Itinerário técnico
Um guia de cultivo passo a passo, da sementeira à colheita.
Sow in trays on the surface or barely covered, because the seed is small and needs light. Germination is slow and uneven, two to four weeks, at 18 °C to 22 °C. Do not drown the tray: moisten with a sprayer. Transplant at eight to ten centimetres and plant with the collar well at the surface, never buried, because that is where the plant rots.
It wants poor, stony, chalky and very free draining soil at a pH between 6.5 and 7.5. This is the opposite of what instinct suggests: the poorer and drier the soil, the more concentrated the aroma. In heavy ground, plant in a pot, a raised bed or on a slope, because standing winter moisture is what kills these plants.
It wants full sun and warmth, between 15 °C and 25 °C, and is drought resistant once established. Dry cold is no problem, but wet cold is fatal. It is in its element in a Mediterranean climate: full sun, heat and dry soil. On the Portuguese coast it grows well, but the humid air and fog call for a raised bed and generous spacing. Inland in Portugal and Spain it is close to self-sufficient once established. In France it grows easily south of the Loire, and in Germany the problem is not dry cold but the wet winter, which rots the roots: plant in very free draining soil, in a pot or on a slope, and shelter it from winter rain. The same calendar applies in Italy: conditions in the centre and south are close to those of southern Portugal and Spain, and those of the north to central France.
It asks for little and an over rich soil works against it. Soil that was composted for the previous crop is enough, with no extra feeding. Excess nitrogen gives soft, watery growth with little flavour and much greater sensitivity to pests and cold.
Water regularly only in the first year, while the roots establish. After that it needs practically no watering in open ground, and too much water is the commonest mistake: it dilutes the aroma, softens the tissue and rots the roots. Let it dry out well between waterings.
Hoe often and always shallowly, because the roots are short, near the surface and break easily. The best method is to prepare the bed two or three weeks in advance, let the first flush of weeds germinate, remove it and only then sow: that gives you a decisive head start. A thin layer of sieved compost between the rows greatly reduces later work.
Pests are few because the plant's aroma keeps many insects away. Aphids are the commonest problem and gather on the soft shoots, above all on over fed plants: cut off the affected tips and apply potassium soap. Red spider mite appears in dry heat and in pots, and is checked by wetting the foliage in the morning. Slugs and snails devastate seedlings: protect with an ash barrier in the first weeks. Thrips and leafhoppers are occasional and rarely need action.
The disease that actually kills these plants is root and collar rot from excess moisture, above all in a wet winter on heavy soil. There is no treatment: only prevention, through drainage, shallow planting and a handful of coarse sand or gravel around the collar. Powdery mildew can appear on crowded plants and is solved by opening them up with pruning.
Harvest by cutting the shoot tips, never below the woody part, because old wood rarely resprouts. Aroma is most concentrated just before flowering, in the morning once the dew has dried. Give it a renewal prune in spring, taking a third off, to keep it compact and productive for years. Allow about 80 to 90 days from transplanting to the first harvest of this variety. The reference colour is greyish green, and that is what tells you it is ready.
