OwnGrown

We have been using this since mid May in salads and as a cooked vegetable. These plants are starting to go to seed but they are a very useful quick growing crop at the time of the year just before everything has started to get going properly. In hot weather they will tend to bolt so don’t sow at that time of the year.

A complete section of lemon grass growing in a pot was sliced off the plant using a sharp knife straight down into the root. The straggly pieces at the top were cut off and the the bottom 6 - 8″ put into a jar of water to grow roots before being planted in a pot. This picture shows the plant in water and a small piece of the original root. Alternatively you can use lemon grass from a supermarket and put this in water as described for last year.

The plain leaved parsley, sometimes called French or Italian, is milder than the more common (in the UK) curly leaved variety with what many consider to be a finer flavour. They can be sown directly outside at this time of the year but have been sown in small Jiffy pots inside for later planting in the same pots outside. Don’t grow them as you see in the supermarkets with multiple plants all together resulting in weak, straggy plants with little flavour.

Sown in small Jiffy pots - about 4 seeds per pot which will be reduced to one plant per pot later. These are left in a propagator inside as they need high temperatures to germinate and will be planted outside in early June near the tomatoes, in full sun and out of the wind.

This is very fast growing. This first sowing will be followed by others at three to four week intervals. The seedlings are thinned to 6″ apart and should be ready for use in about four weeks. Rocket may run to seed in hot weather.

Sowed dill in two 4′ long rows and covered lightly with compost. These should be in a sunny position and sheltered from wind as the plants will blow over easily. There will be further sowings later.

Sowed two 4′ rows of coriander direct into open ground next tothe dill.

A couple of plants outside were repotted at the beginning of last winter and brought inside for use during the winter. These were then put outside again at the end of March. Parsley Darki seeds were sown in mid March in small pots inside. Germination was faster than usual in about a week. The seedlings will be thinned out to one per pot and transplanted outside in May.

The Lemon Grass has grown well outside but it has been a hot summer. Individual pieces have been used by cutting them at the base with a sharp knife. Now moved inside at the beginning of October where it will stay (and be used) until next June.

Pick from June onwards - regular picking encorouges growth. Can be picked in winter but you can also put a plant in a pot on a windowsill for winter use.