How to grow oregano from seeds (personal experience). Growing oregano: methods of propagation, care and harvesting Oregano sowing and growing

It's hard to find a garden spice more desirable than oregano. This incredible plant can not only revolutionize ideas about the art of cooking, but also cure many diseases, give peace and tranquility. If you want the oregano herb to delight you with its modest color and healing fragrance, this article will help you grow it in your garden.

General characteristics

Oregano is distant relative rosemary, lemon balm, mint, basil and other aromatic herbs widely used in cooking and alternative medicine. It has a distinct aroma and powerful healing properties. It is used as a spice in many national cuisines. It is impossible to imagine the famous Greek salad or real Italian pizza without oregano.

Interesting: In Italy they don’t know what oregano is - there this plant is known as oregano.

The stems, flowers and leaves of oregano contain a large amount of antioxidants, vitamin C, essential oils and tannins. Because of such a rich and valuable composition, it is cultivated in Europe and the USA. In the wild, oregano grows especially luxuriantly on the Mediterranean plains, but is also found in Russia - on the warm southern edges, clearings, and mixed-grass meadows.

Oregano varieties

Despite wide popularity plants all over the world, most people are not familiar with its full range of capabilities and use it only as a seasoning or aromatic additive for brewing tea. At the same time, oregano can improve and transform a garden plot, give health and even prolong life. It is very easy to grow it not only in open ground, but even on a balcony or windowsill multi-storey building. To do this, you don’t even have to look for grass in the forest, dig it up and replant it.

Breeders have long created cultivars of oregano that can withstand more adverse living conditions while producing consistently rich color and lush foliage. Artificially created varieties are in many ways superior to ordinary oregano - they are much more aromatic, neater, have different chemical composition, thanks to which you can use this or that variety in the appropriate way (medicate, add to salads, tea, etc.). Also, oregano can differ in the color of the flowers, the size of the foliage, the shape and height of the bush. Despite the obvious differences, each of the varieties has three essential qualities: spice, medicinal properties, decorativeness.

Interesting: There is a legend that says that during the reign of King Kinir in Cyprus, his servant accidentally knocked over an amphora with the owner’s favorite incense. The young man was so frightened by the ruler's anger that he fainted and turned into grass, smelling exactly like spilled perfume.

There are the following varieties of oregano, bred by Russian breeders:

Since oregano is loved and appreciated far beyond Russia, several foreign decorative varieties:

How to grow oregano

Growing oregano, unlike working with other varieties, does not require special skills and strength. This unpretentious plant, requiring minimal care. It tolerates even the harshest Russian winters, feels comfortable in the summer and grows on almost any soil (except swampy). If you want to receive consistently good harvest And lush flowering, it is preferable to plant oregano in sandy loam soils with good drainage and neutral acidity.

If you grow grass by propagating it vegetatively, the bushes should be planted in spring or early autumn, but with regular watering, oregano will take root even in summer.

Growing from seeds

Growing oregano from seeds is the most effective and preferred method of propagation. If you want to grow grass for personal use, it is better to use seedlings. For industrial scale, seeds are sown directly into the ground. At the same time, about 2 kg of seeds are consumed per 1 hectare of land. To obtain seedlings, seeds are sown in mid or late March. In the first year, oregano begins to bloom. When planted in late April-May, flowering begins in the second year.

How to grow oregano:

1. Use small containers with drainage holes (a plastic cup or food storage container).
2. Fill the container with a light nutrient soil mixture with a small amount of fine sand.
3. Moisten the soil with plain water from a spray bottle and tamp lightly.
4. Dig shallow grooves or individual 1.5 cm holes and place the seeds in them.
5. Sprinkle with a layer of earth no thicker than 1 cm, spray again with water and cover the container cling film or in a bag to create a greenhouse effect.
6. Raise the film from time to time to ventilate the crops and moisten the soil if necessary.
7. When the first shoots appear, remove the film and carefully moisten the soil so as not to harm the delicate, immature seedlings.
8. When the sprouts have 2-3 leaves, plant them in separate cups (you can take peat pots).

