HARVEST HERBS – MAKE PLANS FOR MORE

The first cold snap means the writing is on the wall for tenderleafed herbs like basil and rocket. It’s time for the hardier perennials like rosemary, thyme and sage to take their turn flavouring soups and stews. There’s still time to harvest the last of the summer crops and propagate more herb plants.

1. Basil. I’m still harvesting basil. I freeze some as pesto and some just whizzed up with olive oil. Cubes frozen in ice cube trays then transferred to shallow plastic storage boxes are very handy to pop into casseroles or to stir through pasta. I’ve been making a very moreish dip by adding feta cheese to pesto with a little natural Greek yoghurt to thin it a little. This mixture wouldn’t freeze well but that’s not a problem because there is never any left over.

2. Parsley: In warmer areas parsley grows year round. Prolong its life by chopping out the flower stalks. Or let one plant go to seed and self sow next year’s crop.

3. Chives: During a dry spell my garlic chives were infested with black aphids. I dosed the clump a couple of times with soapy water but I wasn’t diligent enough and the aphids prospered and colonised the spring onions, then eyed up the chives too. In the end I chopped the garlic chives down to the ground which made it easier to thoroughly wash the area with soapy water. New growth came through within a week and (fingers crossed) is aphid free. Now’s a good time to divide