A Roccamonfina Herb Report

Remaining Winter production

All basil plants suffer when temperatures fall into the thirties, and then are winter-killed by frost, of which we have had several. 

All that remains from the summer harvest is a limited supply of lemon basil. (We use this in a lemon-herb chicken recipe. It adds another, softer layer of lemon flavor to actual lemon juice and helps balance earthier herbs like rosemary and oregano.)

Lemon balm and parsley are much more cold tolerant, and can survive temperatures in the teens with a little protection. We currently have a decent supply of lemon balm and curly leaf parsley, and a limited supply of flat leaf parsley. What is the difference, you ask? Flavor profile-wise, none (at least none that we can detect.) However, we recently learned that flat-leaf parsley can be toxic to dogs, whereas curly-leaf is not. So, if you prepare whole food meals for your fur babies...or "accidentally" share some of your own food with them...you may want to go with the curly leaf.

Oregano, thyme, rosemary and sage bushes generally survive our winters, and we can normally continue to harvest until temperatures get into the low 20s. At that point, they go into survival mode and we stop harvesting to allow them to fight off the winter. 

Unfortunately, we lost all of our thyme bushes this year and will need to start over next year. We do not know why with certainty, but we suspect it was the heat/drought we experienced in July and August.

Intentions for 2026.

In addition to new thyme bushes, we will be expanding production across the board in 2026, as well as adding new items to the line.

In fact, we have already started.  In addition to more plants of every variety, we are going to expand our footprint.  New items we are planning are

Chamomile

Cinnamon Basil

Lavender

Lime Basil

Mint

Tarragon

If there is an herb you would dlike me to grow – let me know, we will give it a try.

Happy Thanksgiving!