Italian Oregano

[cranky]

Norma,
I was at a nursery today and they had some of the Greek hirtum oregano.  I bought a plant.  It definitely looks different.  The leaves have some reddish tint that I have not seen before.

[norma427]

Norma,
I was at a nursery today and they had some of the Greek hirtum oregano.  I bought a plant.  It definitely looks different.  The leaves have some reddish tint that I have not seen before.

cranky,

Great to hear you found some Greek Oregano.    Did you taste some of the leaves?  It is dark here now, but I went outside and took a picture with my Tiki Torch.  Mine also has reddish leaves if you can see them on this picture.  This is the Greek Oregano that I said burnt your tongue, but it is good.  Hopefully this is what we are looking for, but it will be a long while until we find out.

Norma

[cranky]

cranky,

Great to hear you found some Greek Oregano.    Did you taste some of the leaves?  It is dark here now, but I went outside and took a picture with my Tiki Torch.  Mine also has reddish leaves if you can see them on this picture.  This is the Greek Oregano that I said burnt your tongue, but it is good.  Hopefully this is what we are looking for, but it will be a long while until we find out.

Norma

I did not taste the plant.  It is in a four inch plastic pot and there is not much to it.  It probably needs all the leaves it has.  But they look exactly like yours.  The nursery had other "Greek Oregano" for sale and I checked them out.  Looks like what is in my garden.  This one said "Genuine Greek Oregano" and had the latin name with the hirtum on the end. 

Cranky

[norma427]

cranky,

I guess your plant does need all its leaves.  I also believe this Greek Oregano is what we were hunting for, but at this time, don’t think we can be sure.  The seeds I purchased from Ebay also had the same name, but Oregano from seeds is slow to come up for me.  It is starting, but not making much progress.  Sorry to have taken the picture at night, but I was anxious to see if we both had the same Oregano.

Norma

[cranky]

cranky,

I guess your plant does need all its leaves.  I also believe this Greek Oregano is what we were hunting for, but at this time, don’t think we can be sure.  The seeds I purchased from Ebay also had the same name, but Oregano from seeds is slow to come up for me.  It is starting, but not making much progress.  Sorry to have taken the picture at night, but I was anxious to see if we both had the same Oregano.

Norma

Norma,
I am not a techie, never posted a picture, but will try to take a picture on the phone of my oregano bed and post it.  Don't know what this new plant will do, but the stuff I have growing spreads its seeds and comes up everywhere.  It comes up in the lawn.  So does fennel.  I have had it for years and all I remember when I bought it is that the label said Greek Oregano.  I have seen vendors at the farmer's market selling it for 50 cents per sprig.  If we let this spread we could retire in a year. 

[norma427]

Norma,
I am not a techie, never posted a picture, but will try to take a picture on the phone of my oregano bed and post it.  Don't know what this new plant will do, but the stuff I have growing spreads its seeds and comes up everywhere.  It comes up in the lawn.  So does fennel.  I have had it for years and all I remember when I bought it is that the label said Greek Oregano.  I have seen vendors at the farmer's market selling it for 50 cents per sprig.  If we let this spread we could retire in a year. 

cranky,

I am not a techie, either.  I just have a digital camera and don’t really know a lot about computers.  I just guess my way though, until I get it. I just learned how to post pictures a little over a year ago. I would be happy to see your oregano, if you can post a picture.  You know much more about gardening than I do.  Your information helps us all.  Years ago, I used to garden a lot more, but found with work and children, I really didn’t have the time to devote to gardening and just bought whatever I needed at our local farmers market.  I only planted perennials in the form of flowers.  A few years ago, I started to have a small garden because I do enjoy watching things grow.  Your help with gardening is great.  My other Oregano plants have only been growing for a few years and they never got really high, bushy or spread a lot. When I found the dried Greek Krinos, I just loved it.  I haven’t even tried the Gangi Oregano, so I can’t compare how this Oregano tastes compares to Gangi.  I never tried growing fennel.

LOL, maybe we can retire as you said, if we find the right kind.    Wishful thinking, we all could start selling the oregano at farmers markets.  At .50 a sprig we could make a profit in no time.

We have a dried herb and spice stand at market and the man that runs the stand said he never tried any oregano like the Krinos, until he tried mine.  He also said it was more powerful than any he had ever tried.

