ROSEMARY – GROW THEM WELL

 

Rosemary plants are one of the easiest herbs to grow once we understood what they need.

As a novice gardener in 2015, I could not say the same as I was a serial killer of rosemary plants bought from nurseries, even though I followed their instructions of care faithfully.

I did not understand then the why but now I do.

 

• Nursery plants are potted in cocopeat. As this medium retains water, it is not suitable for rosemary. Follow soil mixture instructions below by fellow gardeners
• The first thing to do with commercial plants is to root cuttings while the plant is still healthy and green
• Rosemary tolerate sun very well 
• Can be grown outdoor as long as soil mixture does not retain water
• Easier to grow from cutting than seeds
• Do not need much fertilizer, use any in mild form only
• Do not need to water every day (soil based)
• As they grow, trim often (cut stem) to encourage bushier growth
• Suffered roots rot easily if roots are constantly moist (soil based)

 

2018 – Current Update – WORKSHOPS Available for liquid-based herbs methods! 

 

 

These were thriving rosemary plants grown by fellow gardeners, outdoor, in our natural elements (rain, wind, haze) since 2015.

 

 

 

Without any sunny spot to grow, your rosemary probably will look like mine.

They were transplanted outdoor as there was not much sun in my balcony gardens.

Starting from seeds was more difficult and slower.

 

 

Rosemary plants are easier to propagate from cuttings than starting from seeds.

My first rosemary cuttings were from Terence Low’s (NakedGreens group admin) and rooted in tap water.

 

 

2018 August 25 – From above cuttings, our plants have multiplied and still thrived today.

 

TIP – Trim often to encourage new branches. Use leaves for cooking and stems for rooting

 

 

How to Root Cutting Tips

Jack Yam, a member of our Facebook gardening group (SG Farming in Apartments) and admin in Urban Farming Singapore,

perfected the rooting method for rosemary and had a pictorial tutorial on how to root them.

 

Trimmed away the leaves from mid to bottom of the stem

 

1. 

    

   Support the cutting so that only 1 cm of the roots’ end is in water

3. 

 

Rooting from living plants root faster than grocery cut herbs.

However, if cutting from a plant is not available, grocery herbs are clean and readily available in supermarkets.

 

 

Net cups can be used to support mature plants and prevent mosquitoes access to stagnant water.

They must fit well and sealed access with the correct fitting sponge collar.

 

 

 

Propagating a cutting –  We observed that cutting root better if supported with only 2 cm of the tip in water rather than resting fully in the container.

 

 

Netcups for smaller reservoirs available in SHOP!

 

 

The more roots a cutting has, the faster they adapt to the new environment.

For example, from liquid base to soil.

 

Soil Mixture Tips

If rosemary plants are grown in areas where there is no shelter from the rain, the soil mixture must be customized to allow rain to flush out as fast as possible.

 

 

Water by rain most of the time unless there was a dry spell.

 

 

 

 

 

The trick is mixing the soil, to be less soil!

More sand, more pebbles, only 30% soil, the rain/ water must flush out as quickly as it arrived.

How to get the soil mix right? Play with your mixes – Mix and match your soil one lazy afternoon, dip in a pail of water n see if it drained in one minute!

Add more pebbles etc if they do not drain well.

Lastly, the base of the pot is best lined with pebbles or rocks to aid draining as well.

Other gardeners also generously shared tips on how to propagate and keep rosemary plants thriving for years.

So my thanks to all of them for sharing.

 

 

Rooted in liquid, Grow in liquid (HYDRO, using nutrients)

As fussy they are in the soil and needed the right mixture to prevent waterlogging, they thrived even better in liquid base.

For our indoor gardens in 2018, we are growing more plants (herbs, vegetables, lavenders, strawberries, etc) in liquid base as they are lighter than soil and do not strain our windows.

 

Hydro Rosemary Journey from cutting –

 

 

 

 

TIP – Pruning ( cut stems ) will encourage new shoots leading to better growth. 

 

 

 

Rooted in liquid, Grow in Soil Method

Sthh Sthh (Trevor) from Plant Community Singapore shared how to root Rosemary from store-bought herbs.

