At Jekka's we wish everyone to enjoy herbs and have created a number of videos to help you grow and get the most out of your herbs.
Jekka's herb growing tips: How to sow herb seeds
We love propagating our herbs on the farm and growing herbs from seeds is so rewarding. It is also a very cost effective way of growing annuals. We sell over 144 varieties of herbs from seed in our online store. This 'How to Grow It' video is Jekka's step by step guide on how to grow herbs from seeds. You can also see our blog on Jekka's five top tips for sowing seeds and if you require pots or compost, we have developed Jekka's Herb Kits, which includes Jekka's "Grow On" Kit.
Video produced by Candide
Autumn is the perfect time to sow culinary herbs to produce a winter crop because the soil is still warm and the pest and diseases that might have been present earlier in the year, such as carrot fly, have gone away. Autumn herbs will enable you to add fresh herb flavours to your winter meals, soups and salads. For more tips on sowing sowing your winter culinary herbs, please see Jekka's blog and sow your own with Jekka's Grow at Home Autumn Herb Kit..
Video produced by shaunjfilms.co.uk
Jekka's herb growing tips: Growing herbs using Jekka's Grow At Home Herb Kits
We wish everyone to enjoy herbs and have developed a range of grow at home herb kits as a good starting point. Jekka's grow at home herb kits are all you need to start growing and using herbs; just add love and water. Our kits are sustainable and contain Jekka's special peat-free, hand-mixed seedling compost, biodegradable pots, wooden labels and perlite as well as 5 packets of our untreated seeds. Perfect for children and adults alike.
In this video, Jekka will show you just how easy it is to start sowing your own herbs.
Video produced by Hannah McVicar
Jekka's herb growing tips: How to take herb cuttings
We propagate all of our herb plants at the farm in South Gloucestershire and one of Jekka's favourite tasks is taking cuttings. This is Jekka's step by step guide on how she successful takes her herb cuttings, following her organic and sustainable growing techniques. We run a number of Master Classes on taking cuttings, such as Year Round Herbs and How to Grow Herbs, see our Master Classes for more information. For Propagating Bark and Vermiculite, check out Jekka's Propagating Kit.
Video produced by Candide
Jekka's herb growing tips: How to pot up your herb seedlings
After your seedlings have grown and are ready to be potted up you can either plant out, as described in Jekka's blog "How to Grow On Your Herbs", or Grow On using either one of Jekka's "Grow On" Kits or Jekka's Whichford Pottery Gardeners Gift Box.
These kits contains everything you need make a perfect little herb garden on a windowsill, patio or balcony. With our handy guide included in the gift box and many more blogs online, everyone can get sustainably growing herbs with Jekka’s.
In this video, Jekka shows you how to pot up your herb seedlings into a terracotta pot using Jekka's Whichford Pottery Gardeners Gift Box.
Video produced by Hannah McVicar
Jekka's herb growing tips: How to prune herbs
One important task in Spring, especially after a windy or cold winter, is to prune back some of your perennials to promote new growth and maintain their shape. Please see Jekka's Videos on Pruning Herbs for informative videos on pruning Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citrodora; shown below), Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus), Myrtle (Myrtus) and Southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum).
Jekka's top tip is to think about the herb families when pruning. For example, when pruning the Lamiaceae family you must stay in the green and when pruning Myrtaceae you can cut back into old wood.
If you require tools, check out our Niwaki and Gardening range here.
Video produced by Hannah McVicar
Jekka's herb growing tips: How to propagate Mint
Late autumn is the perfect time to propagate Mint for next year. Watch Jekka's video below to see how to unpot mint, divide, repot or remove the rhizome before potting up to create lots of new plants.
If you require tools, check out our Niwaki and Gardening range here.
Video produced by Hannah McVicar
Jekka's herb growing tips: How to clean & sharpen your secateurs
We are massive fans of Japanese gardening tools and we are pleased to be able to provide a range of our favourites from Niwaki.
As anyone who has been to one of Jekka's Open Days knows, it is very important to correctly maintain your tools and Jekka advises using the infamous diamond sharpener along with Camellia Oil and Crean Mate as demonstrated in Jekka's video.
Video produced by shaunjfilms.co.uk
Want to learn more?
For advice on growing and maintaining herbs, check out ‘Jekka’s Seasonal Tips’ blog series, which includes what to do in your herb garden in early spring, late spring , summer and autumn & winter. Together they form the basis of Jekka’s guide on how to grow herbs.
Herb plants are available and you can organise a collection from our herb farm in South Gloucestershire or at one of our Open Days or Herb Experiences (see our events calendar). Please see our 'Looking Good Herb List' for availability and use our webform or email your list directly to us (sales@jekkas.com). We no longer offer a mail order service for our plants.
If you require pots or compost, we have developed Jekka's Herb Kits, which includes Jekka's "Grow On" Kit. For Propagating Bark and Vermiculite, check out Jekka's Propagating Kit. These kits contain all you need to grow on your herbs.
If you think your herbs need a little more attention we always recommend an environmentally friendly solution, and these are Jekka's top three:
- Maxicrop liquid seaweed: 'Feed on Fridays' as Jekka always says for all round good plant health.
- SB Invigorator: a safe and effective insecticide and fungicide to help control a wide range of pest species
- Epsom salts: the horticultural equivalent of what you put in your bath to top up magnesium and stop orange leaves.
For more information on growing herbs plants please see Jekkapedia, Jekka's blog or our FAQs page.
Candide gardening app
Our videos on sowing seeds and taking cuttings were made in partnership with Candide. Candide is an app for gardeners to find inspiration and knowledge. In their app, you will find places to visit, knowledge of what to plant in your garden and pictures from the community sharing what’s going on in their gardens.
Candide the app is a growing movement that encourages us all to reconnect with our gardens and share the joy of gardening.They believe that gardening is the root of happiness, and cultivates well-being for the mind and soul. We are happy to support and collaborate with them.