I use the leaves from my Oregano plant so often, I just love having it potted up. Right now, I still have it on the porch but I will need to bring it in really soon. It's a little protected where I have it, so it's still been OK outside. Next year I think I will have to get another pot of it growing, so I can alternate snipping off stems on each plant. I've been using it a lot in stews and we are making a lot of homemade pizza lately too.
Oregano roots easily in a 50/50 mix of perlite and vermiculite. Just moisten the mix well in a 3" pot, take cuttings of the oregano (green stems) and put them in the mix, cover with a clear soda pop bottle with the cap off and the bottom removed, and within a month (more or less) you'll have more oregano plants. I try to keep a small one on the kitchen window sill for "emergency" needs. Since we are in Texas, we pretty much have fresh oregano all year 'round. It dries well, too, and the dried is sometimes more convenient for long-cooking things like spaghetti sauce.
Thanks for that, marlingardener. I'm going to try that. I usually dry a lot of it, and was able to do some this year. I find herbs are so easy to grow and taste so good. We try to season with herbs instead of salt.
Cariboo, I do presentations to senior citizen groups, gardening clubs, and other organizations about using herbs to enhance flavors instead of using salt. You are on the right track, and share your knowledge!
I also have potted oregano. I love it. The meals have different taste when i use my own oregano. marlingardener is right. His algorithm for rooting oregano is verry good.
This is such a healthy-looking plant that you have shown in the picture.It is such an easy plant to grow and we use it in many dishes that we make to eat. I have quite a bit of it planted in the lottie, but there it is primarily for the honeybees. I have several different types there. Aside from the fact that this plant is good to eat and the bees really like it....I just find it a lovely plant with a variety of colours and fragrances that I can easily fit-in anywhere.
I started with one plant many years ago and now,thanks to its generous spirit,I have it in 4 or 5 different places in the garden-none of which I planted Ours dies down in winter so we freeze the fresh leaves.
We love having fresh herbs on our meals. Now I think about how much salt we use to use, first in cooking and then sprinkled on the food once it's on the table. Sjoerd, don't the bees just love oregano...they are all over our plant when its on the porch. I envy you being able to plant so much of and leave it over winter. That might work here the odd year, but I don't want to risk that. Kiasmum, how do you freeze the leaves? I do my Basil in icecubes.
<<Kiasmum, how do you freeze the leaves? I do my Basil in icecubes.>> We just pick the sprigs and put them in a plastic bag or container.When they're needed they just crumble onto the food.
I am with you when it comes to not taking chances with loved plants. I have not looked on the globe, but I am guessing that your winter temps there are usually more severe than ours here. Do you have a good place for your oregano plants to overwinter? I have to tell you that after reading your post a few days ago I mysteriously developed strong yen for spaghetti with bolognese sauce. I put oregano in that. Thanks.
Sjoerd, I do have a place. I can put them in our living room. There they will get some winter sun and it won't be too warm for them either. A coincidence with you making up a spagetti, as we did the same last week. we used chorizo sausage in it and added fresh oregano - it was delicious. Our winters here in the Cariboo can get very cold. We can get temperatures of -30C, going down to -40C for a week or so.
-30 degs....yeah, waaaaay too cold for the poor Oregano's. chuckle. Making spag. with chorizo sounds really tasty to me. I use chorizo in some stir-frys here.
