Slippery Rock Greenhouse & Perennial Farm

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ORDER TEA AND HONEY FOR YOUR

HOLIDAY GIFT GIVING!

ALSO ACCEPTING

LIVE HERB PLANT ORDERS

FOR SPRING 2011 SHIPMENT!

is a local, woman-owned family business whose mission it is to provide our clients with the highest quality herb and vegetable plants, herbal products and teas, and personal, one-on-one, customer service to ensure that your gardening and overall life experiences, large or small, are a huge success.

Our goal is to make it easier for you to stop and smell the roses and enjoy the road less traveled.

accomplishes this by designing our website so that you are able to access and order our plants and products quickly and easily. There are no long downloads or complicated links to follow. We want you to spend less time on the internet and more time cultivating your garden and nurturing your soul!

Dill is an "Annual" which means that it grows from seed and dies every year. The great thing about dill is that it very easily re-seeds itself (like Sweet Annie) so cultivate it in a location at the back of the garden so it won’t be disturbed. The plant likes full sun and well drained soil. It grows best in cooler climates. We use the young leaves in potato salad, Grandma Peg’s cucumber salad, tuna salad, lettuce salad, tomato/cucumber salad…you get the idea. The seed heads we use in pickles and in our herb blends. Jeff has a great refrigerator pickle recipe. Recipes Page Want to know the secret to crispy crunchy pickles? Hit the link.
The biggest question that we get about dill is: “Why does my dill plant die?” The answer is that it has a relatively short life cycle and will bolt (flower) and go to seed in 3-4 weeks. That’s normal and great if you want the seeds but not so good if you want to eat the leaves. So if you want a crop to last through-out the summer and fall, you need to have successive plantings. That means every 2 to 3 weeks plant new seeds in the soil or young seedlings. Live Herb Plants
We have read conflicting information on the origins of Dill both that it is a native to southwest Asia and the Mediterranean. Probably, like many herbs, it 's popularity in the kitchen has caused it to migrate all over the world. It is a member of the Parsley family, and grows from 18 to 42 inches, depending upon variety. The most popular varieties are 24-36 inches.
The dark green leaves are called "Dill Weed". Harvest leaves at any time. The young, tender leaves are best for flavor. Harvest flower heads after seeds have formed, and the flower head has died. Tie a group of stems together and hang upside down to dry. Make sure to have a container or bag under them to catch seed. Once they are dry, shake out the remaining seeds.
Besides flavoring, Dill used as a tea has been reportedly popular for controlling flatulence. Make the tea by adding 1-2 teaspoons of dried seeds to boiling water. Let it steep for several minutes.
Chewing a few Dill seeds will freshen your breath. For more information go to our Educational Links page.

We now sell our honey and teas at three local groceries in the Pittsburgh area - Whole Foods in East Liberty, Right By Nature in the Strip and Giant Eagle in Slippery Rock. Please patronize these businesses and tell them we sent you!

Bay Laurel is the 2009 'herb of the year'-and what a great plant it is. Bay (Laurus nobilis ) is tender perennial grows a foot a year when planted outside in the sun, then makes a nice house plant during the winter. The plants really start growing when the have long days starting in the Spring through the Fall, supplemental light during the Winter will start a flush of new leaves. This a TENDER perennial so keep from frost , or you will be VERY unhappy if your baby get frozen... Makes a great seasoning for spaghetti sauce, meat dishes, or soups. The traditional french bouquet garni contains bay, thyme, and parsly wrapped in cloth and used in soups, beans, or lentil dishes. Dr Anderson suggests that bay leaves, along with cinnamon, clove, and tumeric can tend to increase insulin utility, he mixes them in his notable Dia Beanie Soup (The Green Pharmacy ). Also, people have suggested positive affects for releif of migrain headache, arthritis, and anti-viral, anti-fungal properties as well. There is an incredible amount of detailed info at one of favorite sources- the Herb Society. http://herbsociety.org/bay/BayGuideFINAL-Secured.pdf . But most of all we think- It Tastes GOOD!

We keep as busy as our bees, but they are the ones making our special honey. There is nothing quite like our local honey, thanks to the beautiful wild flowers and fruit orchards in our little part of the Western Pennsylvania! If you are a green tea drinker, there’s nothing better than a drop of our honey to make it taste even better! Always Summer Herbs offers you honey in 1 and 2 pounds jars.