As we’re diving into colder and colder temperatures here, well into freezing, we wanted to talk about some of the late season herbs you can ride out into snowfall and colder temps!
Curled parsley is an excellent cold season survivor! Not only is it fairly cold hardy and able to survive those frosts, the curls actually benefit the plant’s survival. These curls create tiny microclimates that aid the greenery to resist frosts. We often ride our parsley until it simply gives up due to the cold.
In fact, most plants that feature curls like this tend to be a bit more hardy than “flat leaf” counterparts, for the same exact reasons. While the actual cold hardiness of the plant is up to the specific type and variety of plant that you’re growing, the “curliness” is a fairly good rule of thumb you can follow.
Another good herb to take into the later season is thyme. Though it is often “flat leaf” in form, the plant is hardy down to zone 5. While this herb will not retain its greenery in very cold temperatures, it often doesn’t complain until you get into the low 20’s and even below.
We do tend to harvest out our thyme as we’re shutting down our gardens, mostly because we’re aiming for a decent dried herb harvest out of it. But, if that’s not a goal of yours, you can certainly keep it growing into the colder temperatures of late fall. You can see similar hardiness with herbs like rosemary, oregano, tarragon and mint. There is a limit to “how cold you can go,” so having a game plan of either harvesting, letting it go or overwintering is a good idea.
Many herbs are perennial. This means that in very cold climates like we have, you can keep your crop growing by bringing them inside. Though it’s best to provide some sort of lighting to allow your herbs to photosynthesize, you can overwinter many perennial herbs in subarctic climates this way. This can get you ahead for the next season, should you want to care for your plants over the winter.
We are also experimenting with our seasoning celery this year. So far, it’s held up to 25 degrees Fahrenheit, indicating its another good survivor. Though we don’t have a ton of need for it, since we harvested our actual celery and celery leaves, we’ve been picking away at it to try and use it up.
So, if you’re not quite into harvesting and drying herbs, these are a few ideas for alternatives that you can pursue. We like a good “fresh touch” well past our typical gardening season and herbs are a great way to get there!
