Now’s the time to pot up some of our more tender herbs to grow them indoors on a warm windowsill through winter. Some herbs simply don’t cope well with an onslaught of wintry weather, so if you want to carry on harvesting them for the next few months, take action this week! One that simply won’t survive outside in the cold and wet is basil, which is an annual.
There are also lots of herbs, such as sage and thyme, that will likely sail through winter outside, fending off the frost and wet, but just won’t grow during this time. It’s these that can also come indoors where they’ll appreciate the warmth and thrive, so you can enjoy them in your cooking. Even super-hardy herbs such as rosemary and mint will grow better indoors over winter, so include those as well. Simply pot your plants up into small, windowsill-sized containers with multi-purpose compost and make sure they get lots of sun and water, and that their temperature is consistently warm as they grow. Sow some herb seed, too, to grow on indoors.
Another way to ensure you always have fresh herbs to hand when cooking is to snip off lots of small sections of herbs before the plants finish for the year, chop them thinly then place in ice trays, fill with water and freeze so you have ready-made herb cubes to add to tasty, winter-warming stews or sauces.