Sage is among the best herbal choices for killing bacteria, but it is also amazing for culinary uses. Italian cooks have used it for centuries to add a flavorful and healthful kick to vegetable and meat dishes. Americans all know sage from our traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinners. What would the holiday be like without the pungent scent of sage stuffing wafting through the air making our mouths water for the feast to come?

Get to know Sage and grow this wonderful perennial herb in your garden. Not only is it very useful in many ways, but it is a beautifully decorative addition to your landscape and grows in many variations of color and scent. To your health!

PROPAGATION:

Sage may be grown from seed but more easily from cuttings. Pinch a sturdy stem from a plant in mid-spring and push into moist soil in a shady spot of your garden. Keep soil moderately moist until roots develop.

GROWING:

Sages grow best in full sun in well-drained soil. They appreciate cooler weather and infrequent watering. Mulch well and prune hard in the spring to remove any dead wood and prolong the growth of new leaves.

VARIETIES:

There hundreds of varieties of Salvia, the most common being Salvia officinalis.

Common Sage (Salvia officinalis) has pointed grey-green velvety leaves with deep veining and a pungent aroma. Can grow to a height of 2 feet or more. Flowers in summer may be pink, purple or white. Varieties include Pineapple, Blue, Grape-scented, Tricolor, Golden Leaf and many more.

HARVESTING AND USES:

Leaves may be used fresh or dried. Mature leaves have the most essential oil content and are best for drying. Gather foliage when dry and bunch loosely together.  Hang in a cool dark location with good air circulation until dry. This will take about a week. Store dried leaves in an air tight container out of bright light.

RECIPES:

Lemon Chicken with Sage

Chicken breasts, legs, or thighs, skin on

3 sage leaves per piece of chicken

4 large garlic cloves per pound of chicken, slivered

Coarse salt

Black pepper, preferably freshly ground

1 whole lemon per pound of chicken, quartered

Wash and pat dry chicken parts. Rub outside of each piece with sage, then tuck the leaves under the skin. Layer in large dish chicken parts, garlic, a generous sprinkling of salt, pepper, and lemon quarters, squeezing juice out first over the layer. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours, turning occasionally. When ready to cook, allow to come to room, temperature. Bake, grill, or saute chicken and lemon quarters. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Sage Jelly

Ingredients

2.2kg/5lb Cooking Apples �?cut into thick chunks (unpeeled/un-cored)
1.1L/40fl.oz. Water
8 tbsp Freshly chopped Sage
8 Whole Sage Leaves
1.1L/40fl.oz. Distilled Malt Vinegar
Sugar

A few drops of Green food Coloring optional

Instructions

1. Place the apples in a large saucepan together with the water and the sage leaves. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 45 minutes, until the fruit is soft, stirring from time to time to prevent sticking.

2. Add the vinegar to the pan and boil for a further 5 minutes.

3. Spoon the apple mixture into a jelly bag or cloth attached to the legs of an upturned stool, and leave to strain into a large bowl for at least 12 hours. Do not squeeze.

4. Prepare the jars

5. Discard the pulp remaining in the jelly bag. Measure the liquid in the bowl and return it to a saucepan together with 450g/1 lb of sugar for each 600ml/20 fl.oz. of liquid.

6. Heat gently, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved, then raise the heat boil rapidly for about 10 minutes.

7. Remove from the heat and test for a set.

8. Skim the surface with a slotted spoon then stir in the chopped sage and add a few drops of green food coloring. Allow to cool slightly then stir well to distribute the mint.

9. Ladle into warm jars, cover, seal and label.
Serve with pork, poultry or crackers and cream cheese.

GROWING SAGE

Culinary sage refers to a small group of the genus Salvia. These are evergreen perennial subshrubs with woolly grayish leaves that add an earthy freshness to foods. Spikes of purple/blue flowers appear in mid-summer.

Latin Name: Salvia officinalis

Common Name: Common Sage, Garden Sage

Zone: 5 - 9

Sun Exposure: Generally Full Sun. Needs some shade in higher Zones.
Mature Size: 1 - 2' H, 2 -3' WBloom Period/Days to Harvest: Blooms mid-summer. May bloom first year depending on size and site.

Allow the plant to grow unharvested for the first year. Then leaves can be harvested at anytime, although they are consider at their best before or just after blooming.

Design Tips: Sage quickly becomes a small woody shrub that can need replacing every 3-4 years. Frequent harvesting and pruning helps to reinvigorate sage plants. While a sage plant is in its prime, it makes an attractive addition to both herb gardens and ornamental borders. The purple, golden and tri-color varieties work especially well as edgers.

Varieties: Common Salvia officinalis is excellent for use as a seasoning and is undemanding in the garden. For variety and attractiveness, try one of the following.

S.o. cv. Tricolor doesn't get as large as S. officinalis, but the variegation of its green, white and pink/purple leaves make it as much an ornamental as a culinary herb.


S.o. cv. Purpurescens has deep purple young leaves that mature to a burgundy


S.o. cv. Aurea is a compact grower with soft yellow leaves and purple flowers.

Uses: Sage leaves are a popular poultry and meat seasoning. They can be used both fresh and dried. Sage also makes a nice tea. The leaves and branches are often featured in crafts, like wreaths.

