Herbs for the windowsill

If you don’t have the room, or time, to maintain a full herb garden, it’s worth growing a few herbs on a sunny windowsill inside.  Fresh herbs have an entirely different flavour to the dried varieties, so much so that once you’ve used fresh, you will probably never want to use the dried versions again.  A herb that I use regularly is thyme.  A culinary plant native to Southern Europe, thyme is widely used in European, particularly French cuisine – on poultry, fish, meat, vegetables, stuffings and in sauces.

Growing from seed could take up to a year.  If that is too long to wait, buy a small plant from a garden centre and start by planting in a 6″ clay pot.  Put plenty of crocks** in the bottom of the pot and use a light potting compost.  (Thyme grows naturally on dry, sunny hillsides so you’re aiming to mimic those conditions).

There are several varieties, from plants like broad-leaved thyme that grows just 6″ high, to common thyme, reaching 15 inches.  My favourite is probably Lemon Thyme.  It has a delicious flavour and the plant, if left to its own devices, will form a mound of bright green foliage about 12″ high.

To care for your plant: Water sparingly, trim lightly and regularly to keep compact (obviously not a problem if you’re using it in cooking)!

**pieces of old broken pots

Potting / re-potting plants

The basics

Clay pots, I think, look prettier, weather down nicely and are easier to keep well watered because of their porous nature.

‘Crocks’ tend to be bits of old, broken pots.  A single layer of crocks placed in the bottom of a pot before planting aids drainage, an important part of maintaining healthy plants.

Potting compost - a sterile mix of peat, vermiculite, perlite and soil conditioners that provide plants with nutrients, adequate drainage and aeration.  (Local natural soil could be used but ideally should be heat sterilised at 200F for at least 30 minutes in order to stop the spread of any harmful bacteria).

Plant food / fertiliser - plants in the closed environment of a pot occasionally need extra nutrients to aid growth.  How regularly they are used and the strength of solution depends upon the plant and time of year.  Plants follow a cycle of growth and rest so feeding them all year long is unnecessary.

The crown of the plant - The crown of the plant is where the stem meets the roots.  Most plants are planted so that the crown is at soil level.  Burying the crown below soil level can lead to the stem rotting and the plant dying.

HOW TO RE-POT

Get a pot that is one size larger than the container your plant is currently in (sizes are measured as the diameter of the pot’s upper rim).

Put a layer of crocks in the bottom of your new pot, then a layer of potting compost – remember, the aim is to keep the crown of your re-potted plant at soil level.

Take the plant you want to re-pot.  Slot your fingers, palm side down around the stem of your plant and turn it upside down, so that it is now sitting on the palm of your hand.  Gently tap the bottom of the up-turned pot and the plant should now easily slide out.

Put it in its new container and fill in the empty sides with potting compost.  Press down gently and continue to fill until the soil level is at the same level as the plant’s crown.

Water well.

'Pot bound'

How can you tell when a plant has out-grown its container and is ‘pot bound’?

The tell-tale signs:

That you’re having to water it much more often

If you have a look under the pot and can see roots, chances are it needs a bigger pot.