Oregano and Parsley

GARDEN PATCH POINTERS
By Robert and Hoberley Schuler

Oregano and Parsley

Q: What is the best variety of Oregano? Also Curly Parsley and Flat leaf Parsley? Gerald, San Francisco
A: OREGANO (Origanum vulgare), the packaged dried oregano usually comes from a mixture of dried herbs (oregano, thyme and salvia) blended for their flavor. Select a plant by tasting or rubbing the leaf or get a cutting from a friend who thinks their plant is the “taste tested best”. We have four favorites in my garden.

Greek Oregano (Origanum heracleoticum) spreads to 18-inch plant with broad, slightly fuzzy gray-green leaves, has a very strong, spicy, pungent flavor that lasts after drying for culinary use.

Italian Oregano (Origanum onites) is an 18-inch tender perennial with small, erect leaves. It has a light warm flavor and is preferred for Italian foods.

Kalitere Oregano (origin not found) from Mexico, it is a very pungent oregano with white flowers. An erect plant, it is wonderful to bloom and use.

Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) belongs to the verbena family growing 48-60-inches tall. It has a similar flavor and aroma to the common oregano, though sharper and earthier.

Another Oregano is called “Hot and Spicy” and is a warm tasting and fun plant to grow.

Marjoram (majorana hortensis) is not as hardy as most oregano plants, 12-18-inches tall and as wide, with oval gray-green leaves and inconspicuous white flowers and a distinctive sweet aroma, good for drying.

Plants do well in the sun, in a light, well-drained soil, with no organic matter added. Use fertilizer sparingly and remove flowers when they start to bloom. Cut the stems and leaves for drying. Also, use the stems and flowers for flower arrangements in the house.

Oregano is a compliment to fish, eggs, roasts, poultry, stews, meat loaves, vegetables, Italian dishes, pasta sauce, mushrooms, and potatoes, soups, vegetables, and in breads.
Marjoram is a compliment to all dishes where oregano is used.

PARSLEY
Every garden needs some parsley with its celery-like stalks, tasty leaves, seeds, and even the root which are edible. It is easy to grow, has plain or curled leaves. It is used for salads, soups or sauces; even the fleshy root and the hearty stems can be used in a winter time stew. The long succulent stalks can be used in stir-fries and the leaves can be dried to be used later.
Parsley, Petroselinum crispum, is a biennial, (grown as an annual), reaches to a height of 6-16 inches and 16 inches wide, and requires 6 to 8 hours of sun. Parsley has many arching stems which form a dense mound of finely cut, dark green leaves.

The large leaves of the plain Italian variety are the best choice in terms of overall yield, but don’t neglect the curly parsleys for cooking. Some of the varieties with heavy curly leaves can trap moisture and rot in damp or humid areas.

The German Hamburge variety is grown mostly for its parsnip-like roots, and the Japanese Mitsuba is a mild flavored variety whose stalks can be blanched and used in salads, soups and stir-fries.

We grow our best parsley in the fall and winter. In the spring, I let the plants go to seed because beneficial insects really like the flowers. Parsley is a member of the Umbelliferae family-so called because the flower heads of family members look like little umbrellas. Other umbels include carrots, fennel and dill which are all favorites of beneficial insects and in flower arrangements.

In the late spring, we plant a second batch of parsley, hoping it will go through the hot summer. Grow the plants with some shade protection if necessary.

Parsley seed has about a 60% chance of germination as it contains a natural germination inhibitor, designed to keep the seed from sprouting under adverse conditions such as when the soil is too dry for seedling growth. On home grown seeds, the inhibitor can be released by putting seeds in a mesh bag (cheese cloth) and running tap water over them for two hours or soak them in water that is changed frequently. This will flush away the inhibitor. Soaking too long without changing the water will deprive the seeds of oxygen. This is why we buy a few plants twice a year.

In the garden, parsley plants like a moist rich soil. For continuous harvest of leaves, feed the plants occasionally with a diluted high nitrogen fertilizer. Root type parsley should be fed with high phosphorus and potassium with very low nitrogen as this will enable the roots to add lots of “hair” to the root for nourishment.

Parsley is a good container plant mixed with other herbs such as basil which will help to cool the plant in the summertime.
Harvest parsley as you need it by pulling the stem from the root base or shearing the stems above the soil line. On a mature plant the new stems will recover and produce new growth if they are watered and fed. The new growth will emerge from the central leaf buds. When you have too many stems with beautiful leaves, cut and place the leaves with smaller branches in a plastic zip lock bag and place in the freezer. Six months later, the frozen leaves will still be a bright green and can be used in salads, soups, etc.

Robert H. Schuler, M. G.
rhschuler@frontiers.com

GARDEN PATCH POINTERS
By Robert and Hoberley Schuler
Oregon State University Master Gardeners and NGC & CGCI
Garden Study and Landscaping Design Master Consultants