Thanks for your help,

Norma

[cranky]

Norma,

I don't know exactly why I grow things, or make pizza, or sausage, or like to catch salmon, or like baseball.  The work and cost and time don't pay.  I could buy it all cheaper.  I do like to watch things grow, but the amount of sweat and sore old man's muscles say why not go watch the neighbor's garden grow.  I think there is something about eating something you made from scratch (put in the dirt), that is far better than anything you can buy.  My pizza is better than anything I can buy in any pizzeria and I don't practice at it very hard.  I grew up in NYC and my family is all from there.  They agree.  I use very good ingredients, but don't go wild about it.  The same is true of homemade sausage, homegrown lamb, pig, and all the stuff we pull out of the garden and eat year round.   Gardening and making pizza is very relaxing.  It gets rid of the stress of the office.  Some guys play golf.  I don't get it.  Why do something for fun that get's you frustrated?   It is pretty difficult to have a bad day in the garden or on the ocean fishing. 

There is no one right way to garden.  Add lots of rotted stuff to the soil, be patient, watch what happens from one year to the next, try different varieties of things, be patient, keep the weeds down and things wet, be patient.  Put a chair in the middle of the garden and drink something cold.  Wear a big hat.   Listen to the birds.  Very good for the soul.

Cranky,   

[norma427]

Norma,

I don't know exactly why I grow things, or make pizza, or sausage, or like to catch salmon, or like baseball.  The work and cost and time don't pay.  I could buy it all cheaper.  I do like to watch things grow, but the amount of sweat and sore old man's muscles say why not go watch the neighbor's garden grow.  I think there is something about eating something you made from scratch (put in the dirt), that is far better than anything you can buy.  My pizza is better than anything I can buy in any pizzeria and I don't practice at it very hard.  I grew up in NYC and my family is all from there.  They agree.  I use very good ingredients, but don't go wild about it.  The same is true of homemade sausage, homegrown lamb, pig, and all the stuff we pull out of the garden and eat year round.   Gardening and making pizza is very relaxing.  It gets rid of the stress of the office.  Some guys play golf.  I don't get it.  Why do something for fun that get's you frustrated?   It is pretty difficult to have a bad day in the garden or on the ocean fishing. 

There is no one right way to garden.  Add lots of rotted stuff to the soil, be patient, watch what happens from one year to the next, try different varieties of things, be patient, keep the weeds down and things wet, be patient.  Put a chair in the middle of the garden and drink something cold.  Wear a big hat.   Listen to the birds.  Very good for the soul.

Cranky,   

cranky,

I feel like you do, it is good for the soul.    I am older, too, but I guess it is all about experimenting, being outside and having something you did yourself. 

I have this picture in my kitchen, but sure don’t follow it.   

Norma.

[norma427]

This is a picture of how the Oregano seeds I bought from Ebay are growing.  I have re-potted the plants into larger containers, since the last time I posted a picture.  Soon they will be ready to transplanted into the ground.  It makes me wonder since I only used one packet of seeds why some of the oregano plants look different.  Maybe they had some kind of mixture with the seeds.  Time will tell what they are or if this is the kind of oregano I was searching for.

Norma

[Bob1]

Norma,
I will have to take some pics of my plants.  They are starting to take on individual characteristics.  I was a little late planting them but they are starting to take off.

Bob

[norma427]

Norma,
I will have to take some pics of my plants.  They are starting to take on individual characteristics.  I was a little late planting them but they are starting to take off.

Bob

Bob,

I would be interested in seeing some pictures of your Oregano plants.  Since you got so many varied Oregano plants, it will be interesting to see what you think of all the tastes and how they perform. 

Once anything is able to be in the ground, the plants seem to take off better. 

The picture I just posted of the seeds I purchased from Ebay took a month to develop to where they are now.  Oregano is slow to start from seed.

Norma

[cranky]

Bob,

I would be interested in seeing some pictures of your Oregano plants.  Since you got so many varied Oregano plants, it will be interesting to see what you think of all the tastes and how they perform. 

Once anything is able to be in the ground, the plants seem to take off better. 

The picture I just posted of the seeds I purchased from Ebay took a month to develop to where they are now.  Oregano is slow to start from seed.

Norma

Norma,
They are stiill real small, but they look like regular common oregano and not the greek.

[norma427]

Norma,
They are stiill real small, but they look like regular common oregano and not the greek.

cranky,

Thanks cranky for saying they look like the common oregano.  After reading about them on Ebay, I thought I had found what I was looking for, by guess it wasn't.

How is the Oregano doing you purchased?

Norma

[cranky]

cranky,

Thanks cranky for saying they look like the common oregano.  After reading about them on Ebay, I thought I had found what I was looking for, by guess it wasn't.

How is the Oregano doing you purchased?

Norma

Maybe its too early to tell with your seedlings.  The plant I put in is doing well.  It looks like your earlier photos.  It seems to be spreading out more than growing tall. 

It has been a record breaking cold wet spring and early summer here so I am surprised that the oregano is growing.  I have a ton of common oregano.  It was supposed to be Greek and maybe it is, but not Hirtum.  If the Hirtum is much superior I will try to eliminate the other, but it will be difficult.  It is like a weed.  After I bought my plant I saw the Hirtum in several other nurseries so the seeds must be available. 

