Growing Oregano

I love Growing Oregano - the Bees love it and it self-seeds all over the place so you will never run out !!

 Organic Oregano Growing Guide.

 Oregano is one of those herbs that earns its place in the garden very quickly.

It's wonderfully aromatic, incredibly useful in the kitchen, and, once established, is a fairly easy-going plant to grow. It's also one of those herbs that can make the garden smell absolutely gorgeous — especially when you brush past it on a warm day. 

Here in the Organic Yarden, I love having herbs growing where I can easily reach them. Oregano is particularly useful because you can grow it in the garden, in a raised bed or in a pot close to the kitchen.

And when it flowers, it brings another little bonus to the organic garden — bees and other pollinating insects love those tiny flowers. 

So let's have a look at how to grow oregano organically.

Why Grow Oregano?

There are lots of reasons to give oregano a space in your garden.

🌿 It's easy to grow once established
☀️ It enjoys a sunny position
🪴 It grows well in containers
🐝 Its flowers are attractive to pollinators
🍅 It's brilliant with tomatoes and Mediterranean-style vegetables
🍕 It's perfect for pizzas and pasta dishes
🌱 It's a hardy perennial, so it can come back year after year. 

And perhaps my favourite reason?

You can simply pop outside and snip some whenever you need it. That's one of the best things about growing herbs.

Where to Grow Oregano

Oregano likes plenty of sunshine, so choose a bright, sunny position if you can.

It prefers soil that drains well rather than sitting in soggy ground. If your soil is heavy or tends to stay wet, growing oregano in a raised bed or container can be a great alternative.

Good places to grow oregano include:

🌱 Vegetable beds
🌿 Herb beds
🪴 Pots and containers
🌻 Raised beds
☀️ A sunny spot near the kitchen

And if you're gardening in a small space, oregano is definitely worth considering.

You don't need a huge garden to grow your own herbs.

 Growing Oregano in Containers

Oregano is particularly well suited to container growing.

Choose a pot with good drainage and fill it with a good-quality organic growing medium.

A container also gives you a little more control over the growing conditions, particularly if your garden soil is heavy or stays wet.

I also love having herbs in pots because you can put them somewhere convenient.

A pot of oregano near the kitchen?

Yes please! 

 Growing Oregano From Seed.

You can grow oregano from seed, although it does take a little patience while the plants get established.

Sow the seeds according to the instructions on your particular seed packet, as varieties can differ.

Once the seedlings are large enough to handle, they can be planted on into their growing positions.

Don't worry if they look tiny at first.

Like many perennial herbs, oregano is something you are growing for the long term rather than expecting a huge harvest immediately.

If they are anything like mine, they will self-seed for you !! 

 Watering Oregano.

Once established, oregano doesn't like sitting in wet soil.

Water newly planted plants regularly while they're getting established, particularly during dry weather.

After that, allow the growing medium to dry slightly between watering rather than keeping it constantly wet.

Good drainage is much more important than keeping oregano soaking wet.

This is another reason why oregano can be so happy in containers.

 Harvesting Oregano.

You can harvest oregano throughout the growing season once the plant is well established.

Simply snip off the stems or leaves you need.

Regular harvesting can also help keep the plant looking tidy and encourage fresh growth.

For the best flavour, many people like to harvest oregano just before or around flowering, when the plant is producing lots of aromatic growth.

But don't worry about being too precious about it.

If you're cooking dinner and need oregano, go and get some!  That's what it's there for.

 Let Your Oregano Flower.

This is one of my favourite things about growing herbs organically.

You don't have to think of flowering as the end of the harvest.

Oregano produces small flowers that can be very attractive to bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects. 🐝🦋

So if you have enough oregano growing, why not leave some of it to flower?

You get to enjoy the flowers and fragrance, while the pollinators get another source of food.

It's a little win for everyone.

 Pruning Oregano.

Once flowering has finished, you can give established oregano plants a tidy-up.

Remove old or untidy growth and cut the plant back as appropriate for the variety and growing conditions.

Don't cut it right down into old, woody growth unnecessarily.

A gentle tidy-up can help keep the plant compact and encourage fresh growth.

Oregano Through Winter.

Oregano is a hardy perennial, which means you can potentially enjoy the same plant for several years rather than treating it as an annual.

Exactly how well it survives winter will depend on your variety, growing conditions and how exposed your garden is.

Plants growing in very wet conditions can struggle, so good drainage is particularly important going into winter.

Container-grown oregano may also benefit from being moved somewhere sheltered during particularly wet or harsh weather. And we have ours on pot feet. 

And remember — in Ireland, winter has a habit of doing whatever it feels like! 

 Propagating Oregano.

Once you have a healthy, established oregano plant, you don't necessarily need to keep buying new plants.

Oregano can be propagated from established plants, allowing you to create more plants for the garden or share them with friends and family.

It's another lovely way of making the most of a plant you've already got growing.

 Oregano & the Organic Garden

I love herbs that do more than simply sit there waiting for me to pick them.

Oregano gives us:

🌿 Herbs for the kitchen

🌸 Flowers for the garden

🐝 Food for pollinators

And it can happily grow alongside other plants in an organic garden.

Its aromatic foliage also makes it an interesting addition to mixed planting and herb beds.

 Using Oregano in the Kitchen

Now for the really important bit!

Oregano is fantastic in so many vegan dishes.

Try it with:

🍅 Tomatoes
🍕 Pizza
🍝 Pasta sauces
🥔 Roast potatoes
🥕 Roasted vegetables
🥗 Salads
🫒 Mediterranean dishes
🌱 Bean dishes
🥙 Wraps and flatbreads
🍲 Soups and stews.

Fresh oregano has a slightly different flavour to dried oregano, so it's lovely to have access to both.

And when you've grown it yourself, you can harvest exactly what you need.

 Drying Oregano.

If your plant produces more oregano than you can use fresh, you can dry some for the kitchen.

Harvest healthy stems and allow them to dry thoroughly in a warm, dry, well-ventilated place.

Once completely dry, strip the leaves from the stems and store them in a suitable airtight container away from direct sunlight.

There's something very satisfying about opening a jar of dried oregano in the middle of winter and remembering that it came from your own garden

 Why I Love Growing Oregano

Oregano is one of those herbs that doesn't ask for much but gives you plenty in return.

It smells wonderful, tastes delicious, grows happily in a pot and produces flowers that bring bees into the garden.

And that's exactly the sort of plant I love in the Organic Yarden.

Useful in the kitchen, beautiful in the garden and good for our little garden visitors too.

What's not to love? 🌿🐝💚

🌿 More Organic Herb Guides

🌱 Explore all our Organic Herb Growing Guides →  HERE

🌿 Growing Coriander → HERE

🥕 Explore our Vegetable Growing Guides → HERE 

🥗 Visit Our Little Vegan Kitchen → HERE