Parsley, dill and coriander are 3 of our favourite herbs. You get a real buzz nipping into the garden for an extra handful to round off a dish.
And don’t despair if you‘ve been told they’re tricky to grow as a few simple rules will give all the herbs you need for recipes. In my book that’s 10-15 parsley plants, a minimum of 10 corianders and 5 - 10 dill.
Just give the herbs sun, shelter, moderately fertile soil and moist growing conditions. And good elbow room is essential. Overcrowding and poor, dry soil inevitably leads to bolting.
The herbs belong to the Apiaceae family of plants, so have long tap roots and don’t take kindly to transplanting. Ideally, like carrots, they’d be direct sown, but successful germination depends on warmth they’re unlikely to get in Scotland. So start them off under protection.
You can buy parsley plants in garden centres, but they’re multiple sown in small plugs. And if transferred to larger pots before sale, their roots are so enmeshed, they can’t be separated without causing damage.
The answer is to sow your own seed. Treat curled or flat-leaved parsley the same way. But when choosing coriander, select a variety described as suitable for leaf production as modern cooking calls for more fresh leaves than seed.
Despite its notorious reputation, parsley germinates perfectly well in warm conditions. A propagator and fairly open compost have always worked for me and seedlings are ready for pricking out after a month.
Dill and coriander germinate successfully at lower temperatures, in a greenhouse or even on a sunny windowsill. An indoor growing system, like the IKEA one I mentioned last year, is a good alternative.
Sow these larger seeds individually in root trainers or modules, harden off after a month and plant out. Unlike parsley, dill and coriander will reward any root disturbance with premature bolting.
Relatively tougher parsley thrives in most sunny parts of the garden. When transplants are ready, plant 15cm apart and enjoy the first harvest in July from an April sowing. Keep cropping till autumn. Some plants survive the winter and will provide a few pickings before going to seed.
Dill and coriander now need much cosier conditions. At an altitude of 200 metres, I’ve learned it’s pointless trying to plant them outdoors but can rely on fine 90cm dill plants in the polytunnel. Slightly more tender coriander thrives in a greenhouse bed.
In warmer spots than mine, plant dill and coriander in the open ground once night temperatures never fall below 7C. Even then, a cool, wet summer will scupper your chances. Allow 20cm between dill plants and 10cm for coriander and, when siting the herbs, remember dill can reach between 60 and 90cm.
You could treat dill and coriander as cut and come again crops. Sow in lines, thinning to 5-10cm between plants, not forgetting to use the thinnings. Let coriander grow to 10cm, dill 20cm, then cut whole plants, leaving 5cm to allow for regrowth.
Dill and coriander perform beautifully in containers. Moist, fertile compost and directly sown seed should ensure no bolting.
Keep pots warm and out of the wind till plants are at least 10cm tall and then move to a fairly sunny place within easy reach of the kitchen. Plant both herbs 15cm apart and have plant supports to hand for your mighty dill.
Ever accommodating parsley also grows well in pots, provided it’s given decent root space. Allow at least 20cm and preferably 30cm settled depth of compost. Each parsley plant needs around 7 litres. More confined spaces means much more frequent watering and feeding.
Plant of the week
Erythronium ‘White Beauty’. Prettily veined leaves and elegant white flowers. Needs partial shade, moist in spring but dry in summer. This member of the lily family is sometimes called dog’s tooth violet.
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