If the seeds were planted in March, plant in open ground Oregano can be grown in May, keeping a distance between bushes of 30-50 cm on each side (depending on the variety). If you planted oregano seeds in May, the seedlings should be grown in growing beds, planted 15-20 cm apart. You can plant grass in open ground at the end of July-August.

Vegetative propagation

Oregano can be grown not only by seed, but also vegetatively - by dividing rhizomes, cuttings or layering. In any of the three cases, the plant takes root very successfully.

To divide the rhizome, carefully dig the bush out of the ground. Divide the plant so that each part has at least 4-5 strong buds. In the place where you will plant new bushes, make holes 30x50 cm, water them and place the rhizomes.

If you got rare variety oregano, it is better to propagate it by cuttings or layering. You can take cuttings using the usual method: root a cutting with 3-5 internodes, cover it with film and keep it in a miniature greenhouse until the plant begins to develop.

To propagate a bush by layering, tilt the stem towards the ground and secure it with an improvised bracket. Then sprinkle the pinning area with earth and water. In this case, the top of the stem should be outside. Within a year, the stem will take root and can be planted in another place.

Oregano care

Caring for fragrant bushes is easy and pleasant. Young grass should be watered and fertilized from time to time, weeds should be removed and the soil should be lightly loosened, in general, the same manipulations should be done as for most garden plants. In the second year, you should also pay attention to fertilizing and watering, but watering should be done moderately so as not to reduce the content of essential oils in the grass. From the age of three, oregano does not require special care and develops completely independently. Sometimes you can do shaping cutting, weeding and watering.

Although planting and caring for oregano is not at all burdensome, certain rules must be followed:

1. Despite the fact that oregano is perennial, it is better to “relocate” it once every 5-6 years from one end of the garden to the other. In this case, the rhizomes should be divided so that the stems do not stretch, but are of moderate growth and produce a lot of foliage.
2. For annual oregano, the first inflorescences must be removed before they bloom. Thanks to this, the bush will be more lush and fragrant next year.
3. Special attention give fertilizers. If you are growing bushes to obtain medicinal material, then after each pruning (2-3 times per season), water it with water and organic fertilizers. A solution of mullein in a ratio of 1:6 or water with bird droppings in a ratio of 1:15 is suitable.
4. If you grow oregano in pure decorative purposes, additional feeding is not necessary.

Interesting fact: the aroma of oregano repels pests and insects not only from it, but also from crops growing nearby. Only in rare cases can oregano be spoiled by cicadas, and even those only need sweet nectar from it. The scent of oregano will help get rid of not only garden insects, but also solve problems with moths, cockroaches and even mice.

Where to plant oregano is up to you, but it is preferable to choose the sunniest and most remote corners of the garden. Two or three bushes will be enough to meet the needs of one family. Enough to dry aromatic herbs for the winter and brew medicinal tea, make fragrant pillows for a sound sleep, or pick fresh leaves for preparing delicious dishes.

Common parsnip, or field parsnip, or field parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) in the wild is widespread in regions with temperate climate(central Russia, North Caucasus, Crimea, Ural, Altai, etc.), but is still rarely found in garden plots. True, today the popularity of parsnips is growing quite actively. In animal husbandry and beekeeping it is used as a fodder plant and honey plant, and in cooking as a tasty and healthy vegetable.

A universal favorite among decorative deciduous perennials, the hosta captivates not only with the beauty of its leaves. It is durable and relatively undemanding, in right place growing long years, but it can hardly be called fast-growing. Hosta propagates easily, although to obtain spectacular, highly decorative bushes you will have to be patient. To independently increase your hosta collection, first of all, you need to remember the characteristics of this culture.

Dill spreads well by self-sowing, so many summer residents do not consider it necessary to sow this crop every year on their site. But everyone understands that dill and dill are different. And the greens of carefully grown dill in the garden in their own way taste qualities and the aroma, as a rule, is superior to dill, which grows on its own. In this article we will tell you how to have green dill in the beds in sufficient quantities from early spring to late autumn.

