The savory is one of those spice plants that should not be missing in any herb bed or apothecary garden. It is not only a popular seasoning for bean dishes, but also a valuable medicinal herb that is used in folk medicine to treat stomach ache and skin problems.
Summer savory is an annual
Plant profile:
- Botanical name: Satureja
- Order: Lamiales
- Genus: bean herbs
- Family: mints
- Growth: Bushy upright subshrub
- growth height: 40 to 70 centimeters
- heyday: August to September
- flower shape: Spike-like pseudowhorls
- flower color: White, pink, light purple
- Leaf: Ruler-lanceolate, evergreen
particularities
Summer savory thrives as annual, herbaceous plants. Winter savory, on the other hand, can be biennial or even perennial.
Origin:
The savory is found wild on poor soils throughout the Mediterranean, where it grows on dry, rocky slopes, in fields and on railway embankments.
Sowing and planting:
To grow savory from seeds, fill small seed pots with seed soil at the end of April and simply sprinkle the seeds on top (light germinators). Cultivation outdoors is also possible without any problems, but you should wait for the ice saints, as the seedlings are sensitive to cold. After the second pair of leaves appears, they are separated at a distance of thirty centimetres.
Location and care:
Give the savory a warm and sunny place in the herb bed. Alternatively, the robust spice plant feels extremely comfortable in a pot on the balcony.
Floor:
Like many herbs, savory is very frugal. It prefers light and preferably calcareous substrate. Poor soils are much better tolerated than nutrient-rich ones.
watering and fertilizing
At best, fertilize at the beginning of the vegetation period in early spring and even then only sparingly with some compost.
You can also hold back when watering, because the savory is extremely sensitive to too much moisture. Dry phases, on the other hand, survive the herb without any problems.
harvest and preservation
Harvest savory just before or during flowering, as this is when the plant has developed the most aroma. To do this, the shoots are cut off just above the ground, tied together and hung up to dry in a not too bright, airy place. Then rub off the leaves and store in dark, tightly sealed containers.
tips
Savory can also be frozen. To do this, place the cut branches in freezer bags. Alternatively, you can pluck off the leaves, put them in portions in ice cube trays, fill them up with water and freeze them.