These herbs will grow best in full sun, but the chives can handle a shadier spot if you are lacking space.
Coriander and chives enjoy their soil on the moist side, you can leave the thyme for a bit longer.
Plant your herbs in a pot with drainage holes, and scatter some drainage material like pearlite, bark or gravel in the soil.
Botanical names
Allium schoenoprasum
Coriandrum sativum
Thymus vulgaris
Nicknames
Chives
Coriander
Thyme.
Seed quantity (approx)
Chives - 200
Coriander - 150
Thyme - 400
Sowing seeds is a rewarding way to fill your outdoor space with tasty herbs. These plants are all perennials, which means they’ll grow back year after year. You can use their leaves, stems, or both to flavour everything from curries and stews, to salads and sweet things.
To grow your herbs, sow the seeds about 5cm apart in potting trays and put them somewhere warm and bright. Keep the soil moist. When sprouts appear, transfer the plants to 8cm pots and wait for them to grow. It should take about 10-14 days for sprouts to appear, then you’ll have mature plants within 90 days.
You can cut the leaves and eat them whenever you like throughout their growing season. Cut coriander at the stem, as you can eat both the leaves and stems. The best time to pick and eat thyme leaves is in early summer just before flowering. Chives can be eaten whenever you like, just remember that their flowers aren’t edible.
At the end of the growing season take as many leaves as possible and store them in the freezer. That way you’ll be able to enjoy your home-grown herbs all year round.
