[Kevin67]

I have a kitchen herb bed that has done wonderfully well this year.

I've never managed so far to over-winter these kitchen herbs - any idea's, please, anyone?

(Mint, flat and curly parsley, rosemary, thyme.)

Thank you.

[beesrus]

No real point I wouldn't have thought, Kevin. Perennials like rosemary over-Winter pretty well outside in any case, better than the dry indoors really. And then some like parsley are all but annuals anyway, quickly going to bitter seed in the Spring. Keep them all going indoors until December along with hanging the cuttings in the kitchen is the best way, and a pretty good substitute for the real thing when re hydrated.. far better than the supermarket dried shakers. Newly hung and dried thyme is wonderful. And sage will soon leaf up again come the end of Winter with very little maintenance. Our traditional herbs that are perennial are tough blighters.
Just make sure you get some new plants of those annuals/biennials like parsley underway under cover early in the new year.
A greenhouse is handy if one wants to keep the odd herbs going as long as possible. I keep my French taragon in there, but there is no way it would continue to leaf all Winter.
There comes a point where Mother nature just says no, without a lot of elctricity.

[Kevin67]

Thanks for that, Beesrus, you make a lot of sense.

I'm going to copy your comments for a permanent reminder for me; for some silly reason I forget about annuals, etc as my skills are towards bushes and trees and long-term cropping.

Your leccy quote made me smile - so I'm keeping it awhile!

Thank you, again!

[JayG]

Can't add anything to what Beesrus has said, other than that mint behaves like a herbaceous perennial in winter, although you can pull a few roots out and  grow it indoors - best to freeze it or make mint sauce in advance though I reckon.

Last year my French Tarragon was dug up and stuffed unceremoniously into a tub of used compost in the GH and started growing again just after the 'winter celebration' (it actually performed better there than it does outdoors, although it was an exceptionally mild winter!  )

[Kevin67]

Well, yes, thank you. I'm kind of slapping myself for not thinking about this myself.

I have thought about when some of the herbs go to seed to harvest those seeds and starting fresh crops rather than buying them in the shops. I have a window-sill strip light that should do the trick for early germination and long days of light that way.

[Goosegirl]

I wouldn't bother about over-wintering parsely - as said, it is an annual. The mint leaves probably aren't worth using but, like parsely, they can be frozen though I find they both go mushy on thawing. Mint sauce will keep for ages in the fridge at the correct temp. Rosemary and thyme should still be ok to use as their leaves aren't soft like the others. You may find that the flavour will diminish from autumn, but worth a go. I keep the last three herbs outside all the time and, as long as they are kept in a reasonably-draining compost in a large enough pot (insulate with bubble-wrap or similar if it gets really cold) they should survive ok.

[Kevin67]

Thank you. I have it in mind to build a cold frame over the herb patch. I'll post some photos soon.