Good King Henry and other 'odd' herbs
 

Good morning,

Can anyone tell me where I can buy seeds for the following herbs - asked at
the garden centre and received a blank look!

Good King Henry

Hamburg Parsley - from what I can gather this 'also' a root vegatable with
the leaves used as a herb.

Sorrel

Also, does anyone have any experience of growing these plants? They were
all mentioned in passing in a book that I was reading at the weekend -
however the author doesn't go into any great detail, other than to mention
that they were a staple of most herb gardens until supermarkets became
common - is this true?

Cheers,

Andrew

Good King Henry and other 'odd' herbs
 

"ajr" wrote in message
...
Good morning,

Can anyone tell me where I can buy seeds for the following herbs - asked
at
the garden centre and received a blank look!

Good King Henry

Hamburg Parsley - from what I can gather this 'also' a root vegatable with
the leaves used as a herb.

Sorrel

Also, does anyone have any experience of growing these plants? They were
all mentioned in passing in a book that I was reading at the weekend -
however the author doesn't go into any great detail, other than to mention
that they were a staple of most herb gardens until supermarkets became
common - is this true?

Cheers,

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Chiltern Seeds sell both of these:

http://www.chilternseeds.co.uk

Growing instructions and useage are also included in the above site.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Nick
www.ukgardening.co.uk

Good King Henry and other 'odd' herbs
 

"ajr" wrote in message
...
Good morning,

Can anyone tell me where I can buy seeds for the following herbs - asked
at
the garden centre and received a blank look!

Good King Henry

Hamburg Parsley - from what I can gather this 'also' a root vegatable with
the leaves used as a herb.

Sorrel

Also, does anyone have any experience of growing these plants? They were
all mentioned in passing in a book that I was reading at the weekend -
however the author doesn't go into any great detail, other than to mention
that they were a staple of most herb gardens until supermarkets became
common - is this true?

Cheers,

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Chiltern Seeds sell both of these:

http://www.chilternseeds.co.uk

Growing instructions and useage are also included in the above site.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Nick
www.ukgardening.co.uk

Good King Henry and other 'odd' herbs
 

In article ,
"ajr" writes:
|
| Can anyone tell me where I can buy seeds for the following herbs - asked at
| the garden centre and received a blank look!
|
| Good King Henry
|
| Hamburg Parsley - from what I can gather this 'also' a root vegatable with
| the leaves used as a herb.

Primarily a root vegetable, actually.

| Sorrel
|
| Also, does anyone have any experience of growing these plants? They were
| all mentioned in passing in a book that I was reading at the weekend -
| however the author doesn't go into any great detail, other than to mention
| that they were a staple of most herb gardens until supermarkets became
| common - is this true?

Yes and no. Hamburg Parsley wasn't, and the others were not
universal in the UK - sorrel was in France. I grow the first and
last; both are herbaceous perennials.

Good King Henry makes a mediocre spinach (fat hen is MUCH better),
but can be blanched in spring and the pink shoots are called
Lincolnshire asparagus. Watch out - they get stringy, fast. And
DON'T let it seed, or it will be a real pest. The seeds are
probably edible, but I have not eaten them.

Sorrel is an extremely useful herb, in salad, soup, stuffing fish,
as a sauce with fat meat and so on. It doesn't self-seed much
with me, but does with some people. It prefers a damp location.

Look at the edible herbs FAQ on rec.gardens for more ideas; you
may recognise the odd contributor :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Good King Henry and other 'odd' herbs
 

In article ,
"ajr" writes:
|
| Can anyone tell me where I can buy seeds for the following herbs - asked at
| the garden centre and received a blank look!
|
| Good King Henry
|
| Hamburg Parsley - from what I can gather this 'also' a root vegatable with
| the leaves used as a herb.

Primarily a root vegetable, actually.

| Sorrel
|
| Also, does anyone have any experience of growing these plants? They were
| all mentioned in passing in a book that I was reading at the weekend -
| however the author doesn't go into any great detail, other than to mention
| that they were a staple of most herb gardens until supermarkets became
| common - is this true?

Yes and no. Hamburg Parsley wasn't, and the others were not
universal in the UK - sorrel was in France. I grow the first and
last; both are herbaceous perennials.

Good King Henry makes a mediocre spinach (fat hen is MUCH better),
but can be blanched in spring and the pink shoots are called
Lincolnshire asparagus. Watch out - they get stringy, fast. And
DON'T let it seed, or it will be a real pest. The seeds are
probably edible, but I have not eaten them.

