Our Top 5 Favorite Herbs to Grow

Discover the top 5 herbs we think every gardener should grow! 🌿 In this week’s episode of Gals Who Grow, we’re sharing our favorite culinary and medicinal herbs, why we love them, and how they perform in the garden. Whether you’re planting your first herb bed or adding to your cut flower garden, these easy-to-grow herbs will boost your harvest, attract pollinators, and elevate your cooking.

Tune in for practical herb gardening tips, beginner-friendly advice, and inspiration to grow a thriving, fragrant garden this season!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Hi, I'm Monica with Lulu the A-Field. And I'm Cassie with Coppertop Gardens. And I'm Bailey with How Home and Garden. We've been cultivating our gardens and farms for years now, but something really special was sewed when we met and began working together.

SPEAKER_01 0:14

Our shared passion for growing the best local flowers and food has made us realize the impact it's had in not only our own homes, but also in our local community.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

We are the gals who grow, and we can't wait to inspire you to grow too.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Hello, hello. Howdy.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Welcome back for another week. Um we're gonna continue our top fives this week because we really love doing episodes on our top fives. Yes. Um just because I know that I like listening to five podcasts. Yes, exactly. Because when you're looking to expand your garden with new plantings, uh finding people's favorites is usually a good way to go. Yeah, it's fun.

SPEAKER_02 0:58

So who's starting off this this time around?

SPEAKER_00 1:01

Well yeah, you should. So this week is top five favorite herbs.

SPEAKER_02 1:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

In our garden. Do you have a list?

SPEAKER_02 1:10

Yeah. I have a list of four, and I will come up with a fifth as I'm going. All right, let's hear it.

SPEAKER_03 1:16

Excellent.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

Um, my number one is pretty easy and basic, and I feel like if you have an herb garden, you have this in it. Uh basil. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

Of course. I literally sent an Instagram of uh basil harvesting day. It was like when you're in an Italian American family, and it was like all of the family members showing up with their like basil plants fully harvested. And it was like it was pesto making day. And we do that, we've done that a lot of years. Last year we did not, but we make like a large batch of pesto at the end of the season.

SPEAKER_02 1:49

Okay, so how many plants of basil do you have to make a large batch of pesto?

SPEAKER_00 1:53

Oh, in the past we've had a lot.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

I've only grown like one or two plants and made like a tiny bit of pesto. I'm like, let's make we had like a bummer by eight.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Okay. A basil bed. Oh wow. Here's what you do, Mon. Yeah. You get your basil. Yeah. You're planting your vegetables, right? Plant basil around your vegetables. Yes. Because then you get your basil and you get the pest.

SPEAKER_00 2:19

The only issue I had was our basil has in the past um outcompeted some things, like shade it out.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

You do have to be rigorous on the pruning. Yeah. Sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 2:30

Yeah. Yeah. So, and that's what I mean. I think I'm gonna put mine. I this I I don't know for sure. I probably will put some in my veg garden, but I'm probably gonna put some into my like perennial borders. Yeah. Because I was like, you know what? Like just a beautiful plant. It's just a beautiful plant. It smells nice, and then you know, when we want pesto, there'll be more to harvest.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Why isn't it summer all the time? I wish, man.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

If only. So, and there's a lot of types of basil.

SPEAKER_02 2:55

Like there are I did the Thai basil.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Oh, Thai basil has a very unique, interesting flavor. Um, I don't like Genovese. Yeah. I like the Genovese for the basil pesto.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

Purple basil.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

Purple basil, the opal.

SPEAKER_02 3:10

For the purple pesto.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

Yes. And then um there's Persian, which um I didn't know there was a difference, but when I uh lived with uh my Iranian friend, she was like, This isn't Persian. And I was like, Oh, I did not know there's a Persian basil, but there is. Okay, and then there's one called cardinal basil that's actually a like a cut flower variety.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

That's beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 3:34

It is really cool.

SPEAKER_02 3:35

I did the Everleaf last year. I'm pretty sure it's Everleaf. Um, and I did that for cutting. It's a tall basil, so it's like a greenery.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

Lemon lime one this year that I'm going to grow out of it that smells good.

