Price range: £2.25 through £43.00
Large shrub with celery-like taste to leaves and stems. Height up to 2m.
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Lovage
levisticum officinale
Approx. 300 seeds per gram
Lovage is a very stately herb to grow with plants reaching up to 2m tall. The stems are strong and upright with many large, lobed, grey-green leaves giving good coverage. The leaves are very aromatic with a smell like celery, parsley or even parsnip. Lovage is an Umbelliferae, like those plants just mentioned. The flowers are small in dense yellow clusters and are followed by the crescent shaped, scented, brown seeds. Lovage has a long history of use as a culinary and medicinal herb.
How to grow:
Sow seed from January in seed trays of good organic compost at a temperature of 20°C. Prick out the seedlings when large enough to handle into 8cm pots. Transplant into the growing site from late Spring at a distance of 60cm. Seeds can be sown directly into prepared ground from late Spring or again in late Summer or early Autumn. Lovage likes a rich moist soil and will grow in full sun or partial shade.
Pests and diseases:
The plants can be effected by aphids but this is usually not a big problem. You can squish them with your thumb and finger or leave them to attract beneficial insects like hoverflies and ladybirds.
How to use:
The leaves, roots, stems and seeds were all used in cooking. Lovage was once used as a pot herb. In times when food could be scarce a number of nutritious and flavoursome herbs were used in place of vegetables in soups and stews to give bulk, flavour and nutrients. The flavour is much stronger than either celery or parsley so use it sparingly at first. The stems can be candied, like Angelica and the seeds used in cakes and biscuits as well as cordials and liqueurs. The leaf also has a deodorising effect and can be used in the bath or put in your shoes!