Sorrel is an extremely useful herb, in salad, soup, stuffing fish,
as a sauce with fat meat and so on. It doesn't self-seed much
with me, but does with some people. It prefers a damp location.

Look at the edible herbs FAQ on rec.gardens for more ideas; you
may recognise the odd contributor :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Good King Henry and other 'odd' herbs
 

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"ajr" writes:
|
| Can anyone tell me where I can buy seeds for the following herbs -
asked at
| the garden centre and received a blank look!
|
| Good King Henry
|
| Hamburg Parsley - from what I can gather this 'also' a root vegatable
with
| the leaves used as a herb.

Primarily a root vegetable, actually.

| Sorrel
|
| Also, does anyone have any experience of growing these plants? They
were
| all mentioned in passing in a book that I was reading at the weekend -
| however the author doesn't go into any great detail, other than to
mention
| that they were a staple of most herb gardens until supermarkets became
| common - is this true?

Yes and no. Hamburg Parsley wasn't, and the others were not
universal in the UK - sorrel was in France. I grow the first and
last; both are herbaceous perennials.

Good King Henry makes a mediocre spinach (fat hen is MUCH better),
but can be blanched in spring and the pink shoots are called
Lincolnshire asparagus. Watch out - they get stringy, fast. And
DON'T let it seed, or it will be a real pest. The seeds are
probably edible, but I have not eaten them.

Sorrel is an extremely useful herb, in salad, soup, stuffing fish,
as a sauce with fat meat and so on. It doesn't self-seed much
with me, but does with some people. It prefers a damp location.

Look at the edible herbs FAQ on rec.gardens for more ideas; you
may recognise the odd contributor :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren / Nick Gray

Many thanks for the tips and links.

I'll sit down this evening and order a few things from Chiltern.

One last thing - how tall does sorrel grow to and roughly how much ground
will it cover? The reason that I ask is that I've a small area of the
garden that at the moment nothing is growing on, because it is too wet for
most of the year and only gets 'full' sun from May to September. I have
been told that mint will grow well there, but as I already have some growing
in another part of the garden I would rather not plant it here as well.

Cheers,


Andrew

Good King Henry and other 'odd' herbs
 

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"ajr" writes:
|
| Can anyone tell me where I can buy seeds for the following herbs -
asked at
| the garden centre and received a blank look!
|
| Good King Henry
|
| Hamburg Parsley - from what I can gather this 'also' a root vegatable
with
| the leaves used as a herb.

Primarily a root vegetable, actually.

| Sorrel
|
| Also, does anyone have any experience of growing these plants? They
were
| all mentioned in passing in a book that I was reading at the weekend -
| however the author doesn't go into any great detail, other than to
mention
| that they were a staple of most herb gardens until supermarkets became
| common - is this true?

Yes and no. Hamburg Parsley wasn't, and the others were not
universal in the UK - sorrel was in France. I grow the first and
last; both are herbaceous perennials.

Good King Henry makes a mediocre spinach (fat hen is MUCH better),
but can be blanched in spring and the pink shoots are called
Lincolnshire asparagus. Watch out - they get stringy, fast. And
DON'T let it seed, or it will be a real pest. The seeds are
probably edible, but I have not eaten them.

Sorrel is an extremely useful herb, in salad, soup, stuffing fish,
as a sauce with fat meat and so on. It doesn't self-seed much
with me, but does with some people. It prefers a damp location.

Look at the edible herbs FAQ on rec.gardens for more ideas; you
may recognise the odd contributor :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren / Nick Gray

Many thanks for the tips and links.

I'll sit down this evening and order a few things from Chiltern.

One last thing - how tall does sorrel grow to and roughly how much ground
will it cover? The reason that I ask is that I've a small area of the
garden that at the moment nothing is growing on, because it is too wet for
most of the year and only gets 'full' sun from May to September. I have
been told that mint will grow well there, but as I already have some growing
in another part of the garden I would rather not plant it here as well.

Cheers,


Andrew

Good King Henry and other 'odd' herbs
 

In article ,
"ajr" writes:
|
| One last thing - how tall does sorrel grow to and roughly how much ground
| will it cover? The reason that I ask is that I've a small area of the
| garden that at the moment nothing is growing on, because it is too wet for
| most of the year and only gets 'full' sun from May to September. I have
| been told that mint will grow well there, but as I already have some growing
| in another part of the garden I would rather not plant it here as well.

