How to grow oregano from seeds at home?

The exotic spice oregano and the common oregano (Origanum vulgare), familiar to many Russian housewives, are not just related herbs - they are one and the same type of plant, whose leaves are used as a seasoning for pizza, Greek salad, and fragrant flowers are added to tea. Other names are often found: wild marjoram, zenovka, bee-lover, incense. About 55 species belong to the genus Oregano (Origanum). Most of them grow on the Mediterranean coast, some in the northern regions, where the climate is drier and warmer. Oregano is a common plant for central Russia, popular among gardeners due to the fact that it does not require special care.

Oregano varieties

The difference between the aromas of oregano and oregano is easy to explain: in the representatives of the Yasnotkov family, to which other popular spicy herbs belong - thyme, basil, mint, sage - there is often a change in smell even within one variety. Representatives of this family are often medicinal plants, and oregano is no exception: its stems and leaves contain vitamins, tannins, essential oils, and antioxidants. It helps with various viral diseases, lowers cholesterol, acts as a sedative.

Due to its many beneficial properties, oregano is widely cultivated in the United States as a medicinal plant. But it is possible to grow in the open field for decorative purposes due to the attractive foliage and flowers and then use it as an aromatic additive to tea or seasoning for meat dishes. Wild oregano is often found in warm areas of the forest, in the lowlands, but it is not necessary to look for it and dig it up in order to settle it in your garden. The aromatic herbs of this family can be easily grown from seeds.

Advice

The aroma of oregano will not only fill the garden with a scent, but will also help ward off pests, including moths and cockroaches.

There are many new varieties of oregano that can withstand the harsh climates and are easy to maintain and maintain. They are able to please the amateur gardener with a rich, stable harvest. These hybrids surpass their wild fellow tribesman in aromatic properties and look much neater and more attractive on the garden bed. Each of them can be used for a variety of purposes: as medicinal herbs, to be added to salads and meat dishes, or as a decoration. Plants differ in size, color of leaves and flowers, stem height, bush shape.

Russian breeders have created several varieties of oregano that are resistant to temperature extremes and have a wonderful aroma.

Caramel is a variety with high taste and aroma of foliage.
White oregano is a small bush with small white inflorescences.
The honey scent is a compact bush with purple inflorescences that have a strong pleasant scent.
Hope is a short bush with emerald foliage and purple buds.
Fairy is one of the highest yielding varieties with dark green leaves.

Foreign breeders have bred many interesting varieties, which can be grown in balcony boxes, pots and in the open field.

Variety is a compact, narrow bush with golden foliage and snow-white fragrant inflorescences.
Gold Tip is a small bush with pink buds and small leaves with golden tips.
Beauty Kent is a decorative variety with unusual tassel inflorescences, the color of which changes from white to lilac. Suitable for pot and container compositions.
Variegata is a small bush with variegated foliage with a white edging along the edge of the leaf.
Herrenhausen is a German, profusely flowering hybrid with clusters of lilac inflorescences.

Growing from seeds

Oregano is an undemanding plant, its cultivation does not cause difficulties. Care for this species needs minimal, oregano easily tolerates severe winters and grows well in summer, enduring drought and heat. This grass prefers neutral soil, sandy loam soils, in which there is a good drainage layer, are excellent. Swampy, overly humid areas should be avoided. Planting should be done in a well-lit place, otherwise the plant will not develop well.

Advice

Growing oregano from a vegetative propagation method is slightly more difficult to care for than seed-grown oregano. Young shrubs need regular watering to take root better.

Growing from seed through seedlings is the most effective option for breeding oregano at home. Seeds are sown in pre-prepared distribution boxes in mid-March. If the deadlines are met, the plant will bloom in the same year. But, if the planting is delayed until the end of April, flowering is postponed until the next season. Planting containers must have drainage holes, since oregano does not tolerate stagnant moisture. For this purpose, you can use plastic cups or food storage containers.

The soil is prepared light and nutritious, with a small addition of sand. It is advisable to disinfect it with a pink solution of potassium permanganate or bake it in the oven - this measure will facilitate the care of the plants and help prevent diseases of the seedlings. The mixture is moistened, compacted a little. Small furrows or holes are made in the soil, into which the seeds are laid out. From above they need to be sprinkled with a small layer of soil, no more than 1 cm. After that, the boxes are covered with a film or a bag to create a greenhouse effect. The greenhouse is periodically ventilated to provide the seedlings with fresh air, remove excess condensation and, if necessary, additionally moisten the substrate.

