Everydayherbsthat willsaveyouapacket

Some important herbs are annual. These grow, flower and set seed all in the same year, then die, so they have to be grown freshly from seed every year.

I sow the seeds in march and April and they are ready to plant out after the last frosts. Some, such as parsley and borage, are hardy but others, such as basil, are frost-tender and can’t be sown directly or planted outdoors until after the last possible risk of frost.

It’s worth doing all you can to create the best possible growing conditions for your herbs.

PARSLEY is rich in vitamin C and iron, folic acid and flavonoids. But more importantly, it tastes delicious: fresh and clean and good.

Flat-leaf parsley has a better flavour and texture, although the curly-leaf type is good, too. Flat- leaf is easier to grow because it is tolerant of a wider range of temperatures and soils.

You can, of course, buy little pots of it, packed with dozens of spindly little plants. But if you grow it yourself from seed, prick out the seedlings early by carefully lifting them from the soil, then planting them at least 6in apart. That way they will develop a long tap root and really substantial foliage that can be picked for months.

Parsley is a biennial, meaning it flowers the year after being sown, and is related to parsnips (although the similar name is a coincidence), celery, fennel and other biennial umbellifers.

CORIANDER is easy to grow in the same way, although it is much more inclined to run to seed — but then the seed is half the harvest and when collected will store very well.

BASIL is one of my favourite herbs and I grow a lot to make pesto (see panel). But it is an Asian plant and extremely tender — a hint of frost will reduce it to black rags — and needs lots of sun, water and a rich soil. The trick is to grow it fast once it has germinated, so it never becomes leathery, and to harvest the leaves

regularly or as one crop. It freezes very well.

DILL is a member of the carrot family and is best sown directly into the ground, but I also sow a pinch of seeds per 3in pot, thinning out the seedlings to a healthy plant per pot, then placing them in a border before the tap root gets too big.

BORAGE, like fennel, will seed itself and become a welcome garden invader for its brilliant blue flowers. The foliage is covered in abrasive little hairs, so wear gloves when handling.

SUMMER SAVORY is a mediterranean annual — but because it is an annual, it copes better with heavier soils than other mediterranean herbs.

It has a lovely peppery tang and is the perfect accompaniment to beans of any sort.

TOMORROW: MONTY’S PICK OF THE BEST FRUIT TREES