About 1' high and wide, per plant. It seems worth trying there.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Good King Henry and other 'odd' herbs
 

In article ,
"ajr" writes:
|
| One last thing - how tall does sorrel grow to and roughly how much ground
| will it cover? The reason that I ask is that I've a small area of the
| garden that at the moment nothing is growing on, because it is too wet for
| most of the year and only gets 'full' sun from May to September. I have
| been told that mint will grow well there, but as I already have some growing
| in another part of the garden I would rather not plant it here as well.

About 1' high and wide, per plant. It seems worth trying there.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Good King Henry and other 'odd' herbs
 

In article , ajr
writes
Good morning,

Can anyone tell me where I can buy seeds for the following herbs - asked at
the garden centre and received a blank look!

Good King Henry

Chiltern seeds
Easy to grow (it is a british native). Reasonably substantial - doesn't
boil down to nothing. Easy to pick, no preparation required other than
brief steaming.

Hamburg Parsley - from what I can gather this 'also' a root vegatable with
the leaves used as a herb.

Dobies, possibly Chiltern
Lovely flavour, like parsnip but different. Easy to grow, but the roots
are carrot sized rather than parnip sized. Uniformly tapering, like
carrots, not that irritating bulge tapering to string of a parsnip.


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Good King Henry and other 'odd' herbs
 

In article , ajr
writes
Good morning,

Can anyone tell me where I can buy seeds for the following herbs - asked at
the garden centre and received a blank look!

Good King Henry

Chiltern seeds
Easy to grow (it is a british native). Reasonably substantial - doesn't
boil down to nothing. Easy to pick, no preparation required other than
brief steaming.

Hamburg Parsley - from what I can gather this 'also' a root vegatable with
the leaves used as a herb.

Dobies, possibly Chiltern
Lovely flavour, like parsnip but different. Easy to grow, but the roots
are carrot sized rather than parnip sized. Uniformly tapering, like
carrots, not that irritating bulge tapering to string of a parsnip.


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Good King Henry and other 'odd' herbs
 

In article ,
(ajr) wrote:

Hamburg Parsley

My experience: http://www.netservs.com/garden/veg.htm

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

Good King Henry and other 'odd' herbs
 

In article ,
(ajr) wrote:

Hamburg Parsley

My experience: http://www.netservs.com/garden/veg.htm

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

Good King Henry and other 'odd' herbs
 

"ajr" wrote in message
...
Good morning,

Can anyone tell me where I can buy seeds for the following herbs - asked
at
the garden centre and received a blank look!

Good King Henry

Hamburg Parsley - from what I can gather this 'also' a root vegatable with
the leaves used as a herb.

Sorrel

Also, does anyone have any experience of growing these plants? They were
all mentioned in passing in a book that I was reading at the weekend -
however the author doesn't go into any great detail, other than to mention
that they were a staple of most herb gardens until supermarkets became
common - is this true?

GKH was a staple of the kitchen garden rather than a special herb garden, it
was used as a pot herb. I have a clump, I was given a small piece by the
gardener at Cressing Temple. It's very hardy, I use it a lot in cooking but
it has very little flavour. I suspect that its greatest quality is that it's
always there.

Hamburg Parsley and Sorrel feature in some of the seed catalogues I get but
I can't remember specifically which. Chase and T&M, Chiltern Seeds - there
are others. Do a Google.

Mary

Cheers,

Andrew

Good King Henry and other 'odd' herbs
 

"ajr" wrote in message
...
Good morning,

Can anyone tell me where I can buy seeds for the following herbs - asked
at
the garden centre and received a blank look!

Good King Henry

Hamburg Parsley - from what I can gather this 'also' a root vegatable with
the leaves used as a herb.

Sorrel

Also, does anyone have any experience of growing these plants? They were
all mentioned in passing in a book that I was reading at the weekend -
however the author doesn't go into any great detail, other than to mention
that they were a staple of most herb gardens until supermarkets became
common - is this true?

GKH was a staple of the kitchen garden rather than a special herb garden, it
was used as a pot herb. I have a clump, I was given a small piece by the
gardener at Cressing Temple. It's very hardy, I use it a lot in cooking but
it has very little flavour. I suspect that its greatest quality is that it's
always there.

Hamburg Parsley and Sorrel feature in some of the seed catalogues I get but
I can't remember specifically which. Chase and T&M, Chiltern Seeds - there
are others. Do a Google.

Mary

Cheers,

Andrew