Many Hands
Community Demonstration Garden
Many hands make light work
We source our vegetables and herbs from our garden to your table.
If you would like to participate in Many Hands Community
Demonstration Garden please send us an email.

First Lady Michelle Obama and students participate in the Spring White House Kitchen Garden planting on the South Lawn of the White House, April 4, 2013 www.letsmove.gov 

GROWING HERBS
Many of our herbal teas are made from herbs that come from our garden.  Come in and have a cup of herbal tea fresh from the garden.  We hope that you will try your hand at growing your own herbs. 
www.almanaturals.net
This a partial list of culinary or beverage herbs for Michigan gardens. Many others are available as plants or seeds.
Perennial herbs that can be grown in Michigan:

• Bergamot - The “Earl Grey” tea flavor; used in dry tea mixes
• Chamomile - sweet apple-scented leaves; usually grown as an annual
• Chives - Mild onion taste; use uncooked
• Garlic chives - mild garlic flavor; use uncooked
• French tarragon* - peppery scent and anise-like flavor
• Garlic - plant in the fall for next year’s crop; may be strongly flavored and small
• Lavender - ‘Hidcote’ and ‘Munsted’ relatively hardy; prune in spring
• Lemon balm - dried lemony leaves used in teas, self-seeds prolifically
• Oregano* - bold, spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce flavor
• Peppermint - leaves and oil extracts used; may be     invasive
• Sage - use fresh and dried leaves; green sage may be hardier than variegated or flavored varieties
• Spearmint - leaves and oil used as flavoring; rampant, aggressive spreader
• Sweet cicely - sweet, licorice flavored seeds; leaves and roots
• Sweet woodruff - sweet clover scent; used to flavor drinks
• Thyme - mild lemon-clove flavor
• Winter savory - leaves have a peppery, spicy flavor

Annual herbs that can be grown under Michigan conditions:

• Anise - licorice like flavor
• Basil - warm, somewhat spicy flavor; used in many pesto recipes
• Chervil - parsley/anise flavor
• Cilantro - leaves give a fresh, clean taste to dishes
• Coriander - seeds have a mild, lemony taste
• Dill -  fine,     fern-like leaves used fresh or dry, flavor of dill pickles
• Fennel - mild licorice flavor; seeds, leaves, stems and bulb edible
• Marjoram - mild,oregano-like flavor
• Rosemary - very bold flavor; for best results, use fresh leaves in foods
• Summer savory - minty thyme flavor

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Gretchen Voyle, Michigan State University Extension

 
Because Many Hands Community Demonstration Garden is located on the premises it enables us to move from our farm to your table.  It is our goal to source as much as we can from the garden as the season permits.  Here are some tips for your garden after the harvest.
This information is courtesy of Michigan State University Extension   www.migarden.msu.edu
Introduction
Guide 01: Principles of Home Canning
Guide 02: Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Fruit and Fruit Products
Guide 03: Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Tomatoes and Tomato Products
Guide 04: Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Vegetables and Vegetable Products
Guide 05: Preparing and Canning Poultry, Red Meats, and Seafood
Guide 06: Preparing and Canning Fermented Food and Pickled Vegetables
Guide 07: Preparing and Canning Jams and Jellies