Suddenly, there aren't enough hours in the day. Spring usually springs gradually, but this year it was so late arriving that suddenly our seasonally grown herbs are bursting into life all at once!
March Open Days (we did have some sunny weather!)..
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.our next ones are 23rd, 24th and 25th April
Our end-of-March Open Days were truly our busiest ever! After a long, hard winter, it seemed that everyone was more than ready to get to into the herb garden again, and get growing and sowing...
Jekka's herb workshop had sold out two weeks before the March event, so her twice daily farm tours were busier than ever. There are still spaces remaining for Jekka's April herb workshop 'How to Plant and Combine Herbs for Containers'.
The refreshment tent, provided by caterers, Berry Blue, proved even more popular than we'd expected, and we're really looking forward to seeing them again at our next Open Days this month.
A good time was had by all and now we can't wait for our next Open Days on 23rd, 24th and 25th April, where we are, again, offering FREE SEEDS from our lucky dip box, so don't forget to download your FREE SEEDS voucher...
The refreshment tent, provided by caterers, Berry Blue Creative Food, proved very popular indeed!
Suddenly - at last - it's all systems go on the farm: the herb plants are coming ready and we're picking and packing our mail order herbs as quickly as we possibly can...
Our mail orders are flooding in now, and we're picking and packing herbs like mad things so that our customers can get busy planting!
It feels like we've been waiting for spring forever - and finally, it's arrived!Our herb plants are bursting into life and lusciousness, and we've even had some beautifully warm, sunny days here on the farm.
Suddenly our herbs are ready to go, and we're making more and more available on our website every day. As the mail orders flood in, we're working around the clock now to send them out so that our customers can get busy planting.
Remember - you can search for your desired herb simply by typing its name (common or botanical) into our Search page. If it's not available yet, be sure to add it to your Wishlist, so that we can email you as soon as it's available to buy.
Jekka's been very busy lately, talking herbs to garden groups and horticultural societies at different venues up and down the country...
In March, Jekka travelled to Belfast, where her culinary herbs talk was enjoyed by the Horticultural Lecture of the Year Association.
Shortly after, Jekka ferried over to the Isle of Wight, where she talked to the Ventnor Botanic Garden Friends Society about Native Herbs of the UK.
A more local trip to Nailsea followed, as Jekka talked to garden group FAGUS, and then Jekka was off to London, to Jamie Oliver's Fifteen, for a hands-on workshop for the restaurant's apprentice chefs.
Jekka's herb talk to the Horticultural Lecture of the Year Association
The following week, Jekka was in Edinburgh where she was keynote speaker at Scotland Garden Scheme's AGM. A busy spring indeed!
For details of Jekka's herb talks throughout the year, see our Calendar...
We're really looking forward to taking our organically grown herbs, and herb seeds to the Malvern Spring Gardening Show, from May 6-9th. It's the first time we've been at the Malvern Show in four years - hope you can visit us there!
Jekka's Herb Cookbook contains over 250 original recipes, and is a beautiful book, illustrated throughout by Jekka's daughter, Hannah McVicar. Hannah has also designed a set of limited edition garden prints especially for our Chelsea customers!
We're also releasing 'Jekka's Culinary Collection', a new herb seed collection which compliments the cookbook, and all of our herb seeds will be on sale at Chelsea as usual. Read more...
Visit us at the Malvern Spring Show, May 6th - 9th
'Jekka's Herb Cookbook' will be at the Chelsea Flower Show,
May 25th-29th
Jobs to do now in the Herb Garden
At last. Spring is in the air and everything is go! Even with a cold start to spring, which meant that our herbs were about a month behind their usual growing pace, they're now bursting into leaf and bud, and taking on the gorgeous green of spring.
Gradually uncover tender herbs outside and look for hopeful signs of life. Don't give up on plants which look less leafy than they did this time last year - they may yet surprise you.
If your bay or myrtle got frosted and looks a bit sorry, you can cut them back hard as soon as all danger of frost has passed, to regain shape and promote new growth.
Again, once the late frosts are over, cut back lavender into shape, especially advisable for plants which are 2 years and older.
We are still getting some late frosts, but they should soon be over, and then you can start sowing seed outside in the garden, such as chervil, chives, caraway and fennel - see our Monthly Seed Sowing Guide for more ideas.
Laurus nobilis, Bay. Once frosts are over, an established bay will benefit from a good, hard prune.
Carum carvi, Caraway seed can be sown outside in the garden as soon as late frosts are over.
Tarragon - Jekka's herb of the month
Don't forget to view Jekka's Herb of the Month, Tarragon
French Tarragon is an essential ingredient of Béarnaise sauce, and combines beautifully with chicken, fish, rice and salads, adding a unique, light aniseed flavour with a hint of warmth. If you have toothache, chew a few leaves for a mild numbing effect...read more..
That’s all of our news for now: please feel free to get in touch if there
