The herb garden on the plot is going crazy!

Sage is enormous, thyme flowing everywhere, chives have seeded all over the place and the applemint that we thought had been dug up is also popping up where it shouldn’t!

This is great, but we need to find a way to use or preserve them asap…

The most popular, and possibly easiest, way to preserve herbs seems to be to dry them, so that’ll do for us to start with!  First one we’re trying out is sage… we’ll let you know how it all goes

We’ve also had some tips on oven-drying and freezing which we will certainly try out in the coming weeks.

Please let us know how you like to preserve your herbs… we have never done this before so need all the help we get!

Today we almost cleared the area where Marjory used to live, levelling out and digging out the blasted dandelions…

New canes for the raspberries has tidied up that section very well and they’re looking very healthy, so here’s hoping for a good crop

The herbs are coming back strong, they always look a bit pathetic after the winter months, but the sage, thyme and chives are looking fabulous. The lavender isn’t looking quite so good and we have lost one of them – we shall replace it as we found it great for attracting bees.
 

Garlic is fab – the entire row has sprouted So glad we properly weeded that section as the leaves look a lot like grass! It’s not grass, honest!

Raspberries are doing well too – leaves are looking really healthy so far – one of the six canes doesn’t seem to be doing much, but we can see a little bud near the base, so hopefully that’ll be fine. We do need to create some sort of supporting structure for them, but so far we’ve left them alone… need to think about the best option.

Nearly had a disaster with potatoes before they were even planted… we’d left them chitting away in their bag, but Lisa’s husband thought they’d gone bad so binned them! Luckily the bin men hadn’t been so he redeemed himself by rummaging in the bin! We’ve not yet planted them, but want to get them in very soon.

All of a sudden the chives have sprung into action and are looking really good too… and no, that’s not grass either, we tasted some!

Our mint isn’t looking great, but it’s running everywhere. I think we’ll have to dig it out properly and replant a small bit of it – in a pot this time!!

Wildlife is up and about too… a robin, blackbird and a few sparrows were fighting over some worms while we were digging (yes, still digging, but doing it properly is really going to help us in the long run).

Lisa came up with a very unusual way of creating paths between the rows through the development of the ‘wiggle walk’. Looks a bit strange but is very effective – we are sure everyone will be doing it soon.

Planted today:
Lavender (4 types)
Thyme (2 types)
Tarragon
Parsley (well – we moved it!)
Coriander
Sage
Chives
Onions
Leeks
Courgettes
Bay

We have decided what we’ll be growing though!

In no particular order:
Leeks
Onions
Garlic
Radish
Lettuce
Endive
French Beans
Courgette
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Cabbage
Potatoes
Carrots
Parsnips
Beetroot
Asparagus

and herbs…

Salvia (sage)
Bay
Basil
Peppermint
Coriander
Thyme
Chives
Parsley
Tarragon
and some Lavender, Calendula and Camomile (because we like them!)