SPEAKER_02 3:47

So we'll see. Let's see. Hold on, I'm gonna find it on Johnny's. But yeah, basil mostly what came to mind was pesto because we have been on a pesto kick. We put it on our um this protein pasta that is so good.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

And I will I'll dry some and just bottle it up for soups and such. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:04

Yeah, this is what I grew last year. Everleaf Thai Towers. It's very tall. Um, and it is in the Asian basil um category. I didn't eat it, I grew it for cutting.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

And we're growing these from seed.

SPEAKER_02 4:17

Yeah, I started them from seed.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

Basil is such an easy seed.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

You can grow you can buy little plants from your garden center, but the seed starting is so easy. I would highly recommend just getting a packet because it also you can grow lots. Yeah, six plants, you know, or three or more, yeah, for three dollars versus and you can totally direct sew it.

SPEAKER_01 4:37

I've done it lots of times.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Yeah, yeah. The tie is ours, like we have self-seeders of it. Really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:44

I planted um basil yesterday and it was save seed off of my purple basil. So I'm hoping that it germinates because that is like basically for a yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

I'm actually I'm gonna I'm gonna sew my should I sew my basil like soon? Yeah. Uh today we're doing this is April or this will be like first week of April.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

First week of April.

SPEAKER_00 5:05

Yeah, so yeah, I would definitely start it now.

SPEAKER_02 5:07

It grows relatively fast from seed. Yeah. And it's it's okay because you can do it later. St. Patrick's Day, you need to have started, in my opinion. Yeah. Because we're eight weeks out. Oh my gosh, don't say that.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

Uh much quick reminder sow your seeds if you haven't yet. Yeah. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

Great job. Get this list and start them. I would um definitely recommend growing mint.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

Oh, yeah. That's on my list.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

I know that we've we've talked about this before, but like, do you plant it in a container or do you plant it in the ground because mint is notorious for taking over things, but I've never really had that much luck in containers. So I'm gonna find a little patch and have a just grow a big mint um bush. Because I like to I mean, I love mint. You can put it in you can put it in bouquets and it's a lovely scent, but I like to make mint tea. Yeah, me too. Oh, I love it. Um fresh mint tea is so good.

SPEAKER_00 6:06

Yep. Chocolate mint. There's all the different types.

SPEAKER_02 6:09

So many different mints. And I I've not had luck starting it from seed, but maybe I'm just not trying hard enough.

SPEAKER_00 6:15

I haven't started it.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

I have tried, it hasn't germinated yet, but I'm trying. Oh. So we'll see. I I think I'm doing experiment.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

Yeah, I've typically gotten plants of it every year and they all die.

SPEAKER_02 6:27

Really?

SPEAKER_00 6:27

Yeah, I put them in containers and then they die.

SPEAKER_02 6:29

I don't think they like the containers.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

I don't think so either. But they also I think are better in at least partial shade. That's ours are in partial shade. Yeah, because they don't they don't love the hot.

SPEAKER_02 6:40

I'm trying to think. My mom had like a giant patch of it, and it was on the east side of the house, right up against the house, and it did get yeah, and then there's like a forest in the back. So yeah, yeah, and morning and afternoon shade. Yeah, so it was mostly sh kind of a shade plant. Mine is impartial. Mine is impartial, but definitely partial, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Yeah, it doesn't do super great, but I I yeah, I do love it.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

And mint is just and I would say, yeah, probably if you're at least not experienced with seed starting mint, definitely just buy that one as a plant.

SPEAKER_02 7:15

Yeah, is what I would say. Yeah, for sure. And you can go to the farmer's market and buy it from a farmer. Yeah like I that's what I want to do. Yeah. I'm just a little skeptical of what they're spraying on the leg of the those plants. But um, the next one that I definitely am like have to have every year is cilantro. Yes. Oh yeah. Ooh, I forgot about that one. Because it is so expensive to buy it from the grocery store. And if you just put a little bit in a pot in your front porch, it's like self-seed.

SPEAKER_00 7:44

Those self-seed too for us.

