Herb Archives - SpadeRunner

Growing watercress; green goodness

September 14, 2015December 29, 2015 Stephen Carlin

Whether you treat it like a herb or a vegetable, growing watercress is rewarding for the home gardener. In the cities you’re likely to find a reliable if costly supply, but I haven’t seen it for sale out here, and it’s very handy to have to pick at anytime for a garnish, or to liven up a sandwich, or on the larger scale to use as the main vegetable in a soup or frittata. A problem with bought watercress is that it tends to be all stem with yellow leaves low down,…

Winter salad (pretending it’s Spring)

July 30, 2015December 14, 2015 Stephen Carlin

Being able to assemble fresh and interesting salads makes you really appreciate growing your own. We had a sunny midwinter day recently where we bucked the easy routine of bread (home made sourdough of course!) and cheese for lunch and had a freshly picked salad.

Mugwort and bees

May 11, 2015December 29, 2015 Stephen Carlin

This morning I was worried I had a bee swarm under the house, there was so much buzzing going on. Turns out the bees are crazy for the flowers on our mugwort and are buzzing round in big numbers with full pollen sacs. They are mainly european honey bees, but also our tiny sugar bag bees and some tiny flies, so a real pollinator feast.

Coriander

August 18, 2012 Stephen Carlin

Leaves, seeds, roots, even pretty flowers. It’s not such a pity when your coriander bolts to flower, just time to sow some more.

Rosemary

July 21, 2012 Stephen Carlin

Having rosemary to pick is kind of a kitchen essential, and a bonus is that it’s a beautiful and perfectly behaved plant. Mine is flowering now, in mid winter, and attracting a few bees. Rosemary is very hardy, grown in a large pot, and long lived. About the only attention it needs is deciding which sprigs to pick in order to keep the shape right.