I love growing herbs
even though i do not use it frequently. But growing herbs/plant that originates
from temperate region is very trying.
 |
| Greek oregano 5 months from sowing |
Greek Oregano
It took so long to
germinate, almost one month. The seeds are very small hence the newly germinated
seedling is barely visible, not to mention at first leaf stage it look like weeds.
But to top it all, the germination rate is very low. I sow half of seed packet (hundreds
of seeds) and only 5 germinate. Only 1 out of 5 seedlings make it, the other 4
died of drowning (my sis watering the minute size seedlings instead of misting it
lightly) and powdery mildew. But looking at this sole survivor, make all my effort
worthwhile. I’ll propagate the rest from cutting.
 |
| Fernleaf dill, 3 months from sowing |
Germination
rate is also very poor but definitely better than oregano at almost 50%. Dill
is very hardy; once it germinates it is not easily killed. But i have other
problem; house sparrow will pull it out to build its nest (i use wire mesh to
save this one's life). So i only left with an only seedling that is still
growing. I do not know whether dill like to be under full sun or shade. The
information that i get in the internet are all about growing Mediterranean
herbs/plants in temperate country not in blazing hot tropic! So i keep moving it from one spot to another
until i saw it was perking up since last 2 weeks. Finally i knew 2 hours of
morning sun is all it needs to maintain its vigour in the tropic.
Chives
This one takes a
trophy for poor germination. First 50 seeds that i bought from Kebun Bahagia Bersama
never germinate. Another packet was
bought from USA, i sow 150 seeds, and only one germinates.
So, for those who want to grow temperate herbs in
the tropics, other than seed you need a patient of a saint and a tenacity of
bulldog.
