17/12/2020
By John Gannon
Rosemary is an easy herb to grow. It grows well from a cutting, which becomes a clone of the original plant. It can be easily grown in a container or pot.
It is high in antioxidants, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory compounds. It has a high nutrient level of vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium and B6, and essential oils. It has been proven to boost memory and cognition and may help prevent cognitive decline. It contains carnosol, which is an anti-cancer agent. It is great to use in cooking. There are many reasons to grow this herb!
Grow from a cutting
- Take a few 5-8cm cuttings off a healthy plant, or with permission from a friends or neighbours plant.
- Remove the bottom sets of leaves, leaving at least 5 or 6 leaves.
- Scrape the bark off the stem and dip the stem into rooting hormone (you can also use honey).
- Fill a small pot with seed raising mix.
- Make a small hole into the seed raising mix with a pencil or small stick for each cutting and insert each stem into the hole in the soil in the seed raising mix. Cover.
- Water in the cuttings.
- Place in part shade and keep them moist to keep the soil from drying out.
- When new growth occurs can transplant into a bigger pot or separate into pots or into the ground.
If you don’t use a rooting hormone such as honey it can take up to 8 weeks. If you do use a rooting hormone such as honey it can take approximately 3-4 weeks for new roots to form, and longer in cold weather.
You can also make tea out of the leaves and stem by steeping them in hot water for 5 minutes, straining and adding some honey.
Note: although it’s fine to use in all forms of cooking, high medicinal doses may cause problems for pregnant women, and extremely high doses of medicinal use may cause other problems so use in moderation.
Happy Gardening!
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