The Organic Potager

The potager at The Lodge has been in place for five years. The garden, a half-circle (about 800 square-feet), is fenced above and below ground to protect the tempting crops from vegetarian wildlife.  The interior beds, raised crescents, are planted with a rotating array of vegetables, herbs, and flowers.  The exterior beds, surrounding the entire garden, contain climbing roses, peonies, and deer-resistant herbs and flowers.

The Lodge is in a forest, so sufficient sun is always an issue.  The beds are constantly amended with fresh compost, made on site (much of it from crop debris from previous years), so harvests have been abundant.   Watering is done early in the day with sprinklers.

The Lodge Potager

From the beginning, The Lodge has always featured vegetables, herbs, and flowers arranged for overall aesthetics as well as individual production – a true potager.

The potager at the Renaissance-era Chateau de Villandry in France

The potager is a kitchen garden that is both beautiful and practical. The concept originated in France more than 1,000 years ago in medieval monasteries. Vegetables, herbs, fruit, and flowers, all utilized by the monks, were artistically grown in garden beds. The jardin (garden) potager became more formal and ornate in the French chateaux (grand estates) developed during the Renaissance (15th & 16th centuries) and Baroque (17th century) periods.

Potager comes from the French work for soup, potage. Like a soup, it can contain many or a few of the countless plants used for cooking, healing, and artistry. Also like a soup, it can be relaxed and rustic or strictly delineated and formal. While the specific ingredients — and flavors, colors, shapes, and sizes — are composed according to the gardener’s tastes in food and aesthetics, the potager is always carefully designed as an ornamental as well as a utilitarian garden.

Herbs have been put to numerous culinary, aromatic, and ornamental uses since ancient times. Not all of them are hardy, however, in our area. We will most likely have to replace some of the herbs we grew this season, including these.

cilantro

Cilantro (also known as Coriander) has been cultivated as a medicinal and culinary herb for over 3,000 years. It is mentioned in Sanskrit texts, on Egyptian papyri, in Tales of Arabian nights, and in the Bible. Coriander comes from the Greek the word for bed bug, koris, which refers only to the buggy odor of the foliage. The Romans brought it to northern Europe as an ingredient (with cumin and vinegar) in meat preservatives. In the Middle Ages, coriander was added to a love potion as an aphrodisiac, and the Chinese believed it bestowed immortality. Today, the herb is widely used in cooking: the leaves are used in Chinese, Mexican, Vietnamese, and Indian dishes and the seeds in curry and baked goods. Coriander is also used medicinally, to quiet stomachaches and relieve nausea.

'Munstead' lavender

Lavender has a special fragrance that conveys tranquility and purity. Its name comes from the Latin word lavare (to wash) and was a favorite addition to bathwater for the ancient Greeks and Romans. The Romans introduced Lavender to England in the first century. Its branches were burned on St. John’s Eve at midsummer to drive away evil spirits. Lavender’s long-lasting fragrance has long found uses in masking personal and household smells as well as for repelling insects. We planted eight different varieties of lavender this past season: the English types ‘Blue Cushion,’ ‘Hidcote,’ ‘Munstead’ (named after the English garden designer Gertrude Jekyll’s home, Munstead Wood), and ‘Vera’; ‘Edelweiss’ and ‘Provence’ (Dutch-types); Latifolia (Spike-type); and variegated fringed (French-type). The flowers of all can be dried and used in potpourri and sachets or in dried flower arrangements. Lavender is a Mediterranean plant and—depending on weather and location—is not always winter hardy in our area.

lemon verbena

Lemon Verbena is a native of South America. Spaniards brought it to Europe where Victorian ladies floated leaves in finger bowls. Today, it continues to be used as an aromatic in teas and potpourri. The plant, a deciduous shrub, is not winter hardy in our area.

