Growing Herbs: Oregano

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Oregano is one of the more popular herbs grown in the garden. It's practically synonymous with Mediterranean cuisine including Italian, Greek and Spanish. This herb livens up a variety of dishes and is easy to grow. Oregano is often confused or used interchangeably with sweet marjoram since they are from the same botanical family of origanum. They do taste similar, however, oregano is more pungent while sweet marjoram is more delicate and well, sweeter. Each brings a unique flavor to dishes and deserves to be treated separately rather than interchangeably. When choosing plants, oregano will bear the name origanum vulgare while origanum majorana is sweet marjoram. 

Growing and Harvesting Oregano

Oregano is hardy to zone 5 which means that it's not hardy here in Minnesota. However, that means it's perfectly suited for container gardening to grow inside the house as well as out. My personal preference is definitely for  fresh oregano. Prior to trying this herb fresh, I just didn't care for it. This is something to keep in my mind when trying herbs. If you don't like it dried you may find fresh is a completely different experience. The opposite can be true as well. 

Oregano is easy to grow, preferring full sun and average, well-drained soil. It can be started from seed about 6 weeks before the last frost. It can also be propagated by cuttings or root divisions if you are growing as an indoor/outdoor perennial in a container. It's a low growing, mounding plant which makes it ideal for borders in the garden. It's mounding habit also makes it perfect for container combos as a filler plant. 

Oregano needs to be harvested before it flowers. Harvest throughout the season for fresh use once the plant is at least 4-5 inches tall. Stems can be cut back to the ground and will encourage a fuller plant and more oregano!

While oregano dries easily and preserves much of it's flavor, it's much better used fresh (in my opinion). The herb can be dried by hanging bunches of stems in a cool, well-ventilated space to dry. As always, oregano can be chopped and mixed with water to be frozen in ice cube trays for use throughout the winter. Oregano also preserves nicely in butter. Mix finely chopped leaves in softened butter for use on bread with Italian dishes. It will keep several weeks in the refrigerator. 

Using Oregano

Oregano is most commonly used in spaghetti sauces and on pizza. It's pungent flavor is perfect for these dishes. However, oregano can be used in any tomato-based dish as well as pasta and rice dishes, eggs, chili, salad dressings, vinegars, beans, chicken, mushrooms, peppers and zucchini. 

Easy recipes include baked chicken breasts seasoned with garlic and oregano or add fresh oregano to olive oil for bread dip. Check allrecipes.com for their collection of recipes featuring oregano.

Photo Friday: Winter Wonderland

 

I'm taking a break from my spring reminiscence to take a moment to appreciate the beauty that is winter. Certainly one of the most gorgeous winter sights is when trees and plants are covered in frost. I guess we all know where the idea for flocked Christmas trees came from!  I think days like this also highlight how important it is to vary shape and texture in the garden for winter interest. They might not look like much most days in the winter, but on days like this? Yeah, you'll be glad you took the time to think about it when planning your garden. 

Growing Herbs: Thyme

Not only is thyme a delicious and versatile herb in the kitchen, it's also a hardy, easy-to-grow perennial that is indispensable in the garden. Use creeping thyme in rock gardens, to edge pathways, under roses or any place you need a good ground cover. Taller, upright varieties work well in borders, herb gardens and containers. Beautiful and edible! That makes thyme a must have plant for the garden. 

Growing and Harvesting Thyme

Thyme is incredibly easy to grow so much so that it can be considered to grow itself. It prefers those hot, dry areas of the garden where other plants might suffer. Plant thyme in full sun and don't fertilize. This herb actually prefers poorer soils. 

With over 100 varieties of thyme to choose from there is bound to be a cultivar perfect for your garden. The most common types are creeping thyme, which makes an excellent ground cover, lemon thyme, which has a stronger lemon scent and common thyme, which is an upright variety. 

In addition to adding fantastic fragrance to the garden, thyme flowers in colors ranging from pink to purple and sometimes white. Once thyme has flowered, trim plants back by half to encourage new growth and to keep the plant from getting too woody. 
 
Because of our snow cover during the winter months, thyme planted in the garden is obviously unavailable for fresh use at that time. However, thyme propagates easily by cuttings. In the early summer, pot up cuttings to bring inside during the fall and to enjoy throughout the winter.

To harvest thyme, simply cut entire stems from the plant. If using as garnish or on the grill, leave stems intact. If using for seasoning, strip leaves from stems and add to dishes. 

Thyme can be dried by placing whole stems in paper bags. Once herb is dried, remove leaves and store in an air-tight container. Thyme can also be frozen by placing whole stems in zip top bags or frozen in ice cubes for use in soups and sauces. 

Using Thyme

There is almost no dish that can't be improved by thyme. It works well with any meat including wild game, vegetables, tomatoes, black, kidney or pinto beans, and potatoes. Lemon thyme works especially well with fish and vegetables while common thyme is perfect for beef and venison. Use it in soups, sauces or infuse vinegar and oil with thyme for use on salads. 

Check allrecipes.com for their collection of recipes featuring thyme. Food.com also has an enticing recipe for Oven-baked Pork Loin that looks delicious and easy. 

Next week: Oregano, you can't have Italian food--or pizza!--without it.