Herbs

October opens the basil season in most of Australia and starts the countdown for coriander and dill. Here is what to sow in each climate zone, and how to keep picking into summer.

Herbs are at their strongest just before they flower, and the way you dry them decides whether the jar tastes of the garden or of dust. Cutting, drying, freezing and storing, step by step.

Basil is the easy summer herb. Here is when to sow it in your climate zone, how to keep it happy, and how to harvest, store and use every leaf.

Tulsi, the holy basil of the kitchen garden Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum), also called holy basil, is an aromatic member of the mint family and a clos...

Fresh herbs within reach of the chopping board A few pots of herbs on a kitchen sill earn their keep. You cut what a recipe needs instead of buying...

Why grow borage Borage (Borago officinalis) is a fast, shaggy annual with grey green bristly leaves and bright blue star flowers, and it is one of ...

Why grow chives Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are a hardy perennial in the onion genus, Allium, and one of the easiest herbs to start with. They gr...

Which chamomile should you grow? Several different plants are sold as chamomile: Roman, German, Moroccan, Cape and pineapple weed. For a herb or te...

Lavender from seed is slow but rewarding, if you choose the right type and get the drainage right. The honest answer on whether it is worth it, and how to do it.

Soft-leaf herbs thrive in pots on a bright windowsill. Here is how to keep basil, parsley, chives and mint within reach of the chopping board all year.

Once basil flowers the leaf slows and the flavour drops. How to pinch basil above a leaf pair so it branches, when to start, how to keep it in leaf all summer, and when to plant it out in each Australian city.

Coriander bolts because of warmth, long days, dry soil and disturbed roots, not because you did something wrong. Sow direct, choose slow-bolt, sow little and often, shade it, pick young.