When the first entrances appear, the film should be removed, and the ground should be carefully moistened. After the seedlings have a second pair of true leaves, they dive and sit in separate containers. Planting of March seedlings is carried out in May, while the distance between plants should be at least 30 cm. Oregano obtained from seeds that were sown in May are grown in beds - they are planted at a distance of 20 cm from each other. Planting such grasses in open ground is carried out no earlier than the end of July. Rare varieties of oregano are preferable to propagate vegetatively - by dividing the bush, cuttings or layering - in order to preserve the characteristics of the mother plant.

Oregano care

Growing and caring for this aromatic plant is quite simple: young seedlings obtained from seeds should be watered and fertilized regularly. Top dressing is applied 2-3 times per season, using organic fertilizers, for example, a solution of mullein or bird droppings. You do not need to feed the bushes grown for the decoration of the garden.

It is advisable to loosen the soil around the bushes and remove weeds.In the second year of life, watering is slightly reduced - this helps to maintain the level of essential oils in the foliage. At the age of three, oregano is able to grow on its own; the plant no longer needs special care. Formative pruning can be carried out if desired. Once every 5 years, it is recommended to transplant the bushes to another place, dividing the rhizomes.

So, oregano, or oregano, is a fragrant plant with medicinal properties. It can be used to decorate the garden and as a condiment to various dishes. Planting oregano and caring for it does not cause any particular difficulties for amateur gardeners. The best way to acquire this useful plant on your site is to grow it from seeds.

There are many varieties of oregano of Russian and foreign selection that can not only fill the garden with the aroma of beautiful flowers, but also decorate flower beds, containers or hanging pots. Many of them take root well in the open field and can grow in one place for many years without requiring special attention. In the early years, it is enough to regularly water and fertilize the bushes; after three years of age, oregano can grow on the site on its own.

Methods for decorating a summer cottage, the independent production of pure herbal spicy plants that can be used for cooking, are increasingly of interest to summer residents. We bring to your attention a description of the popular spice - oregano (mother, amulet, oregano).
Oregano is a herbal perennial plant with a pleasant aroma, which puts it on a par with rosemary, mint and lemon balm, used everywhere.

Characteristics of culture

Before purchasing seeds, check out the main signs of oregano:

The height of the spice bush reaches 70 cm.
The root is creeping, branched.
The stems are pubescent with a red base and have the ability to grow back every year.
Leaves are dark green, oblong, 2-4 cm long.
The flowers are small, red (white, yellow), forming a lush panicle.
Fruits are triangular, consist of 4 nuts (0.5 mm long).
Seeds are small, like poppy, red.

Please note that the plant is unpretentious to growing conditions and soil, cold-resistant, does not need shelter. It easily tolerates a hot climate, but in such conditions it grows small without watering. The spicy smell of the culture attracts bees to the garden and drives away harmful insects.

Varietal variety of oregano

When choosing a type of aromatic spice, pay attention to its purpose. When breeding different varieties, breeders focused on decorative properties and quality of aroma, spicy qualities (the ability to use as a spice or for making tea), high yield. Varietal names speak for themselves:

White oregano is a white decorative, high-yielding variety.
The honey aroma is a red fruitful variety with a strong aroma. Height up to 35 cm.
Caramel has excellent spicy properties.
Rainbow - has enhanced medicinal properties. Reaches a height of 60-70 cm.

Gardeners will probably want to try out ornamental varieties bred abroad:

Variety is a small but sprawling shrub with white fragrant flowers and greenish-golden foliage. Good flavor.
Beauty Kent is a variety designed for planting in pots, decorating the veranda. The flowers-tassels of the plant have different colors.
Herrenhausen is an oregano that attracts clusters of purple inflorescences.

Note that the bushes are of different sizes. Large ones will require a larger area and a greater distance between plants when planting.

How to choose a landing site

Oregano loves sunny places. It can grow in the shade, but the sprout will stretch out, the flowering will be delayed, the aroma is weaker, the medicinal properties are lower. To plant a plant, choose the most illuminated place in your summer cottage or partial shade.
The culture can grow on any soil.You can grow a large crop on sandy loam, neutral acidity, well-drained soils. On acidic soils, the bushes grow unsatisfactorily.
The area should not be too dry or too wet. Oregano loves hydration, but not excessive moisture.