Stir-fry with beef, soy noodles, vegetables and Iceberg salad - recipe quick dinner or lunch for a busy person. It takes no more than 15 minutes to prepare, and you can feed it to a couple of hungry mouths that can’t bear to wait for a fancy lunch. Stir-fry is a method of quickly frying vegetables and meat that came to us from the east. Don't be upset if you don't have a wok. kitchen utensils. A regular frying pan with a thick bottom and non-stick coating will do too.

Among plants that boast variegated foliage, alpinia claims to be not only the rarest, but also the most original crop. It simultaneously reminds of bamboos and calathea arrowroots, and sometimes even of vriesea. True, it resembles the latter only in its inflorescences. Luxurious leaves, most often covered with variegated contrasting stripes, look so modern that it is impossible not to admire the beauty of their impeccable patterns and shine.

Vegetarian cabbage rolls made from savoy cabbage with mushrooms - steamed cabbage rolls for dietary, vegetarian and lenten menus. Stuffed cabbage rolls are incredibly tasty, very appetizing, and, if applicable to food, beautiful, unlike their counterparts from white cabbage, stewed in a Dutch oven or fried in a frying pan. Savoy cabbage is tastier than white cabbage, the head is loose, it is easier to separate it into individual leaves. The color of the leaves ranges from soft green to emerald.

IN winter time Every summer resident is looking forward to spring and is happy to open the season with the first plantings of flowers and vegetable crops for seedlings. But, unfortunately, the space on the windowsill is limited, and it is not always possible to place the required number of seedlings in cups in the apartment. In addition, some of the crops may simply not grow, some will die... And for us, summer residents, no matter how much we plant, it’s not enough! Therefore, almost every gardener buys at least some seedlings.

Growing annuals in the garden has at least two advantages over growing perennial flowers. Firstly, most popular annual plants bloom profusely throughout the growing season. Secondly, many annuals sow freely and appear in the garden year after year with minimal participation from the grower. Which annuals can be planted only once, and then, following simple techniques, can be seen in the garden every season?

You can make jellied meat and meat salad with onions from pork knuckle. The knuckle, especially the hind knuckle, is a very tasty and affordable part. pork carcass, which can be fed small company. A 2-kilogram shank will yield a bowl of meat salad and a large plate of jellied meat. There will still be meat broth, on which I advise you to cook cabbage soup or borscht. For this dish, we take a hind shank weighing from 1.7 to 2 kilograms; I advise you to ask the butcher for the meatiest one.

Eggplants require sunny but short days, medium-warm temperatures without sweltering heat, sufficient moisture, but without flooding the root system. It is quite difficult to provide such conditions in the open ground of most regions of Russia. Therefore, previously eggplants were grown only in protected soil conditions. With the development of selection, it became possible to grow eggplants in open ground not only in the southern regions, but also in middle lane.

Among predator plants, the sundew rightly claims to be the brightest and most expressive beauty. This plant attracts, first of all, its unusual textures and play of colors. But the feeding mechanism of this swamp and quite hardy miracle is so exotic that it is very easy to forget about sundews as plants, primarily ornamental ones. Sundews are quite demanding when it comes to humidity, but they are not that difficult to grow in ordinary living spaces.

Chocolate cake with custard made from simple and affordable ingredients, it turns out so tasty that rarely anyone limits themselves to one piece. Sponge cakes moist, they look like they're made from real dark chocolate, even though the recipe only calls for cocoa powder. Creamy custard delicate and light, goes well with chocolate biscuit. All this splendor of tastes complements coconut flakes, the ingredient is simple, but in this recipe, it’s like a cherry on the cake.

Although the calendar spring begins in March, it is very difficult to call this month spring. But May is already a real long-awaited spring, filled with aromas and the multicolor of awakened nature. Fresh young leaves on trees and bushes attract the eye, yearning for greenery during the long months of winter. In May, the parade of primroses continues in the garden, delighting with variegated foliage and flowering ornamental shrubs, perennials, conifers are renewed.

In the middle zone, the shape of the grapes suggests the possibility of shelter on winter period, which means the guideline should be to keep the head of the bush at soil level. Even further north, one cannot count on a large harvest, but even for such areas there are their own pruning principles. The article discusses the sleeve-fan scheme for forming a grape bush, often used in the middle zone, and the cordon scheme, which has shown itself well in regions with a more severe climate.

Beef with eggplant vegetable sauce in the oven - the dish is simple, very tasty and not very high in calories, which is quite relevant nowadays. The sauce is made from vegetables only, no flour, sugar, milk or cream. The meat is fat-free, and yet it turns out juicy and tender. Can be replaced with chicken fillet or veal. The eggplants do not need to be fried first, just add a little salt to make them soft. TO ready-made dish I recommend making a light yogurt sauce.

Oregano is an almost ubiquitous perennial herbaceous plant with a very pleasant spicy aroma. Oregano is found not only in natural natural conditions, but also cultivated as garden plant. What useful qualities, attractive to the gardener, does oregano have?

Easy to grow. Oregano prefers open and well-lit areas to grow. sunny places, but it can also grow in some shade. The plant grows well in any soil except acidic and clayey ones. It tolerates winter well and begins the growing season in February-March.

Decorative qualities. Long-lasting and beautiful flowering of oregano with numerous panicle inflorescences of red, purple, pink, purple, yellow or white serves as a real decoration for a flower bed or flower garden garden plot. Some varieties of oregano have decorative not only beautiful inflorescences, but also colorful leaves.

Medicinal properties. Oregano is widely used in both traditional and folk medicine - for the production of essential oils, extracts, medicinal decoctions and tinctures. Also essential oils Oregano is used as a flavoring agent.

Culinary practice. Young leaves, shoots and inflorescences of the plant are used as a spicy seasoning when preparing dishes and drinks, as an aromatic additive when brewing tea, and as a natural antiseptic when preserving.

Growing Oregano.

This rather unpretentious plant can be grown from seeds or by dividing the bush. When growing oregano from seeds, two methods are usually used:

Direct planting of seeds in the ground.
Pre-growing seedlings.

Regardless of the method used, before planting the soil must be cleared of weeds by weeding, loosened, fertilized and a ridge formed. As a top dressing for 1 sq.m. It is best to use the following universal mixture - 1/3 bucket of humus and 2 tbsp. complete balanced mineral fertilizer.

Method 1 - growing oregano from seeds by planting in the ground.

The seeds are sown in moistened soil to a depth of no more than 0.5-1 cm. The distance between the ridges should be 25-40 cm. After sowing, the soil is slightly compacted and mulched on top with peat ( sawdust, humus). For creating optimal conditions For seed germination, the ridges can be covered with film or special covering material. After 2-3 weeks from the start of sowing, the first shoots of oregano begin to appear. At this time, the young sprouts of oregano are still very small and weak.

The seedlings are thinned out after 2-3 weeks, when the young plants have finally formed, grown and become stronger. The distance between the sprouts remaining on the ridge should be at least 15-20 cm. The dug up plants are transplanted to another ridge. After 1.5-2 months, weeds are removed and young plants are fertilized. Further, oregano does not need special care, with the exception of timely watering.

Oregano blooms when using the first method of propagation only in the second year of life. Before flowering, it is necessary to add a complex balanced fertilizer to the soil.

Method 2 - growing seedlings.

Growing oregano seedlings before planting in the ground is more economical and convenient way, as it allows the most optimal use of planting material.

Seeds are sown in early March in planting boxes, cassettes or plastic cups filled with loose and nutritious soil - in a small hole to a depth of 0.5-1 cm. At the bottom of the planting container there must be drainage hole required for drainage excess water when watering. After planting the seeds, the soil is slightly moistened, the planting boxes are covered with plastic greenhouse film and placed in a well-lit place. The temperature is maintained at least 18-20°C. After the emergence of seedlings, the greenhouse film is opened slightly from time to time, ventilating and gradually accustoming the young plants to normal conditions. After a month, the film is removed, and the seedlings are planted in separate cups.

In the month of May, the grown seedlings are planted in prepared ridges of open ground, making sure to maintain an interval of approximately 15-20 cm between plants. For planting, choose a well-lit, preferably sunny place at an elevation in the garden plot. The seedlings planted on the beds are watered. Next, standard care is carried out for oregano - removing weeds, fertilizing and watering.