SPEAKER_02 7:46

They are so easy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Yeah. They self-seed. We've had them in partial shade and they've come back multiple years in a row. We get the slow bolt cilantro because it's one of the bolts in the heat.

SPEAKER_02 7:57

But yeah, definitely good. Um, my next one, which I've never really had success growing, but I think I have done enough research now that I'm feeling more confident about it, is lavender. Yeah. I feel like a lot of people grow it, so I was like, why am I trying to do that? Time to give it another kill. Do you put sand in the room?

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Yeah, we put lava rocks below and then we mix sand in with the soil. Yeah. I mean, we're down, uh it's been a couple of years, we're down to only a couple of plants that have lived. Yeah, because the I mean it gets wet and it's flapping cold wet up there. Yeah, and there's the one side that does make it is a little bit more mounded. Like I think I'm and I think that one was so we had Phenomenal and we had um Munstead, and Phenomenal does better in the Phenomenal. Yeah, Phenomenal is the variety. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:52

And you buy plants.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

We bought little tiny plants and they are huge. I've I've tried to find seed of that and I cannot find seed.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

Yeah, I have money. So I think I think you have to buy them as plants right now. I don't think they're selling the seed.

SPEAKER_00 9:06

Yeah. Yeah. And I mean they grow fast. It literally took one season. One season for them to get big.

unknown 9:11

Dang.

SPEAKER_02 9:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 9:13

You just have to you have to have them in a good spot for them to do well.

SPEAKER_02 9:17

So yeah, I just like it for the smell mostly. But I am interested in like making some sort of like lavender syrup to add to like lemonade or drinks or something like that.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

I finally got my distill. Did you figure it out? Distilling, I mean, it's semi-working. So we just haven't we haven't done anything yet because it was at the end of the season. We didn't do it. But I this year I am determined to I will distill something. I will. Watch me. Let's have a podcast about it later. Yeah, we should. We should have. It would literally, we would be recording for hours and it would still not be done. But it takes literally a full day. But yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:58

That's awesome. Um, okay, I know he said five, but I can't. I mean, I know my fifth, but you were gonna think of one, Monica. I well, I have one in mind, but I feel like Cassie might have this one, so I'd rather not say it. You can say it, I'll just add on.

SPEAKER_00 10:15

I know what one you're talking about.

SPEAKER_02 10:16

Okay, I'm gonna say it and then pass it to you. Okay. Chives.

SPEAKER_00 10:19

Oh. For sure. That wasn't the one I was thinking you were gonna say.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

For sure, though.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

That is I thought you were gonna say oregano. Because Cassie does.

SPEAKER_01 10:27

I'll serve my one and two. I knew it.

SPEAKER_02 10:30

I like chives because it is got a pretty flower.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

Yeah, but yeah, you totally can use those as a cut flow.

SPEAKER_00 10:36

You can put the flowers into salads, you can put them into bouquets.

SPEAKER_02 10:40

Chive blossom vinegar. Chives are nostalgic to me too, because my mom always had chives in her garden. And they're just so cute.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

But also, man, I'm already so speaking of chives, good transition, Monica. Um, I have some I have a lot out in my yard. Um, I could probably go cut them now. Like I could do my first harvest. Really? March 15th. I guess I should go look at mine. Yeah. Like they're not close to blooming, but I don't go from I don't use mine for the blooms. Like, I will chop them up and I'll dehydrate them. I don't think so.

unknown 11:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

I think they'll if you cut them off, they'll have the opportunity to bloom again, but it's not continuous. It's like a flush. Yeah. Okay. But love chives, perennial, you can just direct so outside. That's all I've ever done. Um mine just comes back every year. I know. Mine too. And they're so there's just something you're cooking dinner and you just walk out and like snip some off. And oh, there's I just really want to like put it on a baked potato. Yes. Or eggs. Oh.

SPEAKER_00 11:42

Oh, they do deviled eggs if you like just chop them on the top of them. It adds like a little freshness to like anything that you're making.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

It really does. I think that's what it is. Can I tell you guys a quick story? Yes, please.

