Growing Oregano – Tips for Cultivating the Perennial Herb

Growing oregano plant in your garden is easy since it is a very steady bush and needs only a minimum tending to get excellent results. Your homemade herb garden will give that extra flavor to your dishes.

Growing Oregano – Create a Herb Garden

The main benefit of growing oregano is that it reaches its potential when it starts flowering in about 5-6 weeks. Unless you live in an extremely cold climate, the plant can be grown outside where direct sunlight is available. Some space needs to be allocated around it since it tends to spread around, though its height only reaches around 12-18 inches. Getting a container for this plant is more beneficial for growing oregano as it can be moved from indoors to outdoors easily as the weather permits. The flowers generally show a pink, white or purple hue and its leaves and stems can be used as a flavorful spice to add to dishes like pizza, pasta, salads and other Italian dishes.

Oregano Plant – For Easy Growing

Although oregano is essentially called an Italian herb, it has its roots in the Mediterranean. Mostly the leaves and the oregano plant stem are used to give dishes its particular flavor. The plant will require a bit of sand to be mixed into the soil and mulching it will have added benefits. You will also need to keep it away from weeds and pests. Adding some compost will provide extra nourishment. The oregano plant can be sown directly from the seeds but many prefer doing it with cuttings of the plant. If you are using seeds they can be strewn in some well-drained soil and only lightly sprinkled with water. The seedlings will emerge in about 2 weeks and will need to be trimmed so that a certain distance is kept between two growing plants.

Oregano Leaves – Tasty and Flavorful

Most of people who use this plant only encounter it in its dried form. The stems tend to get hard after a certain time period and can be cut off to offer space for other stems to grow. The oregano leaves come in an oval shape and look dark green in color. If you are planning to harvest the leaves this can be done before the flowers emerge. If you are using this plant at home, you can cut out the stems, wash them thoroughly and dry them. Once patted dry, they can be put in a paper bag and kept in a nice airy place to dry them out completely. After this, you can tear out the leaves and put them in an airtight jar to use as herbs in your dishes.