HERBS can be hard to germinate, some more than others. One solution is to look for reduced herb plants that many supermarkets sell at the end of their shelf life and then replant them in a much larger pot using some left over compost or good garden soil.

The herbs sold for cooking are very closely packed, which is why they don’t last long once you have bought them. Try carefully separating the plants and putting them into a larger flower pot and then put them on your window sill or in a sheltered and sunny spot outside. This will see them growing on and giving you fresh leaves for some time.

The best herbs for potting on are: basil – great with tomatoes or in any sort of pasta sauce; parsley – very tasty when chopped up and added to scrambled eggs or egg sandwiches; and mint – traditionally for mint sauce or you can add to chopped cucumber with yoghurt for a salad.

I planted out some flat leaf parsley bought from one of the supermarkets in Wellington in June and it is still giving me plenty of leaves now.

Some supermarkets also sell several varieties of lettuce in a punnet and these can be used in the same way as the herbs, they are really just seedlings and very much cheaper than buying them as lettuce plants. If you don’t have a veg patch then plant out the lettuce seedlings in pots or in your flower borders. Many varieties of lettuce can cope with having leaves removed for your sandwich or side salad, with the main plant being left to carry on growing. They are often very attractive and look good in flower beds.

For directions to Wellington’s community herb bed, visit ttw.org.uk