Grow Great Chervil in Your Home Garden

Chervil has been used in many recipes for hundreds of years. It has a flavor and fragrance that resemble that of myrrh. Myrrh was brought by the wise men as a gift for the baby Jesus. Chervil also symbolizes new live. Because of this and the resemblance to myrhh, chervil was made into a soup and served on Holy Thursday. Today is is used for cooking and as a natural herbal remedy. Here are some tips to help you grow a bumper crop of chervil in your home garden.

There are two main varieties of chervil, one is plain and one is curly. This plant looks delicate, however, it is a hardy annual. It produces small white flowers. The plant will grow to about 2 feet tall. The flowers will attract wasps and other beneficial insects to your garden. This herb will reseed very easily. The seeds will sprout early in the springtime and are a beacon to the coming warmer weather.

Plant your chervil in soil that is rich, humusy, and slightly acidy. You should get them into the ground in the early spring or fall. They prefer cooler temperatures and will go to seed at the first sign of heat. Plant the seeds directly into the ground. When the seedlings are about 2 inches tall, they should be thinned to 9 inches apart. Do not use mulch on these plants. This will attract earwigs that will damage the plants. When the seedlings are small, cover them with floating row covers. They will need to be protected from rabbits, ground hogs, and other small animal pests.

You can begin to harvest chervil when it is about 8 weeks old. Just snip the leaves, but be sure to leave a bit to keep growing. Chervil should be used fresh as the dried leaves have very little flavor.

Chervil can be used to flavor many types of food. These include carrots, corn, peas, spinach, eggs, cream, veal, fish and seafood. It is especially tasty on oysters. It is used as a complementary herb with tarragon, shallots, freshly ground black pepper, marjoram, and lemon. Chervil should be added at the end of the cooking time. Prolonged exposure to heat will turn the flavor bitter.

It is always wonderful to be able to go to your garden and harvest what you need to cook a meal. Fresh herbs and vegetables always have a better taste than those that have been sitting in a grocery store waiting to be bought. Hopefully, these tips will help you grow all the chervil you will need to cook many tasty recipes for you and your family to enjoy.

SOURCE

Editors of Rodale Organic Gardening Magazine and Books. "Rodale Organic Gardening Basics: Herbs Volume 5". 2001. Pennsylvania, USA.