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In your herb garden in October

The main jobs in the herb garden for October are clearing up and preparation for winter. Add spent herbs to the compost heap, lift and divide established clumps of perennial herbs, such as marjoram, lemon balm, sage and sorrel, and mulch bare soil for the winter.

This is a good time to start planning a new herb garden, or think about changes you want to make to an existing one.

It is the best time of year to plant hardy perennial herbs such as rosemary, sage, yarrow and southernwood.

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The new 2009 Organic Gardening Catalogue is available online at www.organiccatalogue.com or order by phone 0845 130 1304

Things to do in the herb garden this month

• Clear up dead flowers and leaves. Remove annuals and second year biennials that have finished flowering. Remember to collect the seed, or to scatter them before removing the plants. Fork over bare soil and add a mulch of leafmould where possible.
• Remove any weeds, especially perennials.
• Take inside plants such as mint, parsley, French tarragon and perennial basils. Pot them up to provide a continual winter supply. They need a sunny, light, frost-free yet cool environment such as an unheated conservatory. You may be able to keep them outside in a sheltered spot close to the house with a little attention to frost protection on the very coldest nights.
• Divide plants of herbaceous (perennial plants that die down each winter) herbs such as costmary (also known as alecost), lady's mantle, chives, lemon balm, bergamot, sorrel, oregano, hyssop, lovage, sage and pennyroyal.
•  
  Divide plants of
  Bergamot and Hyssop
• Take tender herbs under cover. This group of herbs can live outside during the summer in most places, but cannot withstand the winter, and are often grown in pots to make moving easier. They include scented pelargoniums, balm of Gilead, lemon grass, lemon verbena, pineapple sage and French lavender.
  
  

  In colder areas, young bay and myrtle trees will also benefit from being taken under cover. A cool greenhouse or conservatory will be ideal. If the weather turns very cold, provide extra protection by wrapping the plants in hessian or bubble wrap.

• Take semi-ripe cuttings See below for information about taking semi-ripe cuttings
• 
  Comfrey can be divided now
• Continue to divide perennial herbs that have become too large or are losing vigour, such as comfrey, elecampane, mint, sorrel, Welsh onion.
• Plant evergreen hedges See below for information about planting a herbal hedge.
• Protect with mesh, fleece or cloches, those herbs growing outside that can be used fresh through the winter months, such as parsley, chervil, lemon thyme and salad burnet
• Cut back and clear debris from around herbaceous herbs like skullcap Virginia (Scutellaria lateriflora), alecost (Tanacetum balsamita) and woodsage (Teucrium scorodonia).
  
  
• 
  Check your mint plants
  for rust now

• Check your mint plants thoroughly for any signs of rust – characterised by orange blobs usually on the underside of the leaves. This can kill mint plants if allowed to get a hold. Remove any affected leaves and send them to your local green waste recycling centre, do not add them to your home compost heap as it will not get hot enough to kill the rust spores. In severe cases, remove the whole plant.

  If it was growing in the ground, you will need to find a new place for your mint and replace the old ones with something else. If the mint was growing in a pot, send the compost to the green waste recycling, along with the plant, then thoroughly scrub and disinfect the pot with Citrox, a citrus based disinfectant, before adding new plants and growing media.

  Citrox is available from The Organic Gardening Catalogue

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Flavour from the garden this month

Some herbs are still available for harvesting this month. Harvest plants sparingly over the winter to avoid removing too much growth and damaging them.

• Bay (Laurus nobilis) Perennial
  Bay leaves are a delicious addition to soups and stews. Dry small bunches of leaves by tying together and hanging upside down in a warm, dry, dark place. An airing cupboard is ideal. Once crisp, store in a dark, airtight container.
  Bay trees make very attractive container plants. If temperatures are known to drop below -5 °C (25 °F) bring plants into the greenhouse or conservatory.
• 
  Golden Marjoram
• Marjoram (Origanum sp.) Perennial
  There are many different species of marjoram. They provide an evergreen groundcover in the herb garden with delicious leaves for the pot throughout the year.
  Marjoram looks lovely in a container. Small pots can be placed on the window ledge for easy picking.
• Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) Biennial
  A well known herb and a great favourite for salads and soups, as well as sauces. Protect the plant throughout the winter for a constant supply.
• Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Perennial
  Rosemary is a beautiful evergreen herb which graces the herb garden. This herb can be kept clipped as an edging plant or hedge. Add sprigs of rosemary to soups and casseroles or sprinkled over potatoes, drizzled in olive oil for roasting.
  Rosemary tea can be used as a mouthwash for bad breath problems
• Sage (Salvia sp.)
  There are many aromatic sage plants suitable for the herb garden. They provide evergreen leaves all year round. A delicious addition to stuffing and nut roasts.
  Sage tea is a good remedy for sore throats. Gargle with a warm infusion of this herb.
• Sorrel (Rumex sp.) Perennial
  There are several species of sorrel suitable for the herb garden. Rumex scutatus, 'French sorrel' adds a sharp flavour to salads, omelettes and soups. This herb grows well in a container.
  Organic sorrel seed available from the Organic Gardening Catalogue
• 
  Golden Thyme
  
• Thyme (Thymus sp) Perennial
  Thymes provide a useful evergreen or good ground cover all year round. Some thymes have a welcoming citrus flavour, suitable for vinegars and oils.
  The flowers of this herb are very popular with bees and other beneficial insects. Grows well in a container, requiring very low nutrient levels in the growing medium.
  
