While most quality supermarkets now carry fresh organic herbs, there’s something incredibly satisfying about eating plants that we’ve nurtured and grown at home. And, even though we love buying organic, any produce that’s been carefully cultivated to qualify as organic is significantly more expensive than its non-organic counterparts, sometimes by 50%. That’s one reason we love the idea of turning store-bought rosemary into a mini herb garden. You’ll help them grow roots in water and then pot them! And it’s completely chemical-free since you won’t need pesticides.
When you buy rosemary at the store, each pre-portioned packet contains only a small amount, and depending on where you live, a container of fresh rosemary goes from $2.50 to $3.00 each. It often comes packaged in a little container made from single-use plastic, so cultivating it at home not only saves money, it reduces environmental waste. It will also add incredible flavor to your cooking, so growing fresh herbs is a win all the way around.
Turning store-bought rosemary into an herb garden
@marfskitchengarden
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♬ Aesthetic – Tollan Kim
Once you’ve got your store-bought rosemary at home, open the packet and take out four or five individual stalks. Then, strip all the rosemary leaves from the bottom third of each stem. Of course, there’s no need to discard that rosemary; keep it aside and cook it into your favorite recipes later on. Trim a good half inch from the end of each stalk and discard the trims. Then, toss all the stems into a glass of water and let them be, making sure to change the water completely once a week. By about week three or four, most or all of your rosemary stems will have sprouted roots.
Stems with new roots are a signal that you are ready to pot up your rosemary into the earth. TikToker, @marfskitchengarden likes using small pots filled with the free-draining soil-based mix that rosemary prefers rather than compost. You might check with your local nursery to get your mix just right. Plant each stalk in its own pot, making sure to completely bury the roots in the soil, and keep them parked in a sunny spot. That’s it! By properly caring for your rosemary plant, you’ve just created a lifetime of fresh herbs.
