Photo by Rick Gush
Even in the midriff of winter , I can abbreviate a few good fore from my marjoram flora .
It seems a number early ; it ’s the goal of August , and we ’ve already hit a wall with the vegetable garden . The cucumbers , squash , tomatoes , beans and corn whisky are all done for the season , so I ’m tardily get stuff arranged for work the bed again in early September , before planting broccoli for the wintertime .
Our marjoram is doing exceptionally well powerful now , despite the growth wall our garden has hit . This is my favorite herbaceous plant , and I put it on everything from salad to casserole and wimp to fish . We employ marjoram ’s fresh leaves whenever they are available . Sometimes , we ’ll even have a bunch of marjoram stem drying in the kitchen .
I have more than a half - dozen marjoram plants dissipate around the garden , so — even in the middle of the winter — there ’s always a plant I can cut a few stems from . Right now , they are all growing and flowering like crazy , so I could believably break up 10 pounds of stems if I wanted to .
When I reap marjoram , I ’m careful to pick out stems that have not had clay splashed on them , and I also void any stems that have dragged on the land . This way , the unclouded , just stems do not have to be washed before being shred and added straightaway onto prepared food .
We ’re also growing marjoram ’s cousin , oregano , in a big bed on the western edge of our garden . The taste of the two herb is fairly similar , but I prefer the marjoram . We do n’t use the fresh marjoram ; we just wait until it goes to full efflorescence at the destruction of the summer , and then cut a bunch of bouquets of the prime to take into the kitchen for our wintertime herb supply .
While marjoram generally remains a single plant , lasting two or three seasons , oregano is a real crawler : it grows roots on many of the procumbent stem along the outside edge itself . Because of this , marjoram can fill a large area within a few years .
The routine around here is as come : rip out the oregano seam every three to four year , replant with the best shoots and then replant a few new pot of marjoram every class .
Here in Liguria , Italy , we all live in portion out , multi - story construction because there are not enough flat areas for citizenry to have detached , unmarried - family home . Despite not having a man of land connect to their home , most hoi polloi here still garden enthusiastically on their apartment - style patio .
The main things that Italians grow on their terraces , asunder from a few flowers , are cooking herbs . Fresh plants are uncommitted at nurseries , supermarket , florists , and yield and veg market place . The concern of selling smart herbaceous plant plants here is active year - circular .
Oregano is a moment sprawly for container gardens , but Origanum vulgare flora , calledmajoranna , are grown by the millions in 6 - inch pots on apartment balcony . Rosemary and , to a sure extent , basil , are also widely grown throughout this realm .
All of this herb growing mean that almost all Italians have access to fresh cooking herbs , which is a rightfulness they take very seriously .
understand more of dig Italy »
