All the following herbs have been tried and tested by Woo over the years. Grown individually in pots, or grouped in boxes and containers with great success, making them ideal for any budding urban gardener.
Herbs are ideal when grown on a patio, balcony, window ledge, inside or out - whatever your space, you can grow for your kitchen table! Handy points to keep in mind when growing herbs:
Some like more frequent watering, like parsley, basil and chillies. Whereas rosemary, thyme and sages prefer drier ground, comparable to their native Mediterranean soil.
All thrive in sun and partial shade positions, sheltered from strong winds.
When re-potting herbs into containers, put a little drainage in the base of any container before planting, including drip trays if multipurpose compost (peat free) is used.
When using tap water, leave the water to stand for at least 24 hrs. Thymes have a disliking for water straight from the tap, so where possible use collected rainwater from community water butt’s if available.
Allium Schoenoprasum | Chives
Clump forming. When using leaves and flowers, harvest whole leaves from bottom. If tip is chopped the leaf will die back wasting that part of the herb.
Anethum Graveolen | Dill
Great substitute for Fennel, use leaves and seeds.
Coriandrum | Coriander
These leaves great in curries and sauces, split plants and re-pot into 2 to 3 separate pots.
Capsicum | Chillis
Harvested peppers can be dried.
Laurus Nobilis | Bat Tree
An evergreen herb. Grow on own, harvest leaves.
Melissa | Lemon Balm
Leaves used in cooking and salads.
Menth | Mint
Grow on own, harvesting leaves.
Ocimum Basilcum | Basil
Spilt bought plants into 2 to 3 bundles before re-potting. When harvesting, cut off at ‘leaf joints’ and plant will regenerate and last longer.
Origanum | Marjoram
Many varieties available. Golden Marjoram has slight lemon scent.
Petroselinum | Parsley
Moss curled and flat leaf.
Rosmarinus | Rosemary
Evergreen shrub, ideal for flavouring roasted meats.
Salvia | Sage
Another evergreen with few varieties available.
Thymus | Thyme
Evergreen. Harvest leaves may be removed from stems either by scraping with the back of a knife, or by pulling through the fingers or tines of a fork. Thyme retains its flavour on drying better than many other herbs.