What ever they say, GW is a great place to share.

I just introduced my DD9 to frozen-solid mint / honey tea.

She thinks thats even better than soft drinks.

Who knew???

And, it only costs about $0.02 a qt. (Honey has gone up)

Steve--I read your post and saw your pic...very nice. How do you make tea from the leaves? No, I've never done this. I've only cut sprigs of mint and added it to drinks. I've been making big containers of iced tea using bags of Celestial Seasonings 'Lemon Zinger Green Tea' and a little honey. I love anything licorice flavored too.

David--What is frozen solid mint/honey tea. Just what it sounds like tea frozen solid? We have a one soda per week rule but if my 9 yr old liked this he could have more than one a week if he thought it was better than soda!

I've planted one of my raised beds this year with strictly herbs and have lemon balm, spearmint, apple mint, chocolate mint, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (couldn't resist:), sweet basil, thai basil, marjoram, oregano (greek & golden), chives. I should be able to come up with some combos from this?

Charlene

I was also wondering about that frozen mint, Charlene. I think what David might be doing is either making ice cubes or freezing the mint. Washing herbs, putting them in a plastic bag, and promptly freezing them has worked fine for us on what we've tried. You also have to be prompt in making use of them after they come out of the freezer - thaw them out and they quickly, quickly decay.

Just a guess as to what David is up to in his role as a dad . . . My youngest is still in college and she's a junk food hound. Oddly, she shops at the natural food store and eats all this healthy stuff with her junk from Micky d's. Best of luck to all you parents.

Charlene, I think you've got what you need for some fun trials. Everyone's tastes are different. Basil has that licorice flavor and I really like it in various dishes - not my favorite for tea, however . . . I've got all those herbs except the choices of oregano. That would be where I'd go first (nah, that wasn't me you saw reaching over your fence, honest ;o).

My favorite commercial product is Stash Licorice Spice - "licorice root, cinnamon, orange peel, Chinese star anise, vanilla, sarsaparilla, orange oil, cinnamon oil, clove oil, cardamom oil." And, I'm a root beer aficionado, as well. Can't grow any of what's in Stash unless I'd like to try some Russian licorice sometime - then I'll be out uprooting bushes in the yard.

As it is and at this time of year, I just loosely fill my tea mug about one-half full with nice green herb leaves. Rinse a few times under the facet then fill with boiling water and allow a few minutes steeping - all it takes. I realized a few years ago that in cultures where a lot of mint is used as tea - the experienced will "stuff" their cups with fresh mint. If you think about it, what's in a tea bag probably amounts to quite a bit of bulk if it hadn't been dried first.

Catnip has been a favorite for quite a few years but I think I'm ready for a little variety. What I was hoping was that a simple combination of 5 or 6 herbs, all of which I like, would give some complexity to the flavor in my cup. I am really pleased with my very first experiment.

And, of course, you've gotten to know me a bit - I don't just have one of these planters . . . oh no, and there's already a few transplants in the garden. I was just trying to keep one planter close to home.

digitS'

I have a peppermint patch down by the pond overflow, and every week I'll go pick a basket full, rinse carefully, and pull the leaves off. I dry these in a food dehydrator, which depending on the humidity, takes anywhere from 2 to 3 hours, and then I have a big bag of the stuff. Boil a quart of water, through small handful of dried leaves in, let cool. For the honey part, while its still warm, dissolve a bit in to sweeten it a bit, it doesn't take much but it takes the edge off the peppermint. When its cool, I pour it in a plastic drink bottle and freeze it over night.

The 'grown up' version has a couple bags of regular, black tea in there as well. I drink at least two quarts of the stuff a day during the summer.

If you don't have a mint patch, then the generic supermarket mint tea works just fine, a couple - three bags per quart.

Lemon / mint / black tea comes out well, but use real lemon juice, not that lemon herbal stuff which doesn't contain a whole lot of lemon.

Drying catnip changes the flavor but not a great deal. Fermenting may create the difference between green, oolong, and black tea but IÂm not skilled enuf (nor desiring) to ferment the herbs. IÂve dried catnip in the simplest fashion just by bunching with a rubber band and hanging upside down. Try to put up a few cuttings during the season. After a few days, the bunches can go in a paper bag.

Ferdinand and I often compare grass and hay but here in the shade of the cork tree, a chance to smell the flowers is what is closest at hand and hoof.

digitSÂ

Ferdinand was truly one of my favorite books as a kid. I still have it on my shelf with the bright red cover.

Thanks for the tea tips:) I wish I had some catnip too. I think I saw transplants for sale out in front of the grocery store for half off under $2.00.

I think I'll try a cup from the garden tomorrow morning. It was rainy all day but I didn't have time today. Tomorrow school gets out for the summer and a cup of tea from my garden will be a nice way to enjoy my last quiet morning as the fun now begins!

I'm definitely going to try to the iced tea in a bottle idea too. Better than soda pop!

Charlene

Charlene, once you've got catnip and allow it to go to seed - you've got it. Picking up a packet of seed with a plant would guarantee that future generations in your neighborhood will be able to enjoy the catnip.

It is NOT like peppermint, however. It doesn't squeeze and fight everything else and slowly take over. If you hit it with the lawnmower or weedwacker - it will knock it down for the entire season. If you leave catnip alone, it will grow into a nice plant - and only slightly unattractive.

Seedlings will show up anywhere. My best plant this year showed up after I moved fruit tree branches that had been on the ground for 2 years at the edge of the veggie garden. (I know, I only claim to be at war with the bunnies.) Nothing else (besides the bunnies) was alive under the branches except this one catnip. I'm sure that it would have appeared above the branches by now but I saved it the bother. I've seen catnip grow right thru juniper. Maybe the bunnies are planting it, or maybe it is seeking protection from the cats.

Ah, there's the rub, and the bite, and the purr, and the roll. What the heck there is about catnip for a cat . . . I like it but it doesn't have that effect on me . . . Must be something and every cat should have at least 6 plants of the stuff to behave outrageously with.

digitS'

I didn't think to mention a couple of things when I posted the above at 4:37 AM. (Did you know that we are on Pacific time up here? Yep, almost the same longitude as San Diego.)

The Catnip isn't the bully in the planter, nor is the Lemon Balm for that matter altho' that mint is sure aggressive in my yard. The big boy in the pot is the Korean mint followed closely by Anise Hyssop.

I've grown the Anise Hyssop before and only knew it as a happy reseeder. Both of these guys are agastaches. I don't really expect any trouble from them in the open ground.

A surprise was the Wild Bergamot which is closely related to the agastaches and it's WILD for Pete's sake. ItÂs a little, low-growing thing with small leaves.

And, I hope they all learn to value the airy gracefulness of the Sweet Fennel. All perennials so I'm looking forward to getting to know them in the coming years.

digitS'