Summer Savory

Once frost danger has passed, sow seed thinly into moist, well-drained soil in full sun, covering no more than about 1/8 inch. Do not bury it. Thin seedlings to stand about 8 inches apart in rows 18 inches apart. Summer savory seed is sown shallow because light helps improve germination, so burying it is a common reason a sowing fails. Spacing follows Montana State's Western Agricultural Research Center savory trial, which grew rows 18 inches apart with 8.7 inches between plants. That trial also found direct seeding more efficient than transplanting, with direct-seeded stands yielding more essential oil per acre (44.3 vs 36.9 lb/acre), though slightly less dry matter (2,737 vs 3,007 lb/acre).

If you started seed indoors, allow 4 to 6 weeks to produce transplants and set them into full sun only after danger of frost has passed. In a short season this buys you an earlier cut. Handle the root ball carefully and firm plants in well. Summer savory is a frost-tender annual, so transplants go out only once frost danger has passed. Montana State's savory trial found direct seeding the more efficient method overall: transplanted plants were poorly anchored and only 60 percent survived, and while the transplanted crop produced somewhat more dry matter across two cuts, it produced less essential oil per acre than a direct-seeded stand.

Make successive sowings about 3 to 4 weeks apart through the summer so a new planting is always coming into bud as the older one flowers out. This is an annual that runs to flower and then declines, and leaf quality falls off once it blooms. Staggered sowings keep young pre-bloom growth available instead of leaving you one narrow window.

When the plants start to show buds and before the flowers open, cut the top two-thirds of the plant. Use it fresh, or hang it in a warm, dark, well-ventilated place to dry. Cutting back at the bud stage also pushes a fresh flush of foliage for a second cut. Leaves are harvested just before the plant comes into flower, and cutting back as the flower buds appear produces a fresh flush of leaves. In Montana State's trial the top two-thirds was cut as plants were beginning to flower, with a second cut of the regrowth taken later at full bloom.