Easy summer herbs to grow

21 May 2013

With the exception of bay (a tree) and rosemary (a large bush) and a few others, most herbs will grow as well in a pot on a sunny balcony as they will in the garden.

Many herbs come from rocky hillsides in the Mediterranean so are used to tough conditions.

Herbs are widely available as plants or plugs (mini-plants) but most grow readily from seed. This takes a little longer but is cheap. Seeds suppliers include the Organic Garden catalogue and Suffolk Herbs. 

Buying herb plants or plugs saves you waiting for seedlings to appear. Suppliers include Poyntzfield Herb Nursery, and Norfolk Herbs. 

Parsley 

Parsley has a reputation for being difficult. It isn't really; it's just rather slow to germinate.

It will produce seed in its second year, meaning you won't get much in the way of leaves, so it's best sown every year. 

Sow a pinch of seed in late March in a 9cm pot, cover the top with an old, clear plastic bag or glass - and wait. Three weeks later the seedlings will emerge. 

Once the first true parsley leaves appear, tip out the contents carefully, tease apart the roots with the tip of a knife or pen and plant as many as you need, spaced 5cm apart, in a seed tray to grow on. 

Plant them out in late May about 10cm apart.

Good varieties: champion moss curled, French (plain leaved), Italian giant.

Thyme

Thyme lasts several years without a great deal of attention. 

Sow seed in April and follow advice for parsley. Thyme loves sunshine, so give it a good sunny spot.

After flowering clip it over lightly to encourage a more compact plant.

Good varieties: common thyme, creeping thyme. 

Mint 

Mint can be grown from seed but any little piece of root will make a new plant. 

Many people have spearmint and peppermint in their gardens so you should be able to acquire some easily. 

If you want some of the more remarkable variations with tones of eau de cologne, pineapple, lemon, apple, ginger, even chocolate, you need to buy plants online from a specialist. 

To make a new plant from root cuttings, take a 10cm piece of root in February or March from the outside of the old plant. 

You will need to restrict the spread of the mint roots, otherwise the plant will take over. So if it's going in the ground, as opposed to a pot, it's best to bury it in something that will stop the plant spreading.

I use old compost bags cut in half (these make passable containers too if turned inside out so that the black inner surface is visible).

Poke some holes in the base of the bag for drainage, dig a hole to take the bag and mix that soil roughly 4:1 with garden compost before filling the bag.

Plant the piece of root just below the surface in the middle of the bag. 

Common culinary varieties: spearmint, peppermint, apple mint.

Marjoram 

Like mint, marjoram can be grown from small pieces of an old clump. 

It also grows readily from seed. Follow the advice for parsley and thyme and keep the plant watered in dry weather. 

Marjoram does spread but in a much neater and less aggressive way than mint. 

To maintain neat plants, every three years lift the whole plant, divide a piece off and replant it in a new spot.

Varieties: sweet marjoram, pot marjoram (milder).

Sage 

Sage makes a small bush and you will only ever need one of them. To propagate sage, cut off a 6cm piece of branch and put it in some compost in a small pot. 

Rooting a sage cutting is as easy as falling over. In fact if a sage plant does fall over or droop and touch the soil it sets new roots. If you cut these rooted branches off you have a new plant straightaway.

Sage is relatively short-lived, normally going into decline after 4 to 6 years. To extend its life and keep it tidy clip over the branches every March, cutting back hard to leave 2cm of the previous year's growth. This will look less woody than the rest of the branch. Be careful that you don't cut into the older wood as it is reluctant to sprout from this.

Bob Sherman is Head of Horticulture at Garden Organic.

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