Lovage, has anyone grown, or used

GWN 5/19/2012, 9:57 am

An older man invited my DH and I out to his place yesterday. He is in his late 80s and has about a hundred acres. He had been there for 35 years and many of his cherry trees and plum trees had "reproduced" and now he had several of them, so he invited us to dig them up.
Same was true for his stawbs and raspberries. (BUSY day to day planting) I probably have a hundred plants to get into the ground...
He also gave us a very large bundle of LOVAGE (he called it Maggi herb), as well, we dug up one plant to replant.
Any experience with this herb? His plants were beautiful, I think I would grow it just for the beautiful foliage.

**camprn** 5/19/2012, 10:11 am

Lucky score and a nice neighbor! I bet he was happy that his horticultural legacy will carry on. Very Happy

GWN 5/19/2012, 10:22 am

I bet he was happy that his horticultural legacy will carry on.

He WAS...
In fact this man, I do not think has ever thrown anything away.
He had more than two complete acres piled high with JUNK, he had three very old very rustic barns full of junk...
But he never throws away a plant either. everything that was invading his veggie garden, he had potted up and put elsewhere.
It was an amazing experience.

eospete 5/19/2012, 10:29 am

Maggi is a ingredient taste used in a european sauce Maggi Wurz ofen used on sausages and meats in Germany. I grow lovage and find the taste halfway between a celery and a curry flavour. Very powerful indeed. I cut a single stalk to take to my dad and the house smelled of Lovage all morning. Great in soups in particular. Perenially grows from a hardy root system each year and apparantly can get quite big. Mine is in its second year and has already reach 50cm after diying right back into the soil from last years pathetic effort. I consider it worth having in a 30cm pot as an occasional flavouring but wouldnt grow anymore as Mrs cant abide the smell or taste.
P

GWN 5/19/2012, 10:37 am

Maggi is a ingredient taste used in a european sauce Maggi Wurz ofen used on sausages and meats in Germany

That makes sense, this man came over from Germany in 1954.
He also USED to have pigs and made sausage.
Is it pretty hardy?

eospete 5/19/2012, 10:48 am

It died back and I left it in the coldframe (plastic) over this uk winter which wasn't especially cold but was windy and wet. Started to come back in March and now doing very nicely. Worth keeping as many people dont know of it. The taste is very aquired. I grew mine originally from seed which was bundled with other herbs otherwise I may not have discovered it. P

Goosegirl 5/19/2012, 11:01 am

My lovage plant is on its 3rd year. A friend of mine dug up one of hers for me. It layed in the yard for 2 days wilting before I could get it in the ground. I dug a hole, plunked it in, half-heartedly watered it, then watched it just lay there for a week. Then it stood up, thrived, and nothing has stopped it since! It has wintered -30F with no protection other than the snow that fell on it here in zone 4A. Friend who gave it to me lives in zone 3. The stuff is virtually impossible to kill and looks incredible. What I love is getting celery flavor for soups and dishes without that nasty celery texture!

GG

**Turan** 5/19/2012, 11:17 am

Wow, he sounds like a very interesting neighbor. That is a very
inclusive, tolerant philosophy that accepts the weeds in the garden...

Anyrate... I was given a lovage start several years ago. We did not
like it and I dug it out but it reapears every spring. It is hardy to -30 at least.

Daniel9999 5/19/2012, 11:18 am

Lovage is a very hardy perennial herb...so there really nothing special in the way of growing it that you have to worry about.....except you might want to pinch off the flowers to encourage more leaf growth.

Ow that and you should be careful the stuff does not take over your garden...it can propagate like mad if you let it go to seed!

Its alot like growing mint really...

As far as using goes.....pinch off the leaves when needed and make sure you use only a little....a small bit goes a long way with lovage

It has a anise/celery flavor that works really well in soup and stew dishes.

Lovage, lettuce, pea and cucumber soup

A refreshing and pretty summer soup. Serves four.
20g butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A few young lovage stalks, chopped
700ml chicken or vegetable stock
2 little gem lettuces, finely shredded
100g peas
½ cucumber, cut into 5mm dice
1 small handful lovage leaves, shredded
A few tablespoons of crème fraîche or thick yoghurt, to finish
Warm
the butter in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion,
thyme and a pinch of salt, and sauté until the onion is soft and
translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the lovage stalks and sauté for
a couple of minutes. Pour in the stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Add
the rest of the veg (keep back some lovage leaves to garnish) and simmer
for five minutes. Season and serve with dollops of crème fraîche and
a scattering of lovage leaves.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/24/lovage-recipes-hugh-fearnley-whittingstall

OhioGardener 4/27/2024, 4:45 pm

Bump

Found this thread while browsing to see if anyone else grows/uses Lovage. It interesting that it didn't talk about growing the perennial Lovage to use as celery. The young leaves and stalks are a great substitute for celery, both in taste and texture. If allowed to bloom and go to seed, the seeds can be dried and stored as "celery seeds" - in fact, if you buy celery seeds in the grocery store they are most likely not actually from celery, but from Lovage. The best thing about the plant to me is that is a hardy perennial, and returns every spring to serve as our celery. The only down side is that if left to grow, the "old" leaves are very strong and somewhat bitter.

**sanderson** 4/28/2024, 3:09 pm

I first read it thinking borage

and wondering how it could be used like celery. rofl

**Scorpio Rising** 4/29/2024, 9:55 am

I bought a container of lovage once because it had 4 Black Swallowtail caterpillars on it at the garden store! They ate it!

OhioGardener 4/29/2024, 12:27 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:I bought a container of lovage once because it had 4 Black Swallowtail caterpillars on it at the garden store! They ate it!

That is somewhat an issue, just like growing dill. Last year when I was pulling carrots I found 4 Black Swallowtail cat on the carrot tops. But, all of the pollinators love the Lovage when it is in bloom -- just make sure to deadhead it after the blooms dry, or the seeds will be everywhere.

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