Success with growing culinary herbs - annuals

Growing herbs for Culinary Use

 I would not begin to involve myself in the medicinal uses of herbs. Although I grow and have grown herbs for many years, I know that growing them for medicinal purposes requires a knowledge which is beyond mine. This can be a potentially dangerous use of these plants. Please use with care. That said - what a huge and hugely interesting subject this is.

Herbs ( as with all plants)can be annual, biennial or perennial.

Annual plants – grown from seed, through flowering to seed in one season – then die. (borage, dill, coriander, cilantro, basil, rocket, mustard, summer savory)

Biennial plants - grown from seed and produce leaves in one year but, flower and produce seeds in the following year – then they die.  Best examples- all varieties of parsley, ( moss curled, Italian flat leaved and turnip rooted or Hamburg); chervil, caraway; rhubarb chard, celery leaf, clary sage.

Perennial plants – Can be grown from seed, from runners, from layering or from cuttings. The range is vast but, my favourites are thyme, sage, rosemary, bay, oregano/marjoram, rosemary, tarragon, mint, lavender and many more

The subject is too wide to cover in one Blog, even covering just culinary herbs. For that reason, in this article I will talk about the annual herbs I grow and use.

I only grow herbs I like to eat though I do like to add something new to my list each year.

Basil - a wonderful annual herb and what an enormous range of different basils is available. This year I’m growing Gecofure, Red basil, Sweet basil and Minette, plus one other which was given to me as a present with un-named packets of seeds and some cute little pots. Basil can be germinated and grown for culinary use all year round but, it can also be very tricky. It doesn't like conditions to be too wet or too warm. Not too cool either. It germinates easily but can suffer from 'damping off' - a fungal disease which will destroy your crop overnight.. It doesn't like its roots disturbed so best not to transplant. That said it grows easily on the window-sill - try sowing successionally - every 3 to 4 weeks. Just eat it as it comes ready. I have tried to grow it outdoors but have not found it particularly successful in our climate. I like the herb best served chopped or shredded in salads, especially with tomatoes. If you are planning to use it in hot dishes it is best to add at the last moment before serving.

Coriander - what a wonderful herb -or spice – depending on which part of the plant you are using. In the UK coriander will run almost straight away to seed. This is great if that is what you want - watch out for fungi / moulds on the seeds in a damp year and do harvest them when ready or they will re-seed the plot. The seeds dry and store well and I always aim to have enough to last me until next season’s crop. Coriander is one of the basic spices in Asian cooking and as a dedicated fan of Asian food I do use a lot of it. Freshly crushed or finely ground spice is so much more aromatic and zestful than bought ones. It is easy to germinate and grow. Sow in drills in well prepared soil any time now. As I am growing 3 different types of coriander this year I’m growing two varieties in drills and the third scatter sown on a flower bed.

Cilantro -If you want to grow coriander for the leaves, use Cilantro (I have bought my seed from Dobies but, many seed companies will have this herb) I have not tried it before having tried, unsuccessfully, for years to grow coriander for its leaf. I only realised recently that it is, although still coriander, a different variety. Actually, I have only seen it for sale as Cilantro this year. Cilantro is an indispensible ingredient in Mexican, Peruvian, Caribbean and Asian cooking. Use it fresh as long as possible but, it does freeze quite well. I chop it coarsely and pack into freezer boxes. Although it does lose some of its flavour when frozen, it is then available to add to dishes all year round.

Watercress – although it is not an annual herb (it is in fact a perennial). Try growing watercress as an annual herb and as a delicious, spicy, peppery addition to soups, salads, etc. It is a member of the brassica family – like cabbages, sprouts, broccoli, etc. You can buy seeds and grow in a large pot of compost. As it is really a water growing plant, it  doesn’t like drying out. Last year I grew it in a tub of wet compost set into another tub of water. It grew magnificently. It does become quite ‘leggy’ after a few weeks. Just break off shoots with roots attached and replant in fresh compost. Actually, last year, that is how I started my watercress crop. I bought a packet of watercress from a supermarket, soaked the best shoots on a jar of water for a few days until the roots had formed, then planted. This year I will start the same process again. It has the advantage of growing at my back door so I can just nip out and pick it when I want to use it. It will grow equally well on an apartment block balcony.

Other useful annual herbs which are easy to grow in our climate – Mizuna, mustard and rocket can be sown outdoors successionally as excellent salad greens. They can be grown on a well prepared bed, in pots and window boxes and are excellent as cut-and-come-again crops. They are often available in packets of mixed salads seeds. Try Marshalls Seeds, they have a good range of these.