Italian parsley

Parsley, linked with Archemorus, the herald of death, was associated by the Greeks with death and funerals. It was not used in food until Roman times, when it was also utilized to counter strong odors and worn as a garland at banquets to prevent intoxication. Parsley is a biennial plant, which flower and go to seed in its second year. For culinary uses, it is best used in its first year, as the leaves become leathery and the plant dies by midsummer in the following year. We planted two varieties: Curled parsley, best used as a garnish; and Italian Large-Leaf, the parsley preferred for culinary uses.

rosemary officinalis

Rosemary, dew of the sea in Latin, has been in common use for centuries. It was burned in sick rooms to purify the air, scattered in law courts to protect against jail fever (typhus), carried in neck pouches to be sniffed when traveling through suspicious areas during the plague, and placed under drying linens as a moth repellent in Mediterranean villages. Today, this pungent herb is most widely used in cooking, especially in meat dishes. Rosemary is a tender perennial (it usually doesn’t survive the winter) in New England. Two of the plants we grew, ‘Arp’ and ‘Hill Hardy’, came originally from plants found in Texas during cold winters and may therefore be more hardy. We also grew two other kinds of rosemary, the standard-type (officinalis) and a type found in Israel (‘Sal’s Choice’).

Herbs have been grown for more than 2,000 years, primarily in the warm Mediterranean climate of Greece and Italy. Many of the herbs we grew this year are hardy in our area, and despite their temperate origins are tough enough to return next season.

common chive

Chives are a member of the onion (allium) family, which also includes garlic. Marco Polo brought chives to Europe from China in the 13th century. Chive plants have dark green clumps of tubular grass-like leaves and flower in late spring. Both the leaves and flowers are edible. We grew two varieties of chives this past season. Common chive, with purple pompom flowers, has a mild onion flavor that works well in salads (especially my renowned wild rice salad), potatoes, and soups. The white-flowered garlic chive, also known as Chinese chive or Nora (in Japan), tastes of a combination of both garlic and chives.

'Hardy Sweet' marjoram

Marjoram was thought by the ancient Greeks to have been created by Aphrodite as a symbol of happiness. In the Middle Ages, it was brought to Europe where its sweet spicy scent was used as a fragrance. In our gardens, we planted ‘Hardy Sweet’ and Golden Marjoram. Sweeter and yet more pungent than oregano, marjoram is used to flavor meats, tomato dishes, and butter sauces

Greek oregano

Oregano comes from the Greek oros ganos, joy-of-the mountain. Related to marjoram, it is also native of the Mediterranean. The flavor of oregano, however, is more spicy and peppery. We planted two varieties this season: Greek, the spiciest and strongest flavored oregano; and ‘True,’ used in traditional Italian recipes.

rue

Rue was claimed by both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo to improve eyesight and creative inner vision because of its metaphysical powers. It was also used to sprinkle holy water before high mass and to protect against the plague. Today rue is not often used in cooking but instead as an insect repellant and ornamental plant. This year, we tried one plant, ‘Blue Mound.’

Tri-Color sage

Sage has been known throughout history for its powers of longevity and prosperity. In colonial times, it was believed that sage would thrive only in the garden of a wife who ruled the home; husbands were known to ruthlessly prune the garden in the early spring to destroy any evidence of their subservience. (Rosemary was believed to have similar powers: “Where rosemary flourishes, the woman rules.”) Sage comes from the Latin salvia, to be well. Medicinally, it is used as a poultice to take the pain out of insect bites, and as a gargle for sore throats, to calm nerves, and to kill bacteria. While its most well known culinary use is in the stuffing of the Thanksgiving turkey, sage is also used to flavor rich fatty meats such as pork and duck. The five sages we planted this season are the standard-type Gray, ‘Berggarten’ (originally from Germany, its name means mountain garden), Golden Edged and Tri-Color (both milder flavor), and Purple (more strongly flavored).

tarragon

Tarragon comes from the French (estragon) and Latin (dracunculus) words for dragon, which refers to its serpent-like curled and coiled roots. Although in medieval times tarragon was thought to cure the bites of venomous creatures, such as dragons, today it is used primarily in cooking. Its subtle anise flavor enhances sauces and salads dressings, egg dishes, and (my favorite) roast and sautéed chicken. Tarragon is part (with parsley, chives, and chervil) of the traditional French seasoning fines herbs. While two varieties—French and Russian—are available, only French tarragon is flavorful.