[norma427]

cranky,

I don’t think I found the right Oregano in the seeds, that are now seedlings. I am not sure if the Hirtum is superior or not.  I have just been trying to find the taste of Oregano like the ones I purchased at the Italian store. 

Our spring and now summer is warmer than usual.  We are supposed to have record breaking temperatures for the next few days.  I found my regular Oregano, came up in the spring and is doing well.  I also have the same problem with my Spearmint Tea and it trying to spread all over the place.  Almost daily, I am pulling out more roots and plants that want to start from the underground roots.  I even dug the whole place out in the spring and thought I had gotten all the roots. 

I think Bob has a better chance of finding the right kind of Oregano because he is studying all about Oregano. If I don’t get it right this year, I might next year.

Best of luck with your Oregano,

Norma

[cranky]

cranky,

I don’t think I found the right Oregano in the seeds, that are now seedlings. I am not sure if the Hirtum is superior or not.  I have just been trying to find the taste of Oregano like the ones I purchased at the Italian store. 

Our spring and now summer is warmer than usual.  We are supposed to have record breaking temperatures for the next few days.  I found my regular Oregano, came up in the spring and is doing well.  I also have the same problem with my Spearmint Tea and it trying to spread all over the place.  Almost daily, I am pulling out more roots and plants that want to start from the underground roots.  I even dug the whole place out in the spring and thought I had gotten all the roots. 

I think Bob has a better chance of finding the right kind of Oregano because he is studying all about Oregano. If I don’t get it right this year, I might next year.

Best of luck with your Oregano,

Norma

Norma,
I wouldn't toss them out yet.  Some of the leaves look a little pointier than the regular.  Maybe the reddish tint will come later.  Maybe the taste part comes from soil and climate and that is why imported from Greece tastes better. 
. 

[norma427]

Norma,
I wouldn't toss them out yet.  Some of the leaves look a little pointier than the regular.  Maybe the reddish tint will come later.  Maybe the taste part comes from soil and climate and that is why imported from Greece tastes better. 
. 

cranky,

I hardly ever toss anything.  I can still enjoy the Oregano even if it isn't the right kind.  Makes me wonder about the climate and soil, also.  The one plant I did purchase has that strong taste, so I will see if that plant gets big and bushy.  So far it is just spreading on the ground.  I do use  some of that small plant in some dishes I make.  It is good.  That is the plant with the tinged red leaves.

Thanks for your help,

Norma

[cranky]

cranky,

I hardly ever toss anything.  I can still enjoy the Oregano even if it isn't the right kind.  Makes me wonder about the climate and soil, also.  The one plant I did purchase has that strong taste, so I will see if that plant gets big and bushy.  So far it is just spreading on the ground.  I do use  some of that small plant in some dishes I make.  It is good.  That is the plant with the tinged red leaves.

Thanks for your help,

Norma

How is the rest of your garden doing?  My tomatoes look excellent for the cold we have had.  They are not like your area, but for here they are growing well, got a few tomatoes and thousands of flowers.  The only thing that is not doing well is peppers.  Onions are so-so.  I replanted cukes and winter squash and peppers.  The peppers are small and spindly.  Corn is growing.  Tons of lettuce.  Red cabbage is huge.  Kohlrabi, swiss chard, mesclin, carrots, beets, zukes, potatoes, celery, cilantro, basil all are great.  Weeds are also having  a record year.

[norma427]

cranky,

My garden is doing well, but isn’t nearly as big as yours.  Years ago, I did plant a big garden, but now since I am older, find it too much work.  I can buy all the fresh produce at local roadside stands and the prices are cheap.  There are so many farmers in our area. 

This is the link to where I posted about my tomato plants if you want to see how they are doing. I also have many other tomato, basil and other plants planted among my flowers.

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,10762.msg102720.html#msg102720

I have planted many perennials in flowers over the years.  They just keep me busy cutting down the ones that have bloomed.  I always enjoy watching them bloom.  They are so beautiful.

Great to hear your garden is doing well,

Norma

[norma427]

This is how the oregano, that was from seed, and I purchased on Ebay is growing.  I don’t know how the other plants (whatever they are, one is a weed) got into this same seed mix.  I don’t even know what kind of plant the one is with the different leaves. Maybe someone that recognizes this plant with the different leaves can tell me what kind of plant that is.  The other two plants in the second picture are ones I purchased at Home Depot last week, when I went there for paint.  I tasted each kind of oregano plants they carried and decided to buy the one in the bigger pot, because it did taste different and had a strong oregano flavor.  I also decided to buy the “hot & spicy” because that plant also tasted different. This weekend it is time to put all this oregano plants into the ground.

Norma