The Tragedy of the kerbs (kitchen herbs, grown hydroponically) is still a mystery. But we’ve taken radical steps. We cut all the dead stuff away from the blighted herbs in the front row–oregano, marjoram, thyme–and then also did a severe pruning on the the healthy herbs in the back–basil, parsley, sage, chives–so that we could lower the light stalk and bring UV closer to the poor sad front row things on life support. Fingers crossed:
At the end of last summer, we harvested all our perbs (pot herbs, on the back deck) and just left the pots outside. And today, ta-da! The chives are growing strong. The sage has definitely over-wintered, and the thyme, I’m pretty sure, is about to burst forth:
Which reminds me of a scene I just wrote in Hild, in which a pregnant woman says: there’s always hope. Sadly for her, she dies.
Moral of the story: real life is better than fiction.
Nicola Griffith 
I don't understand how those chives are coming up in this cold weather.
Hey no spoilers!!
A lot of herbs will overwinter as long as the ground (or pots) don't freeze. Sage, chives, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and a lot of mints will come up year after year. Enjoy!
Jennifer, at this stage I don't know what's staying in the book–plus there are many childbirth scenes, so you don't know which one is being spoiled :)
Dianne, the dill didn't make it (yay! I really took against that stuff), nor did the marjoram. But the chives, oh, the chives are looking luscious.
I bet the stuff you make with your fresh herbs is delicious. All of my spices come in a jar and yes I microwave all my food. My friend Meg says that microwaves suck all the nutrients out of everything but they taste fine to me. Meh.
It's true I'm really trying to avoid microwaves as much as possible. Studies show that Meg is correct. They may taste good, but they are not good for you.
I've even heard of tests where they watered plants with microwaved water next to regular water plants and they died.
And, Nicola, ok, I'm just saying, be careful. I love to hear what's going on with Hild, but I hate spoilers!
Michael, it is. Yum!
Jennifer, if you recall where you saw such a thing, let me know. It makes no sense to me…
jennifer d — According to Carol Byrd-Bredbenner, Ph.D., R.D., professor of nutrition at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey:
Whether you're using a microwave, a charcoal grill, or a solar-heated stove, “it's the heat and the amount of time you're cooking that affect nutrient losses, not the cooking method.”
“The longer and hotter you cook a food, the more you'll lose certain heat- and water-sensitive nutrients, especially vitamin C and thiamine.” Because microwave cooking often cooks foods more quickly, it can actually help to minimize nutrient losses.
Here's more about hoaxes relating to microwaving your food:
http://www.yodisphere.com/2011/02/eating-microwaved-foods-can-cause.html
I read just a few days abot about a new study that showed the molecular structure of food is changed after microwaving. Can't remember where I read it, but I'll look for it. In the mean time there are a some older studies showing some similar results. It has apparently not been thoroughly studied. Here's a link for now to some older info. Scroll the middle for the part about nutrients in food being zapped.
I said that about the water thing because of friend of mine's kid heard about it and tried it as a science experiment – watering plants with and without microwaved water. The microwaved water plants died. Of course there may have been other reasons for that…