Golden Lemon thyme

Thyme is a versatile culinary herb and is used in a number of dishes and cuisines. It also serves as a powerful antiseptic and has preservative properties. A native of the Mediterranean, it comes from the Greek thymon (courage) for whom it also denoted graceful elegance. The Romans brought thyme to England, where the people took it as their own as a flavoring and medicine. Four varieties were in our gardens this year: English (or Common), the most popular in cooking, the most fragrant, and the strongest flavor; Golden Lemon, lemon-scented and a decorative creeper; Lemon, with a strong lemon fragrance and flavor, a natural insect repellant as well a useful in cooking and potpourri; and Silver, striking gray and cream foliage holding a strong scent and flavor.

It was a banner season for cucumbers at both the Lodge and the Manor. Cucumbers are a warm-weather crop that thrive under a combination of sun, water, and compost—precisely the conditions at both gardens this past recording-setting sweltering summer.

Cucumbers, originally from Africa, have been cultivated in India and Italy for more than 2,000 years. This year we grew three types, all against the fencing at the edges of the garden.

'Diva' cucumber

‘Diva’ was an All-American Selections winner in 2002. The skin is thin, smooth and doesn’t need peeling. The fruit is seedless and has a tender, yet crisp, and sweet taste. It is best picked small, about the size of a pickle. The plants are all-female fruits (gynoecious) and set without pollination (parthenocarpic).

‘Genuine’ is an American slicing-type. The cucumbers are a relatively smooth dark green and medium–sized at 8 inches. ‘Genuine’ is among the best tasting of its type.

‘Tasty Jade’ is an Asian-burpless type. The cucumbers are long (11-12 inches) and slender with glossy, thin skins and a crispy, fresh flavor. Like ‘Diva’, the fruits are all female and can set without pollination.

It’s been an exceptionally hot dry summer – the best of conditions for basil. Our basil crops have flourished, especially at the sun-drenched, irrigated Manor.

Basil is thought to have many benefits. For your health, it is an antioxidant. In Italy, it is a symbol of love, and in France is celebrated as “herbe royale”. In India, basil is used to treat stress, asthma, and diabetes.

Since basil is a tropical plant, it is sensitive to cold and will die in a freeze. We are therefore in a race to harvest our basil crops and transform the essence into something we can savor through the cold, dark winter ahead.

Here are two of my go-to recipes from two of my go-to cookbook authors.

PESTO BASE

pesto

4 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
1. Put basil and olive oil in blender or food processor and mix at high speed. Stop from time to time and scrape ingredients down toward bottom of blender/ processor with a rubber spatula.
2. When ingredients are evenly blended, pour/scoop into an ice cube tray and cover with plastic wrap. When frozen, empty pesto base cubes into plastic freezer bags and keep frozen until needed.
Makes about 3/4 cup base, or 6 cubes. Use in salad dressing, soup, pasta sauce, etc.
adapted from The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan

TOMATO CONFIT
Make a deep bed of basil leaves in the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Peel and core tomatoes and place them snugly, core side down, on the basil. (You can cut tomatoes in half if very large.) Lightly salt and pepper. Pour in enough extra-virgin olive oil to come halfway up the sides of the

a selection of basils

tomatoes. (You can use less oil, especially if the tomatoes are juicy, but the oil should cover the basil.) Bake for 1-1/2 hours in a pre-heated 350 oven, until the tomatoes are soft and caramelized and have infused the oil with their perfume. (This may take longer – perhaps 2 hours – but watch so that the tomatoes don’t burn.) Season to taste and serve spooned over cooked and drained fresh noodles. (Or freeze to use with pasta, chicken, or fish.)
From Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters