Chervil 'Brussels Winter' Seeds

Chervil is the chef's herb: lacy, bright green leaves with a gentle flavour somewhere between parsley and aniseed. 'Brussels Winter' is a cold-tolerant selection, so sowings in late summer keep giving leaves into autumn and through mild winters. Add it fresh to eggs, potatoes, fish and butter sauces; it is one of the French fines herbes. Anthriscus cerefolium is happiest in cool, lightly shaded corners where other herbs struggle, and its small white flowers draw in hoverflies and ladybirds.

Sowing and growing

• Sow outdoors where it is to grow from March to May, and again August to September for autumn and winter picking
• It dislikes transplanting, so sow direct or in modules rather than seed trays
• Sow about 1 cm deep, or barely cover
• Germination takes 10 to 21 days
• Light shade in moist, fertile soil; hot sun and dry soil make it run to seed
• Grows to about 30 to 40 cm tall
• Pick leaves six to eight weeks after sowing; sow small batches every few weeks for a steady supply
• Hardy annual; cover late sowings with a cloche in hard weather

What you receive: a packet of about 150 seeds from Piccolo Seeds, with growing instructions on the back.

Grow it alongside the other kitchen herbs in our seed collection, and sow into modules from our propagation supplies.