[Sca-cooks] RE: peppermint

[Barbara Benson]

 > Elisabetta> So what do I do with the flowers? Can I cook with them
or dry them, or
> just let them bloom and die?

Greetings,

With most herbs your desired portion of the plant is the leaf. Flowers
are usually undesirable. As a general rule, once the plant starts
producing flowers it spends considerably less time making leaves. And
this is not what you want.

When herbs start to form a flower head you want to "pinch" it back.
This involves taking your fingers and pinching the end of the stem and
breaking the tender flower head off. Some of your more woody herbs
will require small snippers.

This type of selective pruning will encourage your herbs to become
more bushy and produce more abundant leaves. If you allow it to go
completely to flower it will then put the majority of it's energy into
making seeds to procreate. If seeds are what you are looking for that
is good (like fennel seeds). But for most herbs it is bad.

I hope that this is of some assistance.

Glad Tidings,
--Serena da Riva
Barony of the South Downs, Meridies