Tiny herbs, big adventure. Growing micro herbs for No88 at 60 degrees North

If anyone ever tells you growing micro herbs is easy, we'd like to invite them to spend a week in our garden in Shetland.

We'll even lend them a waterproof.

Running a restaurant on a remote island means you quickly learn to appreciate the little things. Quite literally, in our case. Those tiny shoots of pea, mustard, coriander, basil and amaranth that appear on your plate might be small, but they've had quite the journey before making it to your dinner.

People often imagine chefs simply ordering beautiful fresh herbs from somewhere down south. That's certainly one way of doing it. But where's the fun in that?

Instead, we decided we'd grow our own.

Simple enough, we thought.

Well...

Shetland had other ideas.

At 60 degrees north, Mother Nature likes to keep us on our toes. One day we're basking in glorious sunshine, convinced we've somehow relocated to the Mediterranean. Twenty-four hours later, horizontal rain is battering the greenhouse, the wind is trying to relocate it to Norway, and we're wondering if the herbs have started building little life rafts.

Then there's the joy of living on an island.

Ordering seeds can feel a bit like sending a message in a bottle. We click "Next Day Delivery" with optimism, then sit back and watch the parcel embark on what appears to be a grand tour of mainland Britain before finally catching a ferry north. By the time it arrives, we're so pleased to see it that we'd probably welcome the delivery driver in for tea and tab nabs.

And yet, somehow, things grow.

Summer in Shetland gives us one of our greatest gardening superpowers—light. Endless, glorious daylight that seems to go on forever. The herbs absolutely love it. So do the weeds, which appear to operate on an Olympic training programme. Turn your back for a couple of days and they've taken over the place, looking rather pleased with themselves.

Growing micro herbs is a lesson in patience. They need just the right amount of warmth, water and care. Too much of one thing and they're unhappy. Too little of another and they're equally unimpressed.

But every morning, there's something rather magical about wandering into the garden and seeing another tray bursting into life. Tiny green leaves reaching for the light. The promise of fresh flavours. A reminder that even in one of the most northerly corners of Britain, wonderful things can grow.

Those herbs are often picked just minutes before service. They don't travel hundreds of miles in refrigerated lorries. They simply make the short journey from our garden to our kitchen before finding their place on your plate.

We think you can taste the difference.

More than that, we think you can taste the effort.

Every leaf represents a battle with the weather, a victory over the wind and rain.

People sometimes ask whether it's worth all the work.

Absolutely.

Because growing our own isn't just about saving food miles or having the freshest garnish possible. It's about being part of this place. It's about working with Shetland rather than against it—even if Shetland occasionally fights back.

So next time you spot those delicate little herbs decorating your meal, remember they've earned their place.

After all, if they can survive life at 60 degrees north...

They can survive anything.

Well... almost anything!