SPEAKER_02 11:54

This week I walked in from the garden and Poppy goes, Um, mommy, how do you make those eggs again where it's like there's yellow in the inside and it's white on the outside? And I'm like, A hard-boiled egg? And she's like, Yeah, what do you do to make it like that? And I was like, Well, you have to boil them. She goes, Oh, okay. I go, why? She goes, and she goes to the uh the fridge to get out more eggs because she had already tried to have a hard-boiled egg, aka she took an egg out to her little picnic area that she was having and cracked the egg and was shocked that it was hard-boiled egg.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

She's like, what the heck? This isn't what I'm gonna do.

SPEAKER_02 12:37

She's like hold of. I'm like, girl. So we had a little lesson on how to make hard-boiled eggs. And when you said doubled eggs, I'm like, oh my gosh. That is great. It was so innocent and sweet. And she just like she got shocked by the egg, you know. She had the egg yolk. I said, Have you washed your hands since you cracked that egg? And she's like, No. I'm like, go wash your hands.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

My kids call those squishy eggs.

SPEAKER_02 13:02

Yeah, it's it was a squishy egg for sure. But anyway, very cute and soap pure. Oh my god, it's a little bit more. Yes, okay. Let me show you some, girl. We're gonna level up. We're not only gonna make carboned eggs, we're gonna make them bougie.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

Throw a herb on there. Level up. All right. Well, my next one is oregano.

SPEAKER_00 13:29

I knew it. I was like, wait, chive.

SPEAKER_01 13:32

So I have I have a couple usage. Greek oregano is actually a green.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Did you say Greek oregano? Greek oregano.

SPEAKER_01 13:41

Oregano.

SPEAKER_00 13:43

That oregano.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

That reneg. It's a ring. She's on a nickname basis with friends. Um Greek oregano actually is a great cut flower filler. Oh once it comes. So awesome.

SPEAKER_00 13:58

Yeah, you get really tall stems.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

I've never gotten huge, like massive. I don't know how or why, but it just really liked that spot in my yard.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

I was I was gonna try again this year. It's from seed.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

Yeah. That's how I did it. Yeah. Um, and it definitely is a perennial and it definitely spreads. So just be aware of that. Okay. Um, but really great. This year I'm doing full sun, partial shade. Mine was in full sun falaise and it was fine. Yeah. It was I'm sure it would be f it would be fine in partial shade too. Okay. Usually all the green herbs are. Um this year I'm doing Italian oregano because I do like Greek oregano, but I like Italian oregano a little better for like culinary flavors. Yes. Um, so I'm trying that. I started some from seed. I also like to use it as pest repellent in the garden, so I'm planting it everywhere. My like goal is to just have herbs just tucked away everywhere. So you can just walk by and just whatever. Yeah, like so much is very good for medicinal purposes.

SPEAKER_02 15:01

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 15:01

And I'm like, it just there you can't go wrong with an oregano. Like, you really can't. It really like wards off bad things. You just can't. Ugh. Oregano. Reg.

SPEAKER_02 15:10

Regano. Oh Reggie. So okay, so we're calling it Reggie now.

SPEAKER_01 15:19

Okay. Before I come up with another name, I'm moving on. Um let's see. I had basil on my list. Um, sage, I love, just like the common sage. Yeah. I love that one. Again, I'll just plant it places. Um, I'll harvest from it for stuff every now and then, but usually I just let it a fried sage leaf on top of pasta. Yeah, you told me about that. I haven't tried that yet.

SPEAKER_02 15:42

I feel like I put have had sage and potatoes, like potatoes.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

It's a very like, I don't know. It just is a very like fall-you know-flavor to me. Um, but I love it. Like the leaves are super pretty, the texture's pretty, it smells really good when it's a little bit. It kind of looks like a little bit like a lamb's ear, right?

