Time to grow herbs

 
Growing your own herbs can be great fun and easy too if you have a bit of grow-how to get you going. Our in-house experts advise:

• It’s a good idea to plan where you are going to have your herb garden before you do anything else. Most herbs are happiest in sunny or half sun, half shade positions and in well-drained soil, so make sure your garden meets these requirements for happy herb growing.

• Many herbs will grow happily in poor soil and will grow in very dry conditions as long as it is well-drained. If your soil is reasonable then dig lightly to remove any weeds before planting.
• Something else to consider when deciding on the location of your herb garden is whether or not it is close to the door into the house so you can pop out while you’re cooking and snip a few bits. You should also consider where you walk in the garden as the plants are wonderfully aromatic so a pathway through them is perfect for raising the spirits.
• It’s also important to choose a range of herbs that look attractive and complement each other. Select by foliage, colour and usefulness in the kitchen.
• When planting, dig a hole slightly larger than the pot and fill it with a planting or multipurpose compost and water well. During the growing season feed your herbs with a granular feed such as Growmore in March and June or you can do this monthly with a liquid feed.
• Most herbs do not grow to be too big so space them out around 18 inches apart. In future years prune down hard, usually using shears in March.