Culture propagation methods

Oregano can be bred in two ways - by seed and vegetatively by dividing the bush.
The most optimal for the initial planting is the sowing of the spice with seeds. In large areas for sale, by the way, they grow oregano from seeds.
Traditionally, very small seed material is sown first for seedlings, since the seedlings are too tender, they are easily clogged by weeds. It is best to plant fully matured sprouts in open ground.

Features of sowing seeds for seedlings

Plant seeds for seedlings you should plant in March. Prepare the planting container before planting. This can be a plastic container, a wooden box, or a regular pot.
Drain the container with pebbles or broken bricks. Fill the container with loose earth, adding sand or agroperlite.
Follow these planting rules:

Make grooves up to 1 cm deep or make holes up to 1.5 cm deep.
Moisten the ground.
Sow stuff.
After sowing, sprinkle the seeds with earth (approximately up to 1 cm).
Re-moisten the earth with the method of shallow shower from a spray, spray bottle.
Cover the container with plastic wrap or glass to create a greenhouse effect (if you want to speed up germination).
Maintain a seed germination temperature of 18-20 degrees.
Moisten the soil as the soil dries.

The first shoots will appear in two weeks. When shoots appear, the cover should be removed. When 2-3 leaves appear on the sprouts, dive them into separate containers (pots, cassettes).
If necessary, arrange supplementary lighting with a phytolamp (or fluorescent lamps).
Planting seedlings in open ground occurs in May. Seedlings are planted that have reached two months of age.

Preparing the soil for planting seedlings

Undemanding oregano will also grow on unfertilized soil. And yet, in order to obtain lush greenery under this perennial spice, it is advisable to apply organic fertilizers in an amount per square meter in the fall:

Humus - 3 kg.
Complex mineral fertilizer - 2 tablespoons.
1 tablespoon superphosphate.

Rules for planting sprouts in open ground

Planting seedlings in open ground occurs in the month of May, when the ground is warm. In this case, the following recommendations are followed:

bushes are planted with ribbons with a distance of 45-50 cm;
leave 20 cm between the lines of the tape;
in a row - 10-15 cm.

The distance will depend on the variety you choose. For short and tall varieties, the numbers will be different.
The planted plants do not bloom in the first year of planting and develop slowly. Flowering begins in the 2nd year of life. The bushes become lush, spreading, decorative.

Sowing seeds in open ground

When sowing seed directly into open ground, you will need to carefully prepare the soil, free it from weeds as much as possible. Landing in May. The ground will warm up enough to start sowing. The seeds are small, when sowing, keep in mind that you will need to take 0.1 mg per 10 square meters. Perform the work in this order:

Dig up the ground prepared in the fall shallowly, free it from the roots of the weeds, and loosen it well.
Seeds are sown to a depth of 1 cm with row spacing of 25-45 cm.
Compact the earth, moisten with fine sprinkling.
Do mulching to retain moisture longer.

Seedlings will appear in 14-20 days.

Spice care technology

Spice care consists in watering, loosening, thinning, fertilizing, weeding. Fragrant bushes do not attract pests.

Watering is carried out as needed in dry weather. Overall, oregano loves hydration.
Mulching is carried out with rotted straw in order to retain moisture longer.
For lush greenery, you should feed oregano. Apply fertilizer in this composition per square meter:
- ammonium nitrate -200, 300 g,
- superphosphate - 150-200 g,
- potash salt - 150-200 g.
Top dressing is done with complex fertilizer 2-3 times per season. Before flowering bushes, 0.5 tablespoons of nitroammofoska are added to 5 liters of water.
Ornamental shrubs do not need to be fed, as they overgrow and lose their decorative effect.
The culture does not like weeds, weeding should be done regularly until the plant reaches maturity.
Thinning is performed 2 weeks after germination. A distance of 15-20 cm is left between the plants. The torn shoots are used as seedlings.
If you cut the flowers, the foliage will be thicker.

After the second year of growing oregano, vegetative propagation is performed by dividing the bush. A plant cannot grow in one place for more than 5 years. Therefore, in early spring, the bush is divided. The rhizomes of a plant with several shoots are transplanted to another place.

