Cool herbs for autumn dining
QUICK AND EASY: ROCKET, CHERVIL AND CORIANDER CAN BE SOWN DIRECTLY INTO THE SOIL
They can be grown in pots for the patio, sunny courtyard or the balcony.
It will soon be time to sow cool season herbs that can be harvested well ahead of their companion vegetables that form the mainstay of the autumn and winter veggie garden.
Rocket, chervil, coriander, lemon balm and salad burnet add a range of flavours to salads and light autumn meals, as well as to fine dining, curries, soups and even dessert.
The beauty of herbs is that the younger the leaves, the tastier they are. Unlike winter veggies, that have longer growing period, herbs are quick and easy edibles.
WHAT’S TO LIKE
Rocket has a lovely peppery flavour while coriander, also known as cilantro, is more aromatic and is a popular ingredient in Thai cooking. Both herbs can be added to salads and used as a flavourful garnish for soups, meat, egg and vegetable dishes as well as being made into pesto.
Chervil has an anise flavour and is one of the Fines-herbs in French fine dining. It is used to flavour sauces and soups. Lemon balm has a subtle lemon flavour that shows up well in desserts, drinks and soothing teas. Salad Burnett’s young leaves have a fresh cucumber flavour.
COOL SEASON GROWING TIPS
All these herbs grow easily from seed. They like light, well-drained soil and full sun with some shelter from frost during winter.
Rocket, chervil and coriander can all be sown directly into the soil or into large seed trays. By sowing thickly, the early growth can be thinned out and used as micro greens or baby leaves. The plants left behind can mature or treated as cut-and-come again herb salad leaves.
They can also be grown in pots for the patio, sunny courtyard or balcony.
Lemon balm and salad burnet are both bushy herbs that are probably better started in seed trays for transplanting into the garden or into pots.
Water regularly so that the soil remains moist but not soggy. Lemon balm in particular doesn’t like soggy soil.
Fertilise with an organic liquid fertiliser like Margaret Roberts Organic Supercharger once the herb seedlings have germinated and thereafter once a month. It contains both macro and micronutrients.
HERB PROFILES
Rocket is a quick growing annual with peppery, nutty tasting lobed, green leaves. Pick the leaves frequently to prevent it from getting straggly and don’t let it flower. It grows best in autumn and spring because it tends to bolt in summer. Grow in moist, well composted soil.
Lemon balm has a light lemon fragrance and flavour. It is a compact, leafy herb (30 to 40cm high) that will go through winter if grown in a sheltered, warm place, protected from frost. Regular picking will produce a bushier, leafier plant. It flowers in summer, producing small white blossoms with sweet nectar that attracts the bees.
Chervil is also known as French parsley for its lacy green leaves that are similar to parsley. It is part of the “Fines Herbes”, a mix of chervil, tarragon, parsley and chives that’s used to add an elegant, subtle flavour to mild egg dishes, sauces, soups and poultry. Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) is particularly easy to grow from seed. Space plants 30cm
apart. Seed germinates within two to three weeks. Plants grow 45 to 60cm high and the leaves can be harvested early as mini leaves or from 60 days. For the best flavour, use the fresh leaves or add them towards the end of cooking. Salad Burnet is a lesser-known perennial herb. This low growing, bushy herb has small red flowers and is a good border plant in the flower or herb garden. In very cold areas it may die back in winter but will shoot again in spring. Pick the young leaves frequently to encourage new
growth.