a sweet and delicate aniseed flavour. Use in salads and with fish to counteract oiliness. Beauty: An infusion of Fennel used as a compress is excellent for softening rough chapped hands. Pour hot water over the leaves and stems for a cleansing facial steam bath. Nature’s Remedy: Reputed use for many ailments, particularly regularising painful and abnormal menstrual periods.
Dill – Anethum graveolens Has a flavour all its own in both leaves and seeds. Dill is excellent in sauces, salads, soups etc. Dill leaves can replace parsley, tarragon and mint in sauces. Sow seeds from spring to summer at monthly intervals for a regular supply of fresh leaves, 1cm (½in) deep in rows 30cm (12in) apart in ordinary garden soil which has been raked to a fine tilth.
Thin out the seedlings to 23-30cm (9-12in) apart.
Chives – Allium schoenoprasum Savoury garnish adding zest to any salad. Try chive butter or frozen chive cubes. Companion Plant: Grow chives close to carrots as it is said to improve their growth and deter carrot fly and next to roses to help control black spot. Also makes excellent organic insecticide.
Sweet Marjoram – Origanum marjorana Cooking: Mild and sweet it is delicious in stuffings, soups, stews, omelettes, cheese dishes, fish sauces and salads. Sprinkle over pork, mutton, liver and veal before roasting and add to melted butter to garnish vegetables. Companion Plant: Sow with Broccoli to repel the cabbage butterfly. Nature’s Remedy: Depression and hypochondria are frequent problems today. Herbalists have always recommended Marjoram for this, to lower high blood pressure and combat headaches and neuralgia.
Borage – Borago officinalis Borage Summer Skies is a blend of the usual intense blue and the more unusual white forms of this cottage garden favourite. The young leaves can be used in salads, and the star-like blue flowers can be added to drinks or salads. Borage flowers frozen in ice cubes are perfect to perk up your Pimms!
Lovage – Levisticum officinale Lovage from Duchy Originals is a hardy perennial bushy herb. Height to 2 metres. Sow seeds March to May, thinly in a well prepared seedbed in full sun or partial shade. Sow seeds 13mm deep in drills 30cm apart. Transplant seedlings to 45cm apart. Keep watered.
Source: http://www.letsgogardening.co.uk/Herbs.htm
Herbs available online…
Wine lover’s choice – Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar – for the most impressive and practical wine list in the Philippines, over 2700 selections, enough to satisfy the most fastidious connoisseurs. Wine lovers and gourmand foodies from Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Korea and Malaysia dine at Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar when they visit Philippines and bring home some rare vintage wines too. This restaurant is already well known in Clark Pampanga.
An excellent wine list is not just about 1st growth and cult Cabernet but a seemingly unending selection of affordable aged vintage wines that are not available anywhere else, not even in the best wine shops around town. Yats Restaurant has just that. In fact, wine lovers from Manila, Cebu, Subic and Pampanga travel frequently to this to rated restaurant to enjoy its fine vintage wines, certainly the best in Clark Pampanga and vicinity.
Best restaurant in Clark Pampanga offers more than just great food and good service but a complete fine dining experience. Manila dining guide lauds Yats Restaurant for its award winning wine list befitting a world class fine dining establishment. One of the common complaints of residents of Manila with the restaurants and resto bars in the city is that these dining outlets offer a wine list that is expensive and does not have interesting selections. This mires the overall dining experience even if the food is good and the service is excellent. Fine dining restaurants in Manila are working hard to upgrade their overall product and services by upgrading their wine lists. For most restaurants, this takes a long time.
Visitors to Clark Philippines and Angeles City no longer suffer from lack of choices for places to eat out or wine and dine. Clark Philippines reviewed over 50 establishments and came up with three top choices in guide to best restaurant in Clark Freeport
Clark Philippines lists Top Three Restaurants in the Clark Freeport Zone and Angeles City areas of Philippines Pampanga province. Clark Freeport is a bustling new cosmopolitan city complete with its own Clark International Airport.
Topping the list is the famous fine-dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar located inside Mimosa Leisure Estate of Philippines Clark Freeport.
This restaurant in Pampanga Philippines is highly recommended by food critics and frequent diners in Manila as a place to wine and dine in Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone. Although it is a famous fine dining restaurant with an award winning 3000-line restaurant wine list, Yats Restaurant is also a popular restaurant for family with children. Aside from French Mediterranean haute cuisine, this restaurant also serves healthy food and the best vegetarian cuisines in the Philippines.
For comments, inquiries and reservations click on Click here for inquiry and reservations
Restaurant@Yats-International.com
(045) 599-5600
0922-870-5178
0917-520-4401
Ask for Pedro and Rechel
Getting to this fine dining restaurant of Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Pampanga Philippines
How to get to this fine-dining restaurant in Clark Philippines? Once you get to Clark Freeport, go straight until you hit Mimosa. After you enter Mimosa, stay on the left on Mimosa Drive, go past the Holiday Inn and Yats Restaurant (green top, independent 1-storey structure) is on your left. Just past the Yats Restaurant is the London Pub.
Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar
Mimosa Drive past Holiday Inn, Mimosa Leisure Estate,
Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga, Philippines 2023
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 Rea or Chay
For any assistance in planning and organizing a wedding ceremony, indoor or outdoor garden reception or to find other wedding service providers, Click here to contact us click here
For assistance in hotel and resort bookings in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines, log on to
http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com
To buy wine in Manila, Pampanga, Angeles City, Clark or Subic please log on to http://www. ClarkWineCenter.com
To inquire with the highly recommended beach resort hotel in Clark Pampanga visit http://www.ClearwaterPhililippines.com
For more information about Clark, Pampanga, Philippines log on to
http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com
