It’s a popular ingredient in meat recipes, as well as oil, butter and vinegar infusions. Do use summer savory in moderation. Try growing Savory as an indoor houseplant. Savory grows best in rich, well-drained soil amended with organic materials and requires a full sun location. Photos by Lorna Kring © Ask the Experts, LLC. I am allergic to Sage, so I started using it as a substitute years ago. Protect plants in winter with a thick mulch of chopped leaves or straw. Keep the soil moist, but not wet, and place under grow lights or on a sunny windowsill. Keep reading to learn more about growing summer savory herbs, including summer savory plant care. Always consult with a medical professional before changing your diet or using plant-based remedies or supplements for health and wellness. This page is dedicated to the annual variety known as Summer Savory. I can’t wait to get cooking with it I hope I can keep it alive and growing for years to come! It is also reportedly used to enhance appetite, as a remedy for stomach and digestive disorders, and to help alleviate symptoms of asthma and colic. With its many antioxidants and intense essential oils, this tangy herb has long been used to treat a variety of ailments. Gardener’s Path and Ask the Experts, LLC assume no liability for the use or misuse of the material presented above. Both winter savory and summer savory are tasty, but if you are new to cooking with savory, it is generally recommended that you start growing the summer savory first until you feel comfortable with your cooking skill with it. Summer savory grows fast. You can find more care and cultivation tips below. A variety of package sizes are also available from True Leaf Market. All three herbs come with a strong flavor that can easily dominate the taste of a dish if you aren’t careful. One of my favourite spice blends is “Sea Salt & Savory” which is a blend of sea salt, ground garlic, pepper, onion salt and savory. Summer savory is a member of the mint family and tastes similar to thyme with a peppery accent. Easily grown, you can begin to harvest leaves when the plants are just 5-6 inches tall. Seeds are available in garden centers in early spring, or you can shop online and order a package. I’d like to start a smaller, more compact group. Packets of 500 seeds from Seed Needs are available via Amazon. Summer savory plants can be sown as seed directly into the ground after all danger of frost has passed. The plant likes rich, moist, well-drained soil and full sun. Plant seed 1/8 inch down the soil and keep approx 4 inch apart. Water moderately, but don't allow the soil to get too dry. It can tolerate both dry or moist soils, but not sopping wet conditions, and is also drought tolerant. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Here is more about what we do. By mid-summer it produces small white, pink, or lilac flowers with seeds forming shortly after. Here’s hoping my quest for that… Read more ». Popular in Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, and Romania) and in the Acadian cuisine of Atlantic Canada, it’s widely used to season many delicious dishes including: It also makes a delicious addition to marinades or dry rubs for grilled meats, particularly chicken, lamb, and pork. Tips for Growing Summer Savory. Do you have any favorite uses for the love herb? It presents a hot, peppery flavor with notes of marjoram, mint, and thyme. Product photos via Seed Needs and True Leaf Market. The plant has many thin, branching stems with a purple cast that are covered in fine hairs. Growing summer savory herbs is very easy. Summer savory may be direct seeded in the garden after the last frost, keeping it moist until it sprouts. If more than one savory is planted as seedlings, they should be spaced about 9″ apart. And winter savory is no exception. Will use fresh as well as drying and freezing in packets to use in soup for the winter. Plant seeds outdoors right after the last frost has past. My Polish Grandmother used Summer Savory in her Pierogi filling mixture with rich cottage cheese and potatoes. Since the leaves curl and turn brown after the plant has flowered, it should be harvested continually once it reaches six inches in height. It grows to a height of 12-18 inches and features thickly branched stems covered in narrow dark green leaves. While savory plant is growing and when you are using fresh savory for cooking, use … And it combines well with other herbs and aromatics such as basil, bay leaves, cumin, garlic, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, and thyme. Harvest your summer savory by cutting off the tops when buds are just beginning to form. Flavor is best in fresh leaves, but they can also be dried and frozen. While summer savory lasts for only one growing season, it’s thought to have the most superior flavor. I was given a clump of an old plant and there’s much dead & woody growth at the bottom. Then you should really devote some time and garden space to growing summer savory. I use dried summer savoury in my French Onion Soup. Delicious in any recipe that calls for the more common kitchen herbs like rosemary or thyme, it can be used to season a variety of salty or spicy dishes – like these delicious savory muffins from our sister site, Foodal. Growing Notes Summer Savory is a smaller herb, ultimately reaching a height of approximately 18" and showing pale pink or lavender flowers from mid summer onwards. Summer Savory plant grows to about 12 inches and produces a mound-shaped plant with finely textured stems that have a purple coloration. !!!! Herbs can offer an amazing array of benefits. We got maybe 10 packs of dry summer savory. When sowing the seeds outdoors, you want to wait until the end of the frost in the Springtime. Summer savory plants grow in a mound-like formation and tend to reach a foot in height. For flavoring fresh and dry beans, cabbage, and sauerkraut. These days, her vegetable garden is smaller to make room for decorative landscapes filled with color, fragrance, art, and hidden treasures. Fertilizer usually isn’t required if the soil has been enriched with well-rotted compost or manure. Summer Savory is a small bush, growing to 30 cm (12 inches) high, with dark green leaves and pink or white flowers. The rest of the components were nothing uncommon, so I surmised bohnenkraut (it was an Austrian product) must have been responsible for the amazing kick it had. Thank you so much for sharing! It is absolutely delicious! Summer savory wants a warm, protected spot in the herb garden, while winter savory is less fussy. The plant likes rich, moist, well-drained soil and full sun. Direct sow in the spring, or transplant seedlings in April once the risk of frost has passed, into a light, loamy soil. Look for nurseries that carry a good selection of herbs to find seedlings, or pick up some seeds and start your own. Sign up for our newsletter. I first learned about Savory while watching Guy Fieri use it in a Chicken Pot Pie recipe on one of his Food Network shows. Winter savory is perennial. See our TOS for more details. Soil Summer savory grows best in a medium-rich, sandy soil. Small seeds should be covered with a light, thin layer of soil (approx 1/4" or less). Both are well suited to container growing. Little summer savory plant care is necessary, other than watering. Where To Grow Grow in an area of full sun in organically rich soil with a small amount of compost added in. This wonder spice can make boring veggies taste like heaven! We use summer savory—bohnegreitel—in our breakfast sausage recipe. Very fast-growing, summer savory reaches about 18 inches high and up to 30 inches wide, with long, wiry upright stems bearing small, needle-like dark green leaves up to 4 inches long. Wonderfully fragrant with a peppery, piquant flavor, summer savory makes a great addition to the potted kitchen garden, and serves as an attractive ornamental in beds and borders. Once the seedlings have several sets of true leaves, and after all danger of frost has passed, plant into containers or directly into the ground. In order to have summer savory all summer long, sow new seeds once per week. It’s well-suited to container gardening, as well. Can it be propagated by rooting cuttings? Summer savory plants can be sown as seed directly into … Plant seeds in full sun with well-drained, light soil. And remember to leave some plants in place for seeds to form. Allow plants to grow to a height of 6 inches before you start to harvest leaves for cooking. COPYRIGHT © 2021 ASK THE EXPERTS LLC. 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