Growing Sage

Introduction

Sage is another Mediterranean native. This aromatic herb is cultivated for its pungent leaves and is used fresh or dried as a flavoring in many foods, particularly in stuffing for poultry, pork and in sausages.

Types

The most readily available is common sage; other varieties include white sage, woodland sage, red sage and meadow sage among others.

Germination & Propagation

Sage has a fairly long germination period (about 21 days). Soaking seeds for 24 hours BEFORE planting can significantly cut down on germination time and overall effort. To soak seeds, just place them in a cup of water for about 24 hours. The seeds must be fresh, since they do not store well.

Seeds should be sown on the surface