GROWING

A bushy herb, resembling mint in appearance, with a strong lemon scent when rubbed. The leaves make a calming balm tea. Delicious added to stuffing, used with fish, poultry and even added to drinks to impart the lemon flavour. Can be invasive. Best grown in a pot/container.Start off in a seed tray or pots indoors, with good, free-draining, seed compost. Sow seed on the surface of seed compost and cover with a sprinkling of compost or vermiculite. Place in a propagator or seal container inside a polythene bag and keep at 20-25?C (68-77?F) until after germination which takes up to 21 days. Keep compost on the dry side at all times. Do not exclude light.Transplant seedlings when large enough to handle into 7.5cm (3in) pots. Grow on in cooler conditions for a few days before planting out after all risk of frost, 30cm (12in) apart. Apply a mulch of compost for added winter protection. Can be trimmed to keep compact.Apply a mulch of compost for added winter protection.

"Very versatile, for tangy mint sauce or garnish on new potatoes or peas.Cooking: The ideal accompaniment to roast lamb -for an unusual but delicious sauce mix with honey and lemon juice. Add to boiled new potatoes, peas, make mint jelly or garnish summer drinks.Companion Plant: Mint has a piquant aroma and as such is disliked by much of the insect world. Above all, plant mint close to all brassicas and it will repel the Cabbage White Butterfly and a sprig or two in your wardrobe will keep moths out of your clothes.Nature's Remedy: It has a remarkable reputation with indigestion, for calming the nerves, for soothing sleep and recurring sickness. Many herbalists claim it aids virility and can be used against Migraine. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tablespoonful of chopped fresh leaves and leave to stand for 30 minutes. Take as required a tablespoon at a time."Sow seeds from late winter to early summer in John Innes Seed Compost. Do not cover the seeds with compost. Make sure that the compost is moist but not wet and seal in a polythene bag until after germination which usually takes 7-16 days at 21-24C (70-75F).Transplant when large enough to handle into 8cm (3in) pots. Later plant out 3cm (12in) apart into ordinary soil in part shade.

"Improved Green Pearl type, Parsley Lisette produces a vigorous rosette of longer stems and more pronounced finer curled dark green leaves, that stand well without yellowing or bolting.Parsley Lisette is ideal for pot growing on a windowsill or the patio.Height: 30-60cm (12-24in)""Sow April-August outdoors; August sowings will overwinter. Seeds can also be sown August-March under glass, or in pots indoors.Sow seeds 1cm (½in) deep in drills 30cm (12in) apart in soil which has been raked to a fine tilth."When large enough to handle, thin seedlings to 23cm (9in) apart. Harvest as and when required. Can also be sown under glass, in 7.5cm (3in) pots of free-draining compost. Place at 18-2C (64-68F) until after germination.Gradually acclimatise to outdoor conditions before planting out after all risk of frost, or pot on as a windowsill plant or in a container for the patio or conservatory.

A little known but very useful salad plant, Rocket can be used raw in salads or cooked lightly when it makes a delicious spinach substitute. Late summer sowings of Rocket will carry on cropping into the winter if the plants are protected by cloches.Sow seeds from April to July in any good fertile, well drained soil. Sow seeds thinly 6mm (¼in) deep in drills spaced 45-60cm (18-24in) apart.When the seedlings are large enough to handle thin out to 23-3cm (9-12in) apart.Pick the young leaves as required over the whole row rather than just one or two plants as this would weaken them. As the flower buds appear pinch them out to prolong cropping.