  
  
• 
  Rosehips
  If there has not yet been a frost, there is still time to pick rosehips and make some rosehip syrup for those winter colds. Any hips can be used, although the ones from Rosa rugosa are the largest and juiciest.
  • Take 900g of rosehips and mince them in a food processor, add them immediately to 1.8 litres of boiling water.
  • Bring it back to the boil then take it off the heat and leave for 15 minutes.
  • Pour through a jelly bag, then return to the pan.
  • Next add another 0.8 litres of boiling water, stand for another 10 minutes before pouring back through the jelly bag and returning it to the saucepan again.
  • Boil until just 0.8 litre remains, then add 500g of sugar. Dissolve the sugar, then boil for a further 10 minutes.
  • Store in sterilised bottles in the dark.
  Once it is opened, it will only keep for a week so use small bottles. Can be taken neat or with boiling water for a vitamin C hit to ward away winter coughs and colds.

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Herbs to propagate this month

Seed Sowing

• Catnep (Nepeta camphorata) Perennial
  Unlike the usual purple-flowered catmints, this one produces small white flowers. Sow seed in seed trays or plugs and cover with thin layer of compost or perlite. Place in warm area or provide bottom heat if possible. Dried catmint leaves can be used to stuff cat toys.
• Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium) Annual
  Sow seeds where plants are to grow, in a cold greenhouse or under cloches. A tasty aniseed flavoured herb for salads, cheese and egg dishes.
• 
  Parsley -
  a favourite herb
• Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) Annual/perennial
  Parsley is a well known, favourite herb. Sow in the greenhouse or place on the window ledge for a continual supply throughout the winter. Sow seed in pots or modules, as this herb dislikes root disturbance. A propagator with bottom heat will speed up germination.
  Parsley needs moisture, so make sure you do not allow the pots to dry out.

Cuttings to take

Take semi-ripe cuttings of the following:

• Bay (Laurus nobilis)
• Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis)
• Cotton lavender (Santolina sp)
• Southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum)
• Lavenders (Lavandula sp)
• Thymes (Thymus sp)
• Curry plant (Helichrysum italicum)
• Box (Buxus sempervirens)

Semi-ripe cuttings

Semi-ripe cuttings can be taken from late summer to late autumn. Semi-ripe means that the base of the stem to be cut is firm, only slightly flexible, in comparison to the soft stems of a softwood cutting.

• Semi-ripe cuttings are taken mid to late summer and sometimes early autumn.
• Select current seasons growth. Check the shoots are firm at the base, soft and pliable at top
• Take cuttings 10-15cm (4-6in) long with sharp knife/secateurs. Cut below a node (where leaf joins stem)
• Remove lower leaves
• Place cuttings 8-10cm apart in a pot or tray containing a free-draining compost. A standard cuttings compost contains 50:50 sand and a peat free compost. Do not allow leaves to touch compost, or other leaves
• Firm compost
• Label with name and date
• Water
• Over winter the cuttings in a cold frame/greenhouse/shady window ledge

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Stratifying seeds

Some herbs, including lovage and angelica, need to be sown when their seed is fresh for best results. You can easily collect your own seed from plants in the garden as it becomes ripe, and now is the time to sow. These seeds also benefit from a period of exposure to cold, to break dormancy, known as stratification. To mimic the conditions that would occur naturally, fill a pot or seed tray with moist compost and sow the fresh seed onto it. Cover with a thin layer of sand, and place a piece of glass or plastic on top to prevent birds, mice or strong wind from disturbing the seeds. Find a shady, sheltered site outdoors to leave the seeds; a cold frame is ideal. In spring, transplant the treated seed into pots or straight into position.

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Herbal hedges

Many formal herb gardens are divided by evergreen hedges, providing structure as well as shelter. Traditionally, slow growing box and yew have been used; these are best suited to larger gardens where they have plenty of space and will not compete too strongly for water and nutrients with the other herbs. Prepare holes for individual plants, using a handful of bonemeal (available from the Organic Gardening Catalogue) in each to help root development. Water plants in thoroughly. If the winter is very cold and/or windy, young hedging plants will appreciate some protection. Insert canes into the soil to support windbreak material or netting for extra shelter.

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