SPEAKER_02 16:02

It does a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

And it's kind of yeah, it's really soft. But the flowers are beautiful too. It's in the because it's it's a sage, so like really pretty purple spiky flowers come out the top. And I like to plant it around any like strawberries and stuff because apparently it's a really good companion crop for that. Isn't it really? Okay. Apparently it helps ward off like slugs. Interesting. The slugs ate all over. Some people say it makes it the strawberry sweeter. I can't attest to that, but like, why not try it? Put it next to it anyway. Okay. Um, so I love that one. And then my last one is chamomile. Just because you know, just a little tiny yellow daisy flower just makes your day better when you look at it. And like tea. It's I've made tea from it. Delicious tea. It smells like green apples a little bit to me. Oh. Interesting. So good.

SPEAKER_02 16:56

But I just love it. Chamomile is very nostalgic for me, too. Yes. I don't know. My mom always had really some sort of chamomile. It's just very like cottage. I'm remembering incorrectly. I feel like she had it in her garden. I'm sure she did. And she drank the tea.

SPEAKER_01 17:11

It's like the the the fever few in your yard that actually smells good. So it's not fever few, but many people can see it. It's not a shit, Daisy. Don't be confused with it. Yes. Yeah. Um fever few is technically an herb too, but if you're going to be a little bit more, they look very similar. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

Fever few is better for bouquets typically.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

Yes. But if you're growing it for tea or for good smells, do the chamomile. Yeah. Um and I again cheat and buy plants until I can get it established for it to reseed itself because I can never seed it properly.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

I got it once in the yard. And never since.

SPEAKER_02 17:52

So when you plant your herb garden, do you just kind of like you plant it once and then just let it all reseed?

SPEAKER_01 17:59

I will do that, yes. Um, whether or not I let it stick around the next year or remove it, that just kind of depends on like my plan for the year. But I kind of I won't say I it's not chaos garden, but I'll I layer my planting. So like I do my vegetables and then any herbs or whatever I have left over, or flowers, those just smash in between all the vegetables because I use them as pest deterrents. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:25

So my herbs are just in my borders. I just put them in with everything else.

SPEAKER_02 18:30

I think it's great. Like I always try and put them in pots, and maybe I'm thinking like just put them in the ground.

SPEAKER_00 18:35

No, no. Or my sage comes back every year, my chives come back every year, and they're just in the same spot in the yard, in the garden border.

SPEAKER_02 18:43

And is it because of reseeding? No. Sage is a perennial here.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

Sage is a perennial. It does get a little leggy though. It can get leggy.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

You do have to cut, but I mean, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

I don't really mind it. I don't mind it either. I I really like it. Okay, are we ready for my five? So keeping with the tea lemon balm is one of my favorites to make tea from. Um, it is a perennial, it comes back every year. We planted it up with some mint, um, and it was it was really it's like one of our favorite teas to make. So highly recommend that. Um we like thyme. So I put thyme in I use thyme as like a ground cover in some spaces. Yes. I would say it's good. The only thing is it does get a little sticky, like sticks, like uh like wiry almost. Um and it also does attract some bees on the ground. So if you're planning to like be barefoot or something, you know, like just something to be aware of.

SPEAKER_02 19:44

The bees do all the time. With okay, thyme with tomatoes, like roasted tomatoes and thyme and garlic. Blend it up, make your own like little pizza sauce. Telling you so good. That's the best pizza I've ever made.

SPEAKER_00 20:00

That's a good point.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

Wait, is garlic considered an herb? Yes. It's meant to be a little bit more than a little bit. We didn't mention it. Garlic! Bonus! Okay, that's a good one.

SPEAKER_00 20:08

Garlic will be garlic will be one of my five. We can drop off one of my others. Um, because all of us grow garlic. It's and it's the reason I I don't know why we like I guess the reason I grow it is buying garlic from the store gets old when you don't use it all, and then it just goes bad. And I uh just get sick of doing that. So having my own bulbs where I can use it and save it in the closet, and it just lasts all year, and then we replant our own.

SPEAKER_02 20:39

It's like I love the look of braided garlic. Yeah, and I really want to do that. Like make like easy.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

It's so easy. It's like if you have a sunny spot in your garden, why not? Because you just put it in there in the fall and you don't have to do anything. You can fertilize it and make it bigger and better, which I'm gonna try and do this year, but like we've just left it before.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

And also, I don't know, before I started growing garlic, I was in my mind was like, I can't grow that here. Like, yeah, that's not gonna grow here. There's no way. You totally can't. Um it totally does.

