Herb Patch

Next to my newly constructed leaf mould bin I marked out a bed which I want to devote to herbs. I love cooking with fresh herbs, so what better than to grow my own. It is quite a big bed at the bottom of the site, and wasn't cultivated last year so the earth was fairly hard and compacted. It was also covered with buttercups and the ever present bindweed.

My first attempt was to loosen the earth and turn it over to expose it to the weather - we have had quite a few mornings recently with a sharp frost - and that always helps to break down the ground a bit.

After leaving this patch for a week I then used the "masher" to break down the bigger clods of earth and then gave it a fairly thorough dig. Two trips to the bonfire site followed where the wheelbarrow was piled fairly high with all the weeds. I left it again for another week and dug it yet again and then gave it a very thick top coat of manure. I will leave this for a few weeks (probably until the end of March), let the worms get to work on it and then dig in the manure in readiness for planting some herbs. Some herbs I will plant direct into the soil and some I will start off in the greenhouse and transplant at a later date.

The herbs I want to grow in my bed are coriander, parsley, oregano, chives, garlic chives, basil and thyme. If there is any space left in the bed, I will fill it with radishes and spring onions.