Harvesting Oregano

Spring is heavy growth season for most herbs and oregano is no different.  Normally, oregano can be ignored for the most part, but I usually like to fertilize them during this growth period to get more clippings.  I use my normal recipe of 1 tablespoon of fish emulsion, 1 tablespoon of liquid kelp, to 1 gallon of rain water.

When your oregano reaches about 8″ – 10″ in height, I usually trim it back half way.  Remember that pruning herbs causes healthy growth and prevents it blooming too soon.  I’ve always found that herbs lose a bit of their “zing” after they bloom.

If you do not plan to use your trimmings right away, you can hang them to dry.  I generally bundle about 10 or so sprigs together at the base of where they were trimmed, then tie them together with a piece of culinary string.  Then, I hang it with the stem bases up in my garage and just leave it there until I need some dried oregano after season is over and the main plants have died down or gone dormant.

Down here in central Texas, I can usually trim, use and/or dry until well into November or December and I have plenty left in the garage by the time spring time rolls around again.  I won’t ever run out!

Spring is Well Underway!

First, I must apologize for not posting in such a long time.  I was job searching for a bit, found a new job and have been pretty busy.  Not too busy to get my garden ready for the new year, but too busy to post about it.

As my last post recommended, I actually did get my garlic in the ground and have quite a crop going, along with several varieties of shallots.

If you live in central Texas, as do I, you will have certainly noticed that the temperatures have started to rise and we are well into the high 70’s and low 80’s almost every day now.  This is perfect gardening weather, in my opinion.

The reason for my post is because of these temperature changes, the hotter weather is just around the corner, so we are on the tail end of being able to harvest lettuce before it starts bolting.  Needless to say, I’m recommending that you take advantage of any remaining lettuce plants you have, make sure to fertilize and water them now so you can get a few more takes from them.

Don’t forget, make sammiches (with plenty of lettuce) and salads, or… just eat some plain ol’ lettuce leaves!