When using the second propagation method, oregano begins to bloom in the first year of its life.

By following these simple rules, using cultivation from seeds using one of the methods suggested above, you can quickly acquire this beautiful and at the same time useful plant. This modest beauty will not only fill your garden with the fragrance of her aroma, but will also serve as a home healer for you, as well as a fragrant addition to your table.

IN Lately Our familiar “oregano” is increasingly called “oregano”, since many recipes for culinary dishes easily migrated from European cuisine to our table. It, like other spicy-fragrant herbs, can be grown in open ground, or you can create a mini-garden on a windowsill. When preparing for planting, be prepared for the fact that seedlings make it easier to grow oregano from seeds.

Description, types and varieties

Oregano (Origanum vulgáre) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Lamiaceae or Lamiaceae family. It is also called incense in another way. Oregano is generally an unpretentious plant. Withstands frost and drought. But at the same time she loves sunny areas with loose soil. By providing it with minimal care, you can get abundant flowering and a large harvest.

The size of the bushes varies from 10 to 70 cm. The rhizome is creeping, branched. The leaves are petiolate, oppositely arranged, ovoid in shape with a pointed tip. Inflorescences are corymbose-paniculate. Many hybrids and varieties have been obtained with different shades of flowers from white to dark purple, there are variegated and yellow-leaved forms:

Oregano: growing from seeds through seedlings and in open ground

Ladanka is propagated by seeds, divisions and layering. Seeds are planted in the first days of March. Under favorable conditions, plants appear in 1.5-2 weeks, but grow very slowly. When two pairs of leaves appear on the plant, they are planted in separate containers.

The seedlings are transplanted into the ground in mid-May. The beds for planting oregano are prepared in the fall. They need to be cleared of weeds with a flat cutter and organic fertilizers applied. In spring, the soil in the garden bed must be loosened and holes made for planting. The seedlings are placed in the holes along with a lump of earth on the roots. The distance between the bushes is maintained at 20 cm. Oregano blooms in the 2nd year after sowing.

Oregano is often planted with seeds in open ground. This method is not as effective as planting seedlings, but it also gives results. After the plants emerge, they need to be thinned out. Be sure to ensure sufficient soil moisture, this is the main condition for high-quality oregano growth.

Mature plants can be divided. Dig up mature plant, liberated from the ground root system, and divide in such a way that there are 1-2 shoots on one division. Plant the separated plants in the prepared holes. After this planting, it is necessary to pour plenty of water and mulch with peat. Rooting occurs quickly.

Layers are obtained throughout the growing season by sprinkling the branches with soil. In autumn or spring, rooted shoots are removed from the mother bush.

There is, of course, a large selection of grown seedlings in garden centers. Planting and caring for plants from containers is generally quite simple - they can be transplanted into the ground from April to September. We planted one of the yellow-leaved forms just like that, and this is how it grew in the garden:

These qualities of oregano are widely used in practice natural farming– it is planted in small patches in the garden to protect vegetable crops from pests and diseases. We also planted a low-growing bush f. aureum in the very sun between a bed with onions and a strawberry pyramid.

Preparation of oregano

Oregano is collected during the flowering period. At this time, the maximum content of essential oils in the plant is observed. Dry the collected herbs in dark, well-ventilated rooms. After drying, place in a dark container, closing with tight lids. The harvested crop is suitable for consumption and does not lose its properties for 2 years.

Oregano in landscape design

Oregano fits perfectly into any composition created in natural style. It can be a companion to hyssop, yarrow, sage, sedum and drought-resistant grasses. And for spicy-fragrant beds, you can choose a couple of such varieties so that they have leaves or flowers of different colors, or the height of the bush.

Finally, we would like to add that dishes such as pizza or Greek salad are unthinkable without oregano. And when you cut a bunch of greens from your own garden bed, the taste of oregano is not lost, but remains rich. So we recommend growing this spicy herb in your garden. We are confident that you can now grow oregano from seeds.