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Oregano is an aromatic spice that is also valued for its healing properties. Therefore, many gardeners prefer to plant this plant in their country houses and garden plots. But not everyone knows that if you want, you can grow oregano in a pot on your windowsill at home. To do this, you only need to provide favorable conditions of detention, taking into account the requirements of the culture. And then fresh aromatic herbs will always be at hand.
Oregano as a spice is suitable for meat, vegetable dishes and desserts
Oregano varieties for growing at home
For home cultivation, you should choose low-growing varieties of oregano with compact bushes. In this case, the plants will look organic on the windowsill. After all, oregano is characterized by long-term flowering, so when grown on a windowsill you can get not only a spice, but also a highly decorative flowerpot.
Popular varieties of oregano for home use:
- Aurea (Aureum). The height of the plant reaches 30-40 cm. A characteristic difference of the variety is the golden hue of the leaves.The color of the flowers of this homemade oregano varies from light pink to lilac, depending on the intensity of light.
- Compactum. This variety is characterized by low bushes, the height of which when grown at home is 20 cm. This is achieved due to short internodes and densely arranged small leaves. Oregano Compactum is undemanding to care. It blooms from June to mid-September, forming pink paniculate inflorescences.
- Golden Shine. The height of the bushes of this variety of domestic oregano reaches 30 cm. The leaves are half golden in color. The variety is characterized by pale pink flowers. Reacts poorly to sudden temperature changes.
- Acorn Bank. English variety of oregano. The height of its bushes reaches 45 cm when grown at home. It is characterized by large leaves about 2.5 cm long. The color of the plates is yellow-green without sharp transitions. The edges of the leaves are slightly wavy and curl inward. The petals are white and the stamens are pink.
- Country Cream. The height of the bushes of this variety of domestic oregano varies from 10 to 45 cm. A distinctive feature of the perennial is the light beige frame of the leaves. Flowering lasts 3 months, the color of the petals is pink-lilac.
How to grow oregano (oregano) at home on the windowsill
Successful cultivation of homemade oregano from seeds on a windowsill depends on proper planting. This procedure implies compliance with certain rules that should not be ignored.
Soil preparation
Oregano belongs to the category of undemanding plants in terms of soil composition.However, in order for this perennial to grow lush bushes on the windowsill, it requires nutritious soil with good air and moisture permeability. You can purchase a suitable substrate in the store, choosing one marked “Universal”, or prepare it yourself.
To do this, you will need to mix turf, peat, leaf soil, sand, humus in a ratio of 2:1:1:1:1. Additionally, 100 g of wood ash should be added to the resulting soil mixture for every 10 liters. After this, the substrate must be mixed well.
A few days before planting homemade oregano, the soil must be disinfected. To do this, use any of the following methods:
- Ferry. The substrate must be kept in a water bath for 10-15 minutes, gradually stirring throughout the entire time.
- In the oven. Spread the soil on a baking sheet in a layer of 2-3 cm. Place in the oven for 30 minutes and turn the temperature to 60 degrees.
- Potassium permanganate. Water the substrate with a bright pink solution. Before planting, it must be slightly dried until it flows.
Seed preparation
Oregano seeds do not need special preparation before planting. But in order to speed up germination and strengthen the immunity of future sprouts, it is necessary to soak them in a solution of Epin or Zircon for a day. After this, the seeds should be slightly dried and sowed immediately.
Oregano planting material is very fine. Therefore, for ease of sowing, it can be mixed with sand. This will allow the seeds to be evenly distributed on the soil surface.
Prepared oregano seeds cannot be stored
Choosing a container for planting
For sowing, you should choose wide containers with a height of 10-12 cm. They should have drainage holes to remove excess water. You can also use plastic cups or peat tablets.
Selecting a location
Until sprouts appear, the pot with seeds should be kept in a dark place. And in the future, oregano seedlings must be grown on an eastern or southern windowsill. This plant tolerates direct sunlight well, so there is no need to additionally shade the seedlings.
With a lack of light, the sprouts of domestic oregano stretch out and turn pale. Therefore, a northern window sill is not suitable for growing.
Landing rules
Sowing of oregano seeds is carried out according to the standard scheme. Therefore, anyone, even a novice florist, can cope with this procedure.