Harvesting

You can start harvesting oregano after growing from seeds from the second year of plant development. In the first year, you can only cut it before winter.
Most varieties are harvested twice a season. The first time - before the spice begins to bloom, the second time - at the time of flowering in July.
At the first harvest, 3 branches can be removed from an adult bush, having a length of up to 20 cm.
In practice, the branches are tied in bunches and suspended in a shaded place (you can under a canopy), where the direct rays of the sun do not fall.
If you spread the grass on paper, you will need to turn it over from time to time.
When the drying process is over, the leaves are removed from the branches and sent to storage in hermetically sealed glass containers. The stems are removed.
The shelf life of fragrant greens is 2 years.
For medicinal purposes in dry sunny weather, the flowering well-leafy stems are cut. The drying temperature should not rise above 40 degrees. Essential substances evaporate at this temperature.
If you are going to harvest seeds from a shrub, choose a large shrub and leave it to bloom.
Seed collection takes place in September. It is necessary to cut off the shoot with seeds, dry them and manually grind the capsules to obtain seeds. Separate foreign debris. If necessary, the seed should be dried.
Store the material in paper bags in a dry place.

Oregano application

The leaves of the plant and flowering tops are used for the preparation of aromatic and peculiar teas, infusions, drinks, culinary spices, for pickling cucumbers, tomatoes, and mushrooms.
The culture is popular not only as a spice, but also has medicinal properties due to its high content of antioxidants, vitamin C, essential oil, and tannins.
Fees are used in order to normalize the work of digestion.
To prepare the infusion, 10 g of herbs are poured with a glass of boiling water, insist, apply 1 tablespoon 3 times a day.
The spice is included in the fees for the treatment of tonsillitis, pharyngitis, stomatitis and diathesis.
Tea has a soothing and mild hypnotic effect, relieves headaches.
To protect against moths, use bags of grass, hanging them between clothes in closets.
Grow fragrant oregano in the country. Whether it is used in cooking, as a medicine or as a decorative element, the choice is yours.

Oregano

Published by 13.01.2015 |

Various plants are grown on the spice bed, among which you can often find common oregano. To culinary experts, oregano is better known as oregano, the spicy spicy taste of which ideally complements fish, meat, this spice is included in salad dressings.

In order to always have fresh oregano in the kitchen, the cultivation of this crop can also be at home.In this case, there will be no lush rosettes of leaves, but subject to the growing conditions, you can always have fresh spicy greens on the windowsill.

Wild oregano can be found in many forests and meadows, but it is easier to grow it in the garden. Breeders have bred several varieties of this spice, among which the following are distinguished by high yields: Rainbow, Belaya, Nadyadnaya, Khutoryanka. Caramel and a number of others.

Common oregano: growing

Since this plant is quite demanding and delicate, certain agricultural rules should be followed during cultivation. Growing oregano is possible through sowing seeds directly into the ground, by seedling, dividing an adult bush or grafting.

Oregano: growing from seed

There are no difficulties in growing oregano in this way, but the site for sowing should be prepared in the fall. Dig up the soil, carefully selecting all the roots of weeds. In the spring, humus is introduced into the soil (about a third of a bucket per "square"), complex mineral fertilizer (2 spoons). The bed is carefully leveled so that it becomes loose, without lumps.

To have such a plant as oregano, cultivation from seeds should be carried out taking into account the peculiarities of sowing. It is only necessary to sow oregano in wet soil, for which the cut grooves are spilled with water. The seeds of this culture are very small, so they should be embedded in the ground to a depth of no more than 1 cm. A distance of 25 cm is left between the rows so that the plants have enough light and nutritional area. The sown seeds are sprinkled with soil, compact the planting site and mulch the surface to retain moisture.

The first shoots of oregano appear 15-20 days after sowing. At this time, it is important to ensure that the weed does not drown the plantings. To obtain a good harvest of oregano, growing from seeds is further reduced to periodic watering, and fertilizing with mineral fertilizers in case of poor plant growth.

At the age of two weeks, the shoots of common oregano are thinned out, leaving about 15-20 cm between the plants. However, do not rush to throw out the oregano removed from the rows - it can be used as seedlings. Planting oregano requires attention for the first two months, after which the mature plants grow on their own.

