How to plant and grow oregano?  

I remember, when we were coughing our mother would pick two or three leaves of oregano, wash it then put it in glass of newly boiled water. When it gets lukewarm, we would drink the glass of water. We would do it once or twice daily until our coughing is gone.  

When our cough was severe (severity depends on my mother’s instinct) and with fever, she would put the three leaves of oregano in a small cup, put a spoonful of newly boiled water and squash the leaves with a spoon to extract its juice.  We would obediently drink that juice three times a day no matter how distasteful it may be. And sure enough, our coughs or colds would heal fast with my mother’s oregano tea or oregano extracts. With those experiences, I can truly vouch that oregano is healthy. 

The Oregano that I know is a green herbal plant that has herbaceous stem but can be woody over the years. Its leaves are oval with pointy edges resembling a tip of a triangle. It smells minty and tastes spicy with a little bitterness.  

How to plant and take care of Oregano? 

Our house back then had a lot of oregano. My mother, knowing the health benefits it gives, propagated oregano by planting it in many pots. For her it was easy, she would just cut a stem and plant it to a pot of soil. It is only when I have my own family that she taught me how to take care of oregano. She told me that I should place the plant where it can get much sunlight and I should water it only once a day.   She also told me to prune it once in a while and replant the cut stems into another pot. It is truly a low maintenance plant.

Because of its many benefits, I have planted oregano in our yard and continuously propagated it until now. I think I can say that I already have a mini garden of oregano at home.

What other things can oregano do for our health? 

I have watched ABS CBN’s health tv program called Salamat Dok (Thank You Dr.) in Youtube and I learned that aside from curing cough, oregano is anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and anti-oxidant. As an anti-inflammatory it can relieve pain from rheumatism caused by the swelling of the joints and muscles. The leaves can be crushed using mortar and pestle (or using your own hand) and be applied on top of the affected areas. Oregano tea must also be drank for faster pain relief. Boil 5 or more leaves of oregano to make an oregano tea.    

As an antibiotic, it is effective in healing wounds and insect bites. Just apply the crushed oregano on top of the wounds and insect bites. As an anti-oxidant, oregano boosts our immune system. Drink a cup of its tea every day and avoid many ailments. 

Is oregano edible? 

I know someone who chews and swallow an oregano leaf when he has la cough.  That convinces me that oregano is edible even when raw or un cooked. At home we use oregano much as a spice for our dishes. Its distinct minty taste and aroma makes a dish taste and smell more delicious. 

Before frying a chicken we boil it first with oregano leaves, garlic, onion , salt and pepper. 

We also use oregano when boiling pasta noodles for it to taste a little spicy. It is really good on spaghetti and carbonara.  We love that distinct taste of oregano. We use dried leaves of oregano for this purpose. 

What are other uses of oregano? 

At home, aside from cleaning our cabinets regularly we also put oregano leaves inside them to drive away cockroaches. We put about 3 to 5 leaves in the cabinets and replace it when it  dries down.  

We also use oregano extracts as another variant of our liquid soap. You may read the following article to know how we convert our leftover soaps or soap scraps into a hand wash, 

https://truehomejoy.com/how-to-make-a-liquid-soap-from-your-bar-soap-scraps-diy/

Indeed, oregano is a plant that gives many benefits. I encourage everyone to plant oregano at home and you will also be satisfied the way other gardeners are satisfied. Good Luck! 

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Reference

ABS CBN – Salamat Dok – Health Benefits of Oregano  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcOYripVqsA