Epazote Seeds

Epazote is a popular Central American herb used by native Mexicans since antiquity. Its strong musky flavor gives unique taste to Mexican and other Latin American cuisines. Its young shoots and leaves used like vegetable in soups while mature, pungent leaves used as digestive and carminatives in bean, fish and corn dishes.

Useful gardening information

Sow indoors in April/May and transplant or sow direct outdoors once soil warms up in early June. Optimal temperature for germination: 70°F. Bottom heat speeds germination. Seeds should sprout in 7-14 days.
Press seeds into the soil and barely cover. Keep moist until germination and transplant or thin plants to stand 6" apart in the row.
Epazote is an unfussy plant that will grow in even poor soils. Grow in full sun for best results, in a warm spot in the garden.

Links to useful information on the web:

Epazote uses and info

JB170 Epazote ( Chenopodium ambrosioides )

Often recipes we enjoy in ethnic restaurants seem to elude us when we try to recreate them at home. Usually this is because we don't get the seasonings quite right. Sometimes the herbs and spices that are used in the recipe don't seem to appeal to our palate or our noses even though the dish we were served was divine. For instance, both Arugula and Cilantro have strong unusual odors that often put discerning noses out of joint.

Epazote is such an herb. Epazote is used medicinally to treat internal parasites. Epazote is an abundant weed in Mexico and parts of northern South America. There, its bitter, musky, lemon flavor is used to spice up everything from beans and squash to pork and crab cakes. Young leaves can be wilted and added to soups or stews or combined with other greens, just as chicory or sorrel would be used in early spring. It is often used with other herbs, like Mexican Oregano and Cilantro, and, of course, chilies.

A tender perennial herb, Epazote has proven itself hardy in our Zone 8 winters. It dies back to the ground each winter but returns in spring. A heat loving herb whose flavors are best when grown in full sun, Epazote can be grown in a medium size container and placed on sunny window or under lights for the winter, if your winters dip much below 20.

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