Although this is the busiest time of year for foodie gardeners, there's very little to harvest after such a cold spring.
In our garden we've only got kail, broccoli, spring cabbage and a few lettuce and chard leaves. If, like me, you're very lucky, you'll eke this out with seakale, good king henry and hop shoots, the forerunners of the very first asparagus spears. Like many folk, I'm also scouring the ground for the earliest nettle and ground elder leaves.
During this all-too-long "hungry gap", fresh herbs come into their own. Chives and tree onions have grown enough to be snipped, and ramsons, or wild garlic, are freely available if you let them spread. Ramsons thrive in cool, damp corners - half my burn side is carpeted with them. I take full advantage of this garlicky bonanza, but you could contain a plant in a pot. Their delightful white flowers will soon appear, ready to adorn any salad.
The clean, lemony tang of sorrel has been a welcome addition to salads and sandwiches for a few weeks, ever since the first leaves were only 5cm long. The incorrigible mollusc clan shares my enthusiasm for sorrel, so I offer them a glass of beer in nearby traps, hoping they'll slake their thirst before tackling my herbs.
Mint, especially spearmint, is another reliable toughie. The first leaves are on the scene before the more tender peppermints and pineapple mint. It's tender young shoots are ready for picking when 8-10cm long and, unlike most herbs, I give it a quick wash to remove bits of grit stuck in the leaves' grooves and wrinkles.
I normally avoid washing fresh garden herbs, which concentrate essential oils on the outer part of their leaves as protection against excessive amounts of UV light and to deter grazers. Unfortunately for the plants, these volatile oils produce the very scent and flavours we want, so washing would be counterproductive. Sadly, rain can do more than enough washing anyway.
Soil with too much added fertiliser and watering encourages soft, flabby growth. This dilutes rather than concentrates the essential oils, thus reducing flavour and nutrition. Not only that, but lush growth is much more susceptible to damage from late frosts.
As a general rule, you get best results from established culinary herbs by treating them roughly. This is especially important for woody, Mediterranean herbs. To enjoy the intense flavour of thyme, savoury, oregano and sage, grow them in gritty, very free-draining soil and do not water or fertilise them. Be kinder to new plantings, though. After preparing a hole, water and then plant out. Keep an eye on them until the roots have spread beyond the original confines of their pots. You may need to water them - sparingly - during a dry spell.
Some herbs should be treated differently to this. Bay, rosemary and french tarragon live permanently in pots because they must be sufficiently portable that they can be moved into shelter from snow, cold winds and low temperatures. Top dress sparingly with general-purpose fertiliser every spring and repot every three or four years. You may eventually have to jettison a plant that becomes too large.
Oregano completely dies back and last year's stalks should be removed. With evergreens, like sage and thyme, trim off any old flower stems and cut out dead and damaged twigs.
This is a good time to trim other woody herbs which die back in winter, such as hyssop and winter savoury. Look closely to find tiny new leaves appearing at the bottom of old stems, cutting back to just above that point. If you get close enough, you'll catch a whiff of the scent coming from these leaves. Scent is as important as flavour when it comes to herbs.
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