How does your herb garden grow?

Parsely, sage, rosemary and thyme. Celebrated in song, legend and fine cuisine, herbs are generous plants, giving of flavour, fragrance, colour and remedy. Growing herbs in the modern garden provides a link to the traditions of the past and the promise of goodness for the future.

Many herb families grew up in the Mediterranean under scorching sunny days and in poor, gravelly soil. This is good news for the gardener with a sunny patch of sandy garden soil, but for those of us with heavier soils, more ground work is in order. Here's what to do to make herbs feel right at home in your garden:

Let the sun shine in

Choose a site with at least four hours of sun daily. Only a few herbs such as parsely, mint, sweet cicely and sweet woodruff tolerate shade.

Extra digging for heavy clay soils

Skip this step unless you have very heavy clay soil that holds water long after a heavy rain. For these conditions, dig down into the earth to the depth of a spade. Remove and reserve this topsoil because it will form the base for your new herb bed. Remove another eight inches of the remaining subsoil, replacing it with pea gravel or coarse builder's sand.

Get a soil test

While you are busy digging out the herb garden, have your topsoil tested for a pH level. Most herbs like alkaline soil with a pH of between 6 and 7.5 If your soil tests above 7.5, add sulphur or peat moss to decrease it; if it is below 6, add horticultural lime to increase the level.

Roots need to wiggle their toes

Herb roots grow best in loose, crumbly soil. To improve soil texture, add one part sand and one part organic material such as compost or well-rotted manure to the reserved topsoil. Fill the beds with this mixture, lightly raking the surface.

Don't let them eat cake

Most herbs do well in poor soils low in nutrients. The compost or rotted manure has enough nutrients to keep herbs happy and healthy. Resist the temptation to add chemical fertilizers. These simply promote leafy growth at the expense of flavour and fragrance - things that make herbs worth growing!

Wait for a gloomy day

Dull, overcast weather is less stressful than hot, sunny days for any plant, including herbs, so brighten up a gloomy day by transplanting baby herbs from their pots to the plots in the garden. With a trowel, dig a hole slightly larger than the size of the pot. Fill it with water and let it drain. (If it drains quickly, you've done your homework, and the soil is ideal for herbs.) Turn the pot upside down into your hand, then place the herb into the planting hole, making sure the top is level with the surface of the ground. Firm the soil to anchor the plant, then move onto the next until all herbs are planted.

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