SPEAKER_00 21:12

Yeah, and you get the garlic scape off of it. Like, we make garlic scape pesto really good.

SPEAKER_02 21:18

Um, so that's one garlic scape in arrangements is kind of fun. Yeah, I made it all arrangements last year with it. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

Yep, yep. Because they're like the garlic scapes are these like twisty, curly uh it's basically the flower of the garlic, and you have to cut it off in order for your garlic to grow. So you have to harvest them, which ends up with this like garlicky, onion-y, um almost like stem, basically.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

And then you can an asparagus texture once it's messed a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

Yes. Yep, it's a little bit sharp for like it's you can't like eating it like garlic or like an asparagus stick wouldn't be as good because it's it's like pretty sharp in flavor, like garlic can be. But it's very good on things and made it a pesto. And I mean you can saute them and eat them. They taste onion y. Um, so that's one. And then um I was gonna say hyssop is another one.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

Ooh, what do you do with that?

SPEAKER_00 22:11

Um, that one can be made into tea, but I mostly use it for cut flour or like just an additional like scented thing. I don't know. I can't. You know hyssop. It's the purpley, it's a it's a line flower. Okay. And it's uh it will self-seed itself. It's all over our garden.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

How tall does yours get?

SPEAKER_00 22:32

Really tall. Like and it ours is in partial shade, honestly, most of the time, and that's where it reseeds itself. So I think that's what it likes. Um uh it's an anise hip hiss up. A-N-I-S-E-H-Y-S-S-O-P.

SPEAKER_02 22:49

I found it. It's very kind of looks like a salvia. Yeah, kind of.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

Yeah. Um, so that one is another one.

SPEAKER_02 22:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

And then are we talking about for herbal use? It's for whatever. Because I was gonna say herb. What is what does hits up smell like? Licoricey? Yeah. Licoricey. Like a niece. Oh. Yep. Um do you direct sew it? Mm-hmm. And it sews itself after that.

SPEAKER_02 23:22

Sorry if you said that. I started looking at my dad. I was going down. Um okay, that's a pretty flower. It's kind of like giving lavender a little bit. Oh, look. Giant lavender blue hyssop seed.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

Yep. Yep.

unknown 23:37

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 23:38

It is, it's just we bought plants maybe our first year, I think, and then it's just self-sewed itself around. It always ends up in our pathways, and I always leave it. So pretty. Um so yeah, that's one. And then this is I'm sort of torn on the others because it's like these ones are really just ones I use for cut flowers. That's fine. Um if it's an herb, it counts. Okay. Because people could use it as a crap. Well, I'm gonna say one because I bet people don't know that you can do this here, but you can. Saffron.

unknown 24:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:09

So we grew saffron corms. You can buy them. So I don't know if you've ever had saffron, but it's like a Persian spice, and it's literally, or there's Spanish per uh saffron as well.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

Is this like a crocus?

SPEAKER_00 24:22

Yes, it is like a crocus. You would plant it in the fall, and basically the little tiny like stigmas are what are the saffron. So when the flower opens up, there are these giant little red stigmas. But that spice is more expensive by weight than gold is, and it's very good for you.

SPEAKER_02 24:41

So this is interesting. I take saffron pills.

SPEAKER_00 24:44

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_02 24:45

Because I heard they were good for you at one point.

SPEAKER_00 24:47

And because you have endless money to spend on supplements.

SPEAKER_02 24:50

How much are those supplements? They're not that expensive. I really think that yeah, and I was like, I'm pretty sure it's oh my gosh, Mond. No, maybe it's not saffron. Dang it, get the Tariq.

SPEAKER_01 25:02

Are you thinking to get the saffron crocus bulbs then plant them? Yeah, kind of the kids can go pick them next year.

SPEAKER_02 25:08

No, it's saffron supplement. I really pure saffron.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

It's very good for your body.

SPEAKER_02 25:14

It's$24.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

I almost bought a bag of those bulbs, but I was like, you know what? I don't have a planter, so thank you, Bailey's mom and dad. Planter.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

I I heard it helped um with ADHD, I think, at one point in time.