Cultural Requirements & Maintenance: Sage plants can be started from seed, root cuttings or transplants. Sage seed needs to be sown while fresh. It does not store well and even fresh, is not terribly reliable and is slow to establish. Root cuttings can propagated by layering (Laying the side branches down so that they are in contact with the soil.) Fortunately, reasonably priced, small sage plants can be found in most garden centers in the spring.

Sage prefers a warm, sunny location, although it does not enjoy extreme heat. It is not particular about soil, except that it be well-drained.


Pruning after flowering will keep plants attractive and prevent them from getting too woody and leggy. Fertilize in early spring.


Sage is very happy growing in containers. If you want to try growing sage indoors, you will need to provide strong, direct light.


Few pests bother sage. It is done in more by excess water, not enough light and lack of pruning.


Harvesting: Harvest lightly the first year, as the plant becomes established.Harvest individual leaves as needed. Leaves can also be dried and stored for future use

'Southernwood'   Please remember that you cannot simply stuff a bunch of herbs in your mouth and feel better. Some are taken orally, but many are taken topically. Incorrect dosage or application can be harmful. Once you have found a herb that appears to meet your needs, you should seek expert advice before attempting to use it!   Southernwood - Artemisia abrotanum (lad's love, old man, crusader herb) Description: Woody perennial shrub that grows up to 3 feet tall. Sprouts pungent grey-green feathery leaves. Also bears inconspicuous yellow-green flowers in late summer. Uses: Use shoots and leaves that have been slowly dried in the sun. Used medicinally as an infusion or tincture to help regulate menstruation. Also useful for antiseptic properties, and as an insect repellent. Infusion: Used to prepare more delicate parts of plants. 3 cups of water to 1 ounce dry herb or 1½ ounce of fresh herbs; pour the freshly boiled water over herbs in a pot, cover the pot and let the herbs steep for at least 10 minutes. Strain and serve. Refrigerate unused portions, lasts up to 24 hours. Tincture: A tincture is a good solution for long term treatment as will store for up to two years. 8 ounces of dried herb, 1½ cups of alcohol (grain alcohol like Everclear), and 4 cups of water; Chop your herbs up finely and put them in a glass jar with a good tight fitting lid. Pour the liquid over the herbs and tighten the lid. Keep the jar in a warm, dark place for 2 weeks. Shake the jar every two days. After the two weeks, strain the liquid off through cheesecloth into a clean colored glass jar and store away from heat and direct sunlight. Medicinal uses: antiseptic, moth repellent, menstruation Used in spells relating to: aphrodisiac

MAGICAK HERBS: SWEET FLAG (Acorus calamus) (Family: Araceae)
~~~Scott Appell

*Acorus calamus* is a hardy, rhizomatous, perennial, swamp or bog plant native to Europe and the United States. It is araceous, meaning that it belongs to the arum family (*Araceae*), and therefore is related to such familiar plants as calla lilies, philodendrons, and Jack-in-the-pulpits. Sweet flag bears spicy-scented, flattened, sword-shaped foliage that grows to two or three feet in length. The creeping rhizomes are covered with a brownish-red bark and creep over the surface of the soil.

Because of its pleasant smell, calamus was once considered a treading-herb; and was strewn upon the floors of churches and private houses to perfume the air when walked upon. This tradition is still practiced at Britain's Norfolk Cathedral on important festival days. Acorus has proven insect-repellent properties as well, and was oncew thought to fend off the plague. It has been used for centuries as a medicinal herb, and the active ingredients are asarone and beta-aserone. The rhizomes are considered to possess antispasmodic, gas-expelling (carminative), and worm-expelling (anthelmintic) properties. It was also used to treat epilepsy, chronic diarrhea, mental ailments, and kidney and heart ailments. American colonists employed it to treat colic.

Although sweet flag has long been employed in European witchcraft, its use in American Hoodoo is far more fascinating. In Louisiana and other southern states such as Alabama and Georgia, Voodoo, and its variant among black Americans, Hoodoo, is still widely practiced. Voodoo is the American interpretation of Haitian *vodou*. Hoodoo, on the ohter hand, is folkloric magic handed down through oral traditions and practiced primarily in New Orleans. They both share some similar attricutes, such as healing practices and strong Catholic roots, but they are not the same doctrine. Hoodoo uses Voodoo dolls, conjure bags (both *mojo* and *gris-gris*), potions, oils, incense, sachets, powders, floor washes, and herbs. In fact, the herbal inventory of Hoodoo comprises nearly two-hundred separate species. Part of the mystique of Hoodoo is the ability for a practitioner to conjure snakes, spiders, or other living creatures into the body of an enemy. Sweet flag is used to rid the body of these unwanted creatures - to do so, one must chew on a piece of the root and bathe in water containing potassium nitrate (salt-peter) for nine mornings.

Sweet flag prefers an aquatic lifestyle, and makes a wonderful herb for containers without drainage holes: jarjinieres, cachepots, soup tureens, buckets, basins, and pickle crocks. It requires a water depth of four to six inches and full Sun to succeed. It is cold resistent, and hardy to USDA Zone 3. It is a exuberant grower, and will need division every three or four years..