[Lardman]

Normally I forget about herbs and end up sowing a few towards the end of the season and nothing much comes of them. This year I've made a note to start early !

I've got a few packets of the usual suspects - parsley , oregano , basil, chives and thyme. I think I really should add some rosemary - anything else?

Im also a little unsure as to the best method of sowing, for everything else I tend to use modules last year this gave very small clumps that never amounted to much. Would I do better using a seed tray / 3 inch pot / half pot or cat litter tray.

Most things I just need a bit of, but I could do with a goodly amount of parsley - I seem to use a lot.

[sunshineband]

sage, fennel, dill

[madcat]

herb celery - brilliant for the celery taste without the hassle of growing celery. 

Coriander depends on your cooking habits - I wish I was better at growing lush leaves for curries and Thai and ......  but I'm still working on it!     You need quantities ...

[Christine]

You need a little patience too. Chives should be left in an area to themselves and they will grow into big clumps that can be split out for more. Thyme also likes room to spread (along with good soil, sun and shelter from the wind).

Swat up in a good herb book on getting the soil right and the best situation on your plot then set too with a proper little herb garden. I've got one running in a sunny sheltered spot - there's rosemary, thyme x 3 or 4 varieties, sage, chives and mint. Oh and lavender and a curry plant for the fun of it. The parsley has done 2 years and needs replacing.  It's a marvelous area to watch the bees and other pollinators arrive in hordes through the summer.

[Lardman]

.... celery taste without the hassle of growing celery. 

Celery has a taste ? Nah    I'll add some Coriander Id forgotten about that.

Swat up in a good herb book on getting the soil right and the best situation on your plot then set too with a proper little herb garden.

Unfortunately next doors cats put pay to anything like that. What they don't dig up and use as a litter tray they "spray" up. I have to keep everything leafy that I eat fresh on the patio where the cats are too scared to go. I hate to think about the mint I ate before seeing what was happening.   

[Christine]

Then perhaps you should work out how to get enough decent sized tubs onto the patio so that you can plant a variety with the right soil. Think of them as decorations.

I hear that lion poo deters cats and that some zoos sell it. Apparently lion poo is also quite good for the soil. 

[DD.]

Most things I just need a bit of, but I could do with a goodly amount of parsley - I seem to use a lot.

I always start my parsley in a half seed tray in the cold greenhouse.

After hardening off I just rip it into clumps and plant it out. Usually end up with a dozen or so large clumps on the plot.

[mumofstig]

I grow the flat leaf parsley and just leave it to seed around...once you've got it that's it...you've got it.
I grew the rosemary, using as cuttings the cut stalks you get in a plastic pack from the supermarket herb shelf.
Oregano, sage, chives and garlic chives, dill and thyme are easy from seed sown in little pots and then pricked out
On a swap from here I got some lovage seed which grew and assuming it's lived through the snow, will be planted along the hedge.
Basil is the only thing I have given up on in the UK I find it a bit fussy, so every couple of months I buy a pot from the supermarket and split the little plants up and repot.

[JayG]

Unfortunately next doors cats put pay to anything like that. What they don't dig up and use as a litter tray they "spray" up. I have to keep everything leafy that I eat fresh on the patio where the cats are too scared to go. I hate to think about the mint I ate before seeing what was happening. 

Perhaps you should have grown proper catmint!

Seriously, most perennial mediterranean-type herbs are easily propagated from cuttings if you have access to existing plants.

Parsley is a biennual which has to be grown from seed, needs a richer, moister soil and performs better kept out of the fierce summer sun (!)

They all do well in pots; if you are troubled with cats which can spray more than about 12" off the ground I suggest you contact a zoo as a matter of urgency! 

[shokkyy]

I already had a resident population of sage, rosemary, chives and mint. Last year I added to that by sowing parsley, thyme, basil, coriander, oregano and tarragon (Russian, it's the only variety you can grow from seed). All of them were a piece of cake and did very well. In fact the only ones that haven't survived the winter outside are coriander and basil. The only problem I had was that the coriander went quite leggy, but I believe that's because I sowed it in pots and transplanted the seedlings instead of sowing them in situ, which I've since been told coriander doesn't like. Because of that I didn't get a very good leaf crop from them, but I let them grow on and got an enormous crop of coriander seed instead. Quite apart from being useful in the kitchen, most herbs are also very beneficial companion plants.

[sclarke624]

Chervil and dill for sure