SPEAKER_01 25:31

I've heard that too.

SPEAKER_00 25:32

Yeah, so and the uh in I think in Iran um they use it like when you're um on your menstrual cycle. They use it for like uh helping with cramps. Um so yeah, I had never had it before I lived with my Iranian friend, and she put saffron into like tea and into like um baked goods and in different foods, and it makes a big difference in the flavor. Like Joey just recently made it like a saffron cream sauce for me for um Valentine's Day, because I asked for it and it's very, very good. If you but you have to use a lot of it, which is I mean, you don't get a lot if you if you buy crocus to grow, it's really not that much. You have to sort of grind, they have like little grinders that you can buy for it, um, and that's how you can turn it into like a powder, or you can use like a mortar pestle and do it.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

Wait, so I when Cassie asks, is it like a crocus? It looks like it is it looks like a crocus. It looks like a crocus, but it's not actually basically. It's a specific little purple flower.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

Yeah, it's a saffron crocus.

SPEAKER_02 26:37

Yes. Yep. Wait, I think I have some of those in my yard.

SPEAKER_00 26:40

No, you sure? You don't eat just like a regular crocus. I don't know if crocus other crocus are edible. I don't know. But saffron is not.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

When you buy the bulbs, it specifically will say saffron crocus. Oh, yeah. Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:55

Well, have you watched Zootopia?

SPEAKER_01 26:57

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 26:57

Yes. Remember when the animals are like turn mean? Oh god. Yes, they're eating crocuses.

SPEAKER_01 27:04

Oh Lord, so don't do that unless you know it's a saffron.

SPEAKER_00 27:07

I don't know. That's the saffron crocus has this like long red stigma. But maybe the safest way to do it is to buy your own and know that that's what it is.

SPEAKER_02 27:15

Saffron crocuses.

SPEAKER_00 27:16

And put it in full sun. I think my mistake is I put it in partial and so they didn't come back. The other thing is rodents will eat them. So you have to get to them before the rodents get to them. Um but I did get some. So and then they went away. You know, they didn't.

SPEAKER_02 27:35

Have you seen people that put crocuses all over their yard? Yes, I love that.

SPEAKER_00 27:39

There's one on how road down the way that like does it, and it is very pretty. But yeah, I mean, the bulbs are not super cheap if you're buying them like online, but like they're supposed to be perennial, so they should come back every year. As long as uh something as long as yeah, as long as something doesn't eat it, which yeah, voles will eat them too. So but if you put them somewhere and you do end up getting them multiple years, I mean saffron's expensive, so if you can save your own, it's it's pretty good. So yeah, that's my my last one. The other ones I was gonna mention were B balm and uh echinacea. Oh, I love bee balm.

SPEAKER_02 28:16

Because those ones is Echinacea a herb? Yes, it is. So is wait, what do you okay? I've seen people put this in drinks before.

SPEAKER_00 28:23

Yeah, I'm pretty sure they can make Echinacea tea. I've never done that. I like Echinacea. I like it for birds. I see goldfinch on mine all the time. Yeah. And I love that.

SPEAKER_01 28:34

Bumblebees love mine.

SPEAKER_00 28:35

Yep. I love I love seeing birds on it, and the purple one is just like a I love the colors of the orange and purple. So those are two bonus ones for you. So bee balm and menarta, bee balm, or uh echinacea.

SPEAKER_01 28:51

And I'll just say this if you if you aren't ready to garden like larger vegetables, herbs are a great gateway into that because they're so easy, they don't take up a lot of space. A lot of them are perennial. Yes, a lot of her. Or get you know, look into herb drying and just plant them all over your garden if you do have a bigger garden because your your yard and garden will be better for it.

SPEAKER_02 29:18

And the smell of them will just make you happy. Yes, aromatherapy, aromatherapy. So yeah, herbs there it is. Hey, thanks for listening to our podcast. If you want to follow us on the social, find us at the Gals Who Grow Podcast on Instagram, and follow us on Spotify or your favorite podcast app.