Growing oregano seedlings

To make sure that oregano grows in the garden, growing from seeds is not always suitable. Small seeds germinate slowly and are often washed out by rain in the open field. The easiest and most economical way to grow this plant is through seedlings.
At the beginning of March, seedling boxes or individual cups are filled with loose nutrient soil, moistened with water and the seeds of oregano are sown, embedding them to a depth of 1 cm. Until the emergence of seedlings, containers with seeds are kept at a temperature of 18-20 degrees Celsius.

In order for oregano seeds to germinate faster, they are pre-soaked and sown with sprouts already sprouted. With dry sowing, seedlings will appear in 2 weeks. Seedlings need watering when drying the soil and diffused sunlight. Oregano grows slowly, so it is important to create optimal conditions for its normal development. As in the case of oregano, cultivation from the seeds of which is carried out in open ground, with the seedling method, they are also used
a pick. With the formation of 1-2 pairs of true leaves, oregano is seated in separate containers. This must be done carefully, trying to minimize damage to the plant's root system. As the transplanted plants continue to grow, the room temperature should be gradually lowered to prepare the oregano seedlings for outdoor transplanting.
From the second half of May, seedlings of oregano can be planted in open ground. Choose a sunny place for planting, the soil must be fertile. Since this plant does not tolerate stagnant water, with a close occurrence of groundwater and in low-lying places, the soil is drained before planting.Oregano also belongs to perennial plants, the cultivation of which in one place has been carried out for several years, so you need to take care of applying enough fertilizer before planting spice seedlings.

It is advisable to plant oregano seedlings with a clod of earth in a well-spilled hole. About 20 cm of distance is left between the plants, which is enough for normal development and nutrition. The soil around the seedlings is slightly compacted, gently watered and immediately mulched to retain moisture.

In the first year of planting oregano, they do not bloom and grow rather slowly. In the second year, its growth increases, and bushes up to 60 cm high are formed. Before flowering planting, it is advisable to feed it with mineral fertilizer, using a solution of nitroammofoska (for 10 liters of water, take a spoonful of the substance).

Growing oregano by dividing a bush

An adult oregano bush can be divided into parts, each of which should have several shoots. Using a portion of the oregano bush, growing at home can be continued by planting it in a pot of suitable size.

When transplanting, the separated oregano bush is buried 5 cm into the soil. Rejuvenation of oregano bushes is carried out every 3-5 years. Such delenki of oregano take root well if planted in fertile soil. After a few weeks, the plants start to grow and by autumn they have built up a large number of young shoots.
The strong aroma of spicy oregano repels pests, so it is practically not damaged by insects. Also, the plant is resistant to fungal diseases.

Oregano is harvested from August to mid-September, when the plant accumulates the maximum amount of essential oils.

Buy oregano seeds

Oregano is known to us under different names: mother, incense, forest mint, oregano (from the original name Origanum vulgare).

This plant is rich in essential oils, tannins, ascorbic acid. That is why it is widely used in both folk and traditional medicine. It is difficult to imagine a classic Italian pizza or Greek salad without this spice, but how fragrant and healthy oregano tea is!

Oregano can be grown not only in the garden, but all year round in a pot on a windowsill. True, in room conditions, the content of nutrients in a plant will be slightly lower.

Methods and timing of growing oregano

In fact, planting and caring for oregano is very simple. First of all, you should decide on the method of growing, there can be four of them:

seedling method;
sowing seeds in open ground;
growing from cuttings;
growing by dividing the bush.

Having chosen the most suitable option, you can start preparing.

Growing through seedlings

Growing oregano from seeds at home for seedlings is not at all difficult. This method is the most common among experienced gardeners, but beginners will also be able to do it. In order for a strong healthy seedling to turn out from the seeds, they need to ensure the correct temperature regime and watering. The seeds do not require special pre-planting preparation.

Seed preparation for sowing.Since oregano seeds do not need pretreatment with disinfectant solutions, heating and soaking, they can be sown directly on seedlings. The planting material is extremely small - 0.1 g holds about 1000 seeds. This volume is enough to sow an area of 10 m2. The seeds look too small and I can't even believe that in August it will be a bush 70 cm high.

Soil preparation and site selection.Growing from seeds should take place in light soil, peat is perfect for this. Before sowing, the substrate can be poured with a growth stimulator (for example, "Energen") at the rate of 5 drops of solution per 1 liter of warm water. This event is not at all mandatory, even without a stimulant, oregano seeds will sprout by the beginning of the second week.

