Supermarket Herbs

If like me you pick up the odd pot of herbs from the supermarket then you will also know how quickly these die.

You can buy the pots for less than one pound usually. The pots are over filled so the first thing you need to do is take the plant out of the supermarket pot and separate the plant into two. This will allow the plant to live longer many like Thyme, Rosemary and Mint can live for years.

Repot the plant. The pots need to be free draining, I buy pots with little saucers too. Make sure your pot is bigger than the pot it is already in. Many plants don't survive because they are root bound. Which means the pot is too small so the roots have no where to go.

I made some cute labels for mine with my label maker.

Next you need to water your herbs regularly I like to add a bit of water to the saucer too... DO NOT overwater though.

Next you need to harvest the plants .

BASIL

Only the tips of the basil need to be removed every two to three weeks. Remove the tips on the node without removing the small leaves. (nodes are where the leaves grown from the stem)

CORIANDER

Remove a couple of the stems from the outside of the plant this allows the middle of the plant to bush out more. Coriander can bolt easily which just means go to seed, so you need to do this regularly to stop that.

MINT

Harvest every two or three weeks the same as Basil.

PARSLEY AND DILL

In the same way you harvest coriander but remove all the mature stems. Leave the small ones to grow more

I like to have the herbs in the kitchen window, but you can keep them outside too. They make a fragrant border.

So once you have all these lovely herbs you may want to freeze some so you don't waste any.

Herbs are easy to freeze, simply take your cuttings, chop them up and pop them in ice cube trays. Add a small amount of water to each cube and pop in the freezer. Once frozen pop out and put in little freezer bags or tubs and label each one with what herb is in there. They can then go back into your freezer ready to just take out and put straight into your pan when cooking.

Hope this has been helpful

Kelly x