Step 1 – Trim away leaves and used stems for rooting

 

 

It took 2 to 4 weeks for roots to show from this supermarket rosemary.

During the rooting process, tap water was used only.

Once roots showed, they were transplanted into netcup with nutrients solution.

 

 

Sthh Sthh used his own mix of the nutrient solutions.

His recipe is NPK 21-21-21, a dash of Epsom salt, and a teaspoon of seachem flourish trace minerals into 3 liters of water.

The EC is about 2000.

 

TIP – Only roots’ end in contact with liquid

 

 

 

 

STHH STHH also shared how he watered and adjust the soil media needed for a dry loving plant like rosemary and even lavender!

Deep Water Soak Treatment –

 

 

STHH STHH – How I water my rosemary and thyme, very deeply. The entire pot is submerged in a basin of water. Then the pot is lifted to drain.

If water does not completely drain in less than 1minute, your medium is too dense for rosemary or thyme.

Time to add some grit. Many options are available – sand, pebbles, perlite, whatever that aid good drainage.

If your water does not soak deep into the soil, the roots of the plants will stay close to the surface, and if so, you cannot skip watering your plants every couple days, which also increases humidity, which is a killer for rosemary and lavenders here in SG.

Deep watering helps plants to establish better roots, and watering will be required only once a week, or twice a week when it gets hot. For suspected fungal infection, or for aeration of soil, you can add a little hydrogen peroxide.

 

 

And that is how STHH keeps his rosemary plants so well.

Please remember to only water these plants when the soil is dry.

 

 

Agnes Yang on Feb 8, 2016, shared how she root her rosemary cutting (from a live plant) –

 

 

 

Ms. Yang used a syringe to draw a small amount of this and she also said, ”  I’m using a diluted seaweed solution.

Cheaper than rooting hormones and works well as continuous support even after potting thorough watering with it”.

 

SOIL MIXTURE Tips from gardeners

Steve Teh (Plant Community Singapore, Dec 8 2015) – Compost: perlite: coarse sand: rice husk. The ratio is 3:1:1:1.  Some limestone powder added in the mix for a higher alkaline levels.

If rice husk is not available, then add more sand and perlite.

Coarse sand is from nursery and not the beach as the latter contained salt.

If beach sand is used, it need to be washed first to rid of salt.

Veronica Yuen (SG Farming in Apartments, Jan 2016) – ” It require good drainage, use 50% perlite, 25% compost, 25%potting mix. Water once or twice a week.”

Terence Low, Naked Greens – 1:1 top soil and other part perlite, pumice or sand will do.

Guanster Guan ‘s soil mix formula, please click on the hyperlink.

All in agreement that Rosemary are sun lovers.

Just don’t love them too much with the watering.

 

 

 

ROSEMARY IS USEFUL! 

As a herb, it can be used raw in salads, as its scent adds an aromatic experience to raw vegetables.

In this plate, Chef Donny Tan created a beautiful tomatoes and grapes salad with rosemary.

 

 

Rosemary Seasoned Salt for culinary purposes.

To make this, just dry baked sea salt with rosemary leaves and kept in airtight containers.

When bottled in beautiful glass jars, these are elegant gifts as well.

 

 

Rosemary salt can be used with baked potatoes or lamb seasoning.

HAIR and SCALP TREATMENT

 

 

Rosemary extract can be made by submerging the leaves in vodka.

When vodka is not available, I still preferred to use a mortar and pestle to prepare my herbs for home remedies or seasoning over the electrical equipment.

 

 

For hair treatment, herbs leaves are removed from the cutting and pound in oil.

Coconut oil is the best but any light oil is fine as well.

The mixture can be applied to hair as is or warmed for hot treatment.

For oily scalp, we can opt-out the oil, and instead mixed with suitable conditioner and then apply.

 

 

Rosemary Benefits

• Soothes itchy scalp
• Reduce hair loss because rosemary oil stimulates blood circulation on scalp, promoting hair growth
• Anti-inflammation properties
• Nourish hair follicles
• Stimulate cell renewal leading to natural healing
• Scent improve memory

After overcoming the challenges of growing rosemary, there is only happiness and satisfaction during harvest.

 

 

Rooted herbs seedlings may be available for sale, do contact via SHOP.