Algorithm of actions:
- Place a 1 cm layer of drainage on the bottom of the container.
- Fill the remaining volume with nutritious soil mixture, leaving it 1 cm short of the top edge.
- Water the soil well and wait until the moisture is completely absorbed.
- Level and slightly compact the surface of the substrate.
- Sow oregano seeds mixed with sand evenly.
- Sprinkle them on top with a 0.5 cm thick layer of earth.
- Moisten the top soil with a spray bottle.
After planting homemade oregano, the container should be covered with glass or film to create favorable conditions for seed germination. Then you should move the container to a dark place with a temperature of +22-24 degrees. This maintenance regime should be maintained until friendly shoots appear, and only then moved to the windowsill. During the entire waiting period, the pot must be ventilated daily and the condensation collected on the glass must be removed.
Oregano seeds germinate 7-10 days after planting
Necessary conditions for growing oregano
At the initial stage of development, domestic oregano sprouts are very tender and fragile. And any, even minor, mistakes by the grower in care and maintenance can cause their death. To prevent this, it is necessary to create optimal conditions for their development.
After friendly shoots appear, the pot with sprouts should be moved to a bright windowsill and the maintenance regime should be reduced to +20 degrees. This is necessary to prevent the aerial part of the sprouts of domestic oregano from being pulled out and to stimulate the development of the root system.
A week after this, the temperature must be increased to +22 degrees and daylight must be provided for at least 14 hours. Domestic oregano seedlings should only be watered with a spray bottle until they have matured. For irrigation, use settled water at room temperature. It is necessary to moisten the oregano on the windowsill as the top layer of soil dries, avoiding stagnation of moisture.
When the seedlings grow up, they must be adapted to external conditions, and then the film or glass must be completely removed. At the stage of four true leaves, the plants need to be picked into separate cups. This must be done with a lump of earth to minimize stress.
At an early stage, oregano seedlings develop slowly
Caring for oregano (oregano) at home
To successfully grow oregano at home in a pot on the windowsill, you need to follow standard care rules. This plant is considered unpretentious, but in order for the bushes to grow greenery well, the basic requirements of the crop should be taken into account.
Watering
As domestic oregano seedlings grow on the windowsill, their root system grows and deepens significantly. Therefore, you need to take this into account when watering. Plants on the windowsill need to be moistened rarely, but abundantly. After watering, it is necessary that the water remains in the pan for half an hour. And after this time, the remains must be poured out.
During hot periods, moisturizing homemade oregano on the windowsill should be done 2-3 times a week, and at other times - once every 7 days.
Fertilizers and fertilizers
In the first season after planting, there is no need to fertilize oregano, since the plant will use the nutritional components that are in the substrate. It is recommended to start fertilizing only in the spring of next year. During this period, you can use organic matter, namely mullein 1:10 or chicken manure 1:15. It is recommended to carry out this feeding once in April.
Fertilizers should be applied a second time before the flowering of homemade oregano on the windowsill. During this period, superphosphate (15 g) and potassium sulfide (10 g) should be used per 5 liters of water. At least 0.5 liters of nutrient solution must be added to each bush.
The third time you need to apply fertilizers for homemade oregano is in the fall, namely in mid-September. During this period, wood ash should be used. To do this, you need to pour 100 g of the component into 1 liter of boiling water and leave for 24 hours. After time, bring the total volume of liquid to 5 liters, mix and strain. The resulting solution should be used to feed the oregano bushes on the windowsill at the rate of 0.5 liters per bush.
Fertilizers with high nitrogen content should not be used for homemade oregano.
Protection from diseases and pests
Any mistakes in caring for oregano on the windowsill have a negative impact on its immunity. As a result, the plant becomes susceptible to diseases and pests. To prevent this, it is necessary to regularly inspect domestic oregano bushes and remove affected seedlings if alarming signs appear.
You should also periodically loosen the soil in pots to prevent the development of root rot.
To prevent damage, it is necessary to spray homemade oregano bushes with Bordeaux mixture in the spring at the rate of 20 g per bucket of water.
Conclusion
You can grow oregano in a pot at home without much difficulty. After all, this culture requires increased attention from the grower only at the initial stage of development, and in the future it requires only minimal care. This makes it possible to have fresh herbs on the windowsill, which is ideal for main courses and salads, as well as desserts.
