Page 22 - ALG Issue 3 2020

a visit to......
Jekka’s Herb Farm
The farm offers over 400 varieties of herbs
Desperate to fill one of my days of lockdown annual leave with outdoor activity, I booked a ticket for an Open Day at Jekka McVicar’s Herb Farm, just north of Bristol. The farm is a family run company with over 30 years’ experience in growing and using medicinal and culinary herb plants and seeds. It has evolved from supplying garden centres to an online mail order business and in 2013 they created Jekka's Herbetum and school, offering master classes and tours. The shop was open for sales of herb seeds but sadly the café was closed. www.jekkas.com/
I was looking for different thyme varieties to go in my ceramic strawberry pot, and there was a bewildering choice. The lemon curd thyme was irresistible – the purple flowers were covered in bees! – and the French thyme will be great for cooking with. I was very disciplined and only bought thyme but did regret leaving without a sweet pear mint. I have since tracked
it down elsewhere. I also managed to have a quick chat to the proprietor,
who recommended a look at the herb garden where, for the first time in 7 years, the asafoetida was flowering.
If you like to cook curries, you will know the pungent, unwashed socks smell of asafoetida and perhaps be surprised to
The lemon curd thyme was irresistible – the purple flowers were covered in bees!
see it is a beautiful plant. I had no idea it was an umbellifer and Jekka’s specimen was impressive with its skirt of welsh onions. Some other herbs and spices used in curry recipes were available
at the farm and many are available
at outlets elsewhere. All would grow
on an allotment plot, especially if you have a sheltered spot and polytunnel or greenhouse for some of the more tender subjects such as ginger, turmeric, galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime trees. Fennel, coriander (leaf and seed varieties are available), cumin and fenugreek (methi) can be grown outside in a sunny spot. The NAS website growing pages have more information about growing herbs and spices.
22 Allotment and Leisure Gardener
Thyme in a strawberry pot
Asafoetida