Give herbs some attention now
Giving them some attention now will encourage fresh, new growth
Most of the herbs we grow are in pots and over the summer months they stand outside in a sunny spot close to the house, where they’re convenient for the kitchen. The majority are hardy, although a few, such as lemon verbena and blackcurrant sage, prefer a little winter protection.
But over winter all our pot herbs are kept in the polytunnel, where they’re at least protected from excessive wet, which is often a killer for plants that come from the Mediterranean region. At this time of year the plants are still looking a bit drab and dormant, but very soon they’ll start into growth. One of the advantages of having them undercover is they’ll grow a little earlier than outside and produce some fresh, new growth for early picking.
The first thing to do with all the established plants is give them a good tidy-up, which involves picking off any dead leaves and stems. On woody plants, such as sage and rosemary, I also give them a trim to encourage new, bushy growth.
The older, established herbs in clay pots are then top-dressed with some new compost. To do this I simply scrape off the top inch or two of old compost and replenish it with some fresh. This supplies extra nutrients to keep the plants growing and encourages a stronger root system.
I also like to pot up some new herbs to grow on in the polytunnel. These are small plants I bought last year and, once potted into larger pots, they soon start to make new growth that’s ideal for picking early. Where possible I try to grow them all in clay pots – not only do they look good, they’re warm and the fact they’re porous means they’re airy and moist so suit the herbs. For all herbs I use my favourite mix of half and half John Innes and multi-purpose compost.