The windowsill of a warm room is an excellent place for germinating seedlings from seeds. For the first week, the seed container can be kept without lighting. Important conditions at this stage are moist soil and an air temperature of at least 22 ° C.

Sowing rules.Sowing oregano seeds in order to obtain seedlings should be carried out in February, the deadline is mid-March. Since the seeds are very small, they should not be deepened too much. The optimum sowing depth is about 0.5 cm. The soil is pre-moistened abundantly.

If you wish, you can cover the container with foil or glass, creating the conditions for a greenhouse, but there is no particular need for this. It should be remembered that the soil should not dry out, the seeds should be in a warm, humid environment.

It will take at least 10 days for the first shoots to appear. When the first greenery appears from under the ground, it is advisable to place the container on the sill of the south window. During the airing of the room, the container with oregano is hidden from the draft.

Advice: "Oregano shoots are very thin and delicate, the first few days are recommended to be watered with a spray bottle."

Further, the care of the seedlings begins, which includes not only watering, but also the removal of sprouted weeds. It is very important to get rid of them, because they can "clog" young shoots, moreover, the weeds take on a considerable part of the nutrients from the soil.

Seedling picking.When the plant has the first pair of leaves, it's time to plant the oregano in separate cups so that their roots don't start to intertwine. In these containers, the seedlings will spend about a month. Picking promotes better development of lateral roots, the plant becomes stronger, it has enough nutrients (as opposed to mass cultivation in one container). There are two ways to pick:

Transplanting seedlings.
Transshipment together with the soil.

In the first method, the container with sprouts is well moistened 3 hours before the pick. This will help to easily lift the plants out of the soil. You will need a small spatula or a regular spoon. When taking out the sprouts, you need to hold them by the cotyledon leaves or an earthen lump on the root.

Peat or universal soil mixed with sand is poured into plastic cups (or another container with a volume of up to 0.5 liters). Only strong healthy seedlings are planted, the rest of the specimens will not be useful. Each glass must be well watered. During the adaptation of the plant, it is better to hide it from the bright sun. After 3-4 days, the oregano can be returned to the sunny windowsill.

A more gentle way of picking for a plant is by reloading. The container with future seedlings is gently turned over to detach and remove the sprouts. The soil must be dry. This method is suitable for oregano grown in a small container or in separate cups.

Sowing with seeds in open ground

The motherboard can be sown with seeds directly into the open ground, but this is a more troublesome and unreliable planting option. Sowing can be carried out when the soil warms up, and sudden changes in temperature have passed. This is usually mid or late May.

Seeds are sown in pre-dug, well-moistened soil, leaving row spacings about 40 cm wide. You can sow in shallow grooves or holes, sprinkling on top with a thin layer of soil. Next, you need to monitor the regular moistening of the soil. Seedlings will appear no earlier than two weeks later.

Attention! Oregano, grown by direct sowing into the ground, will bloom only in the second year.

Disadvantages of this landing method:

long hatching of seeds;
seedlings are very tender, and heavy rain can wash them out of the soil;
weeds grow much faster, suppressing oregano and preventing it from getting stronger;
there will be no flowering in the year of planting.

Planting and caring for oregano in the open field does not imply special agricultural technology. However, during the period when the first shoots appear, additional attention may be required.Seedlings must be thinned out, leaving the strongest specimens. Weeds should be removed as soon as they appear.

Growing by cuttings and dividing the bush

You can propagate oregano in this way if you have an adult mother plant. The bush is dug up and carefully divided into parts, being careful not to damage the roots. The procedure is performed in autumn or spring.

Reproduction by cuttings can be carried out throughout the growing season. To do this, cut cuttings are dug into the soil for germination, leaving the top of the plant intact. During the summer they will sprout, and at the beginning of next year they will be ready for independent living. In the spring, such rooted cuttings are separated from the main bush and transplanted to a permanent place.

Transplanting

Of all the listed methods of how to grow oregano in the garden, seedling is the most effective.

You can plant oregano seedlings in open ground in May, when the night frosts pass.

Oregano can be used to decorate flower beds as an ornamental herb. It can be bred in the country among vegetables to protect them from insects (it has a specific aroma that repels pests). Diseases affect oregano extremely rarely, this is mainly a consequence of excessive watering.

