Herbs
Marjoram
Origanum majorana
Timings for your region
Suggested: Moderate · Explained in the glossary
Start indoorsmid March – late April
Plantingmid May – mid June
Harvestearly July – late September
Practical tip
Unlike its relative oregano it is an annual here — winter kills it. Cut just before flowering; it keeps its flavour well dried.
Origin & history
Marjoram comes from the eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor and was already grown in ancient Egypt; it has been in Central European gardens since the Middle Ages. In Germany it is called Wurstkraut, sausage herb, for good reason — without it Thuringian liver sausage and Grützwurst do not taste as they should. Around Aschersleben in Saxony-Anhalt marjoram was grown as a field crop for centuries, and the town still carries the nickname Majoranstadt.
Varieties
The trade distinguishes leaf marjoram from knot marjoram: leaf types grow larger and leafier, knot types form many of the characteristic flower knots and are considered the more aromatic sort for drying. What is sold as winter or perennial marjoram is usually Origanum × majoricum, a cross with oregano — perennial in mild spots and tasting somewhere between its parents; for true marjoram look for the species name Origanum majorana. The seed is very fine and needs a steady temperature above 18 °C to germinate, which makes raising it on a windowsill more reliable than an early direct sowing into cold soil.
Care
Marjoram wants more warmth than any other herb in this group: below about 10 °C it simply stalls, so plant it out only after the mid-May frosts and into warmed-through, sheltered soil. Pinch out the growing tip of young plants once and they branch out bushily instead of making one thin main stem. It likes moderate moisture and moderate fertility — drier than parsley, but nowhere near as lean as thyme. After the first cut it will push out again as long as you do not go back further than two pairs of leaves.
What can go wrong
The commonest mistake is impatience: in cold, wet soil marjoram germinates badly, and young plants set out too early just sit there for weeks without growing — waiting two weeks achieves more than any remedial work. On the windowsill seedlings topple over easily where sowing was too dense, too warm and too wet; sow thinly, keep only the surface moist and give plenty of light. In dense, damp stands a wilt can appear in which individual plants brown from the base upwards: pull out affected plants with their roots, plant further apart, and like oregano do not bring marjoram back to the same ground for three or four years.
Harvest, storage & kitchen
Marjoram belongs to hearty cooking: potato soup, fried potatoes, minced meat, kale and, of course, liver sausage. Fresh, it goes in towards the end of cooking; dried, rub it between your palms directly over the pan, which releases the aroma best. For the store cupboard cut the whole plant as soon as the first flower knots show — that is when the aroma peaks — hang it upside down somewhere dark and airy, and strip the leaves off once the stems snap.
All timings are guide values for the given climate, not a guarantee. Weather, aspect and variety all have a say.