Oregano, more than a plant

Greetings nature-loving hivers, especially those who love to grow plants, making this world better for everyone.

Today I want to share with you something that is very important to me because it is part of the heritage that my parents left for us as a family and that even my brothers and I keep as a great treasure, it is our home, the place where we grew up, but beyond that, it is where mom and dad taught us to take care of the plants, plant them, water them and give them love because just like human beings, plants also need care to stay in a certain place.

In our backyard my parents used to grow different plants, including ornamental, medicinal and fruit plants, so among them was always present oregano, a strong-smelling plant much sought after for various uses, but especially for seasoning meats, especially pork to which this plant provides a very particular flavor.

Initially at home my parents began the cultivation of wild oregano, a plant that as its name suggests is wild and can occur in any yard, this first plant expanded in leaves so much that its long branches in the rainy season managed to break with the swaying of the breeze caused by the rain, then dad proceeded to prune the plant and then remove from each branch the leaves that would later take to dry in a tray that he put in the sun or in a paper bag when it was not possible because of the rains, when they were dry they proceeded to take them between both palms of the hands to rub and spray.

This process was done several times a year, since this plant grows quickly, so at home there has never been a lack of oregano as a condiment for our stews, sauces, even soups.

That first plant lasted for many years at home, until it began to lose strength to be leafy and the stem was no longer the same, even when papa took care of it as always, in view of this, papa went ahead and from a branch planted in another space in order to continue having oregano plant at home, a plant that is still preserved when they already have their few years. Years later my brother brought a branch of the so-called oregano oregano orejón, which was also planted and expanded its long branches with large leaves over a good part of the land.

The oregano oregano, as its name suggests, has beautiful leaves shaped like big ears and becomes lush quickly, so it requires a good space to spread out. It, like the others of its kind, is sought after for its benefits in curing earaches, colds and stomach aches.

In our inheritance of plants could not miss the small oregano, Italian or Chinese, as it is commonly known, this in my opinion is the most sought after gastronomically for culinary uses. As its name indicates, it has very small leaves, even when its branches are long, besides, it has beautiful white flowers, as well as the wild oregano; really both have similarities, although the wild oregano has leaves of average size and this one has small leaves, so at the time of harvesting the work is bigger because you have to collect more quantity to achieve more portion at the time of spraying.

In general, oregano is a plant that must necessarily be where the sun hits it directly so that it can grow lush, the fertilizer used at home has always been based on vegetable shells and stems of other plants, watering about four times a week and keeping it away from the so-called climbing plants such as ringworm, as these can cause its total elimination because it dries it completely.