Seat selection

Oregano is not an annual herb, it can grow in one place for about 20 years, so it is important to choose the right site for it. Like all outdoor herbaceous plants, oregano loves loose soil and plenty of sunlight. It can adapt to growing in the shade, but lack of sun will significantly affect its healing properties.

Soil preparation

It is important not only where to plant, but also in what soil. The mother mother can grow in a scarce substrate, but with annual fertilization, its quality, as a spice and a medicinal plant, increases significantly. In the fall, the soil is deeply dug up with rotted manure and superphosphate. For 1 m2 you will need an incomplete bucket of manure and about 2 tbsp. l. granular superphosphate. In the spring, seedlings can be planted in the prepared soil.

Landing scheme

Planting and caring for oregano will be much easier if you keep the optimal distance between the bushes. In the first two years, oregano does not grow much, and it is convenient to care for it, but with a very dense planting, it is more difficult to work the soil.

It is recommended to plant oregano with an interval of 30 cm between the bushes, the aisles are left wider - up to 50 cm.

Oregano can be grown as a garden herb, being a wonderful decoration for flower beds and flower beds. In this case, the distance between the bushes does not really matter, and it can be reduced to 15 cm. You should also minimize feeding with nitrogen-containing fertilizers, since they can affect the flowering of oregano.

Plant care

Since the motherboard grows both in the house and in the garden, it is not at all difficult to grow a lush bush of fragrant seasoning at home. In the spring, when planting seedlings in the ground, it is worth leaving one bush for planting in a pot, as a houseplant. Caring for it does not differ from other ornamental plants; in summer, the pot can be taken out into the garden.

Watering and weeding

Oregano is extremely uncomfortable in excessively moist soil. It is worth watering it as the top layer of the soil dries up. If the first 3-5 cm of the soil is completely dry, it's time for watering.

A short-term drought on hot days will not harm the plant, but the lack of moisture for more than a week can destroy it. At air temperatures above 26 ° C, it is advisable to water the oregano beds every third day.

Very good results are obtained by mulching the soil under the bushes with straw. This stops the growth of weeds and retains moisture in the soil after watering. Mulch is not harvested in autumn. Usually, oregano winters well without shelter, but a layer of straw will not be superfluous during the first frost.

Top dressing

If oregano is not grown for flowering, but as a seasoning or medicinal plant, it is recommended to regularly replenish the supply of nutrients in the soil. To do this, it is enough to carry out top dressing twice a year - necessarily in the fall (or early spring) and in the middle of summer.

Attention! Fertilizers when digging should go about 20 cm deep. Being in the top layer, they will not give the expected result.

You can use ready-made universal fertilizers, or you can add a mixture of rotted manure with superphosphate (add 40 g of superphosphate to ¾ buckets of manure).

Pruning and replanting

There is no need to prune the oregano, but you can cut the flowers in the first year, this will stimulate the growth of the bush. In the first two years, the plant develops rather slowly, such pruning will help it not waste energy on flowering, but direct them to the formation of a lush crown.

Oregano is a long-liver, its bushes grow for more than 15 years without transplanting, but to preserve nutrients in the plant, it is recommended to transplant it every 5 years. It is better to do this in autumn or spring, when the soil warms up. The beds after oregano are great for vegetable crops, since they are not infested with pests.

When and how to cut and dry oregano properly

Depending on the variety, the flowering time of the plant may differ slightly. In oregano, flowering begins in July. It was at this time that the harvesting of this spice was carried out.

Stems about 25 cm long are suitable for cutting. No more than three such branches are cut from one bush. It is better to dry them in a suspended state by rewinding a small bundle of thread. This method of drying is the most correct, since this way air is provided to the plant from all sides, it does not rot.

When the twigs are completely dry, the leaves are harvested from them, and the stems are discarded. You can store the leaves in sealed jars for two years. Oregano is used in the fight against moths; for this, dry twigs with flowers and leaves are placed in the cabinet.

The largest flowering branches are left to collect seeds. They are also dried, after which the flowers are carefully rubbed with hands, releasing the smallest seeds. You can store the seeds by wrapping them in clean paper (not newspaper), away from moisture.

Oregano is no longer perceived as an exotic plant, more and more often it can be found growing in a garden or on a windowsill in our area. This medicinal plant definitely deserves our attention.

Date of publication:Growing