By Laurie Zitterkopf
Nebraska Extension Master Gardener Volunteer
The Scotts Bluff County Fair is the place to share your work with others. The Events Center will be open for Horticulture, Floriculture, Field Crop, and Poultry Egg entries on Tuesday, July 28, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. There are a variety of ways to exhibit herbs because of their different growth habits and uses. Bulbs, like garlic and onion, should be fully cured, and the outside papery sheath should be left on. Herbs grown for their leaves, such as basil, oregano, mint and lavender, should be exhibited with their stems in a container of water. Leaves should be fresh and tender, free from blemishes, bruises, and insect and disease damage.
Many herbs are best when harvested and exhibited before they flower. After herbs flower, their essential oils change, and the flavor or scent may be less desirable. There are exceptions, since some herbs, such as lavender, are grown for their flowers. The flowers of herbs grown for blossoms should be fresh, of uniform color and development, and free of soil, insect, and disease damage. The stems should have healthy leaves and, as when exhibiting flowers or other herbs in water, the leaves below the water line should be removed so they do not rot.
Some herbs such as dill, caraway, fennel, and cumin are grown for their seeds. These seed heads should be loosely tied or banded together and exhibited on a paper plate, not in water. Seed heads should not have shattered. Stems should be harvested when a full head of seed is present and mature, but still slightly greenish- brown so the seeds do not fall off. Harvest herbs early in the morning for maximum oil content. The essential oils are what give each herb its own distinct scent. If necessary, rinse very gently in cool water. Trim stems evenly and select uniformly sized specimens when more than one stem is required.
Thinking of entering next year? Plan ahead and plant herbs so they are at their peak for the exhibition. Some herbs, such as basil, grow very quickly and may be past their prime if planted as soon as the weather warms. You can stagger plant such herbs to get a continuous harvest of premium herbs. Some herbs take longer to develop; some even more than one growing season, such as biennial herbs grown for seed like caraway. Garlic, a perennial, does best in Nebraska if you plant it in the fall and let it grow through the next summer. Harvest garlic as soon as the tops die back. Gather more information at your local extension office.