An easy to grow annual herb. It has a delicious peppery flavour with a very excellent scent. It has very tender leaves with delicious smelling lavendel blue flowers. It attracts bees and butterflies. The leaves are used fresh or dried in dishes with beans, soups, sauces, with meat, with brusselsprouts, in stews, in saladdressings and in salads.
Indoor sowing: April - May
Outdoor sowing: May - June
Germination: 14 - 21 days
Germination temp.: 18 - 20°C
Sowing depth: ½ cm
Plant distance: 20 - 30 cm
Plant position: sunny and sheltered
Flowering period: June - August
Harvesting period: whole year
Indoor sowing can start from April on. These seeds need a lot of warmth and light to germinate. Sow in trays filled with moist potting soil. Sow thinly and shallow and cover the seeds with a light sprinkling of soil. Put away warm and light. Don't sow the seeds to close together to avoid the seedlings of growing weak and brittle. Harden the plants of during the day for approx. 10 - 14 days by putting them outdoors in the sunshine from the beginning of May. Plant the seedlings outdoors from the middle of May, when there's no longer any risks of night frosts. Put the seedlings on a sunny plot with some well draining soil. Keep 20 - 30 cm apart round the plants.
Sow outdoors from May on, when there's no longer any risk of night frosts. Keep approx. 45 cm apart between the rows when sowing in rows. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil of approx. ½cm. Thin the seedlings to approx. 20 - 30 cm apart when the seedlings are approx. 5 - 7 cm in size. Summer Savory needs a sunny plot with well draining soil.
Common savory can be harvested after only a few months. You can pick from June onwards, as soon as the leaves and stems are big enough. Remove weeds and prune the plants regularly. You can use the leaves fresh or dried. Dry the branches with stems and leaves in a dry, well-ventilated place. Afterwards you can easily remove the leaves from the stems. Store in a tightly closing plastic box/glass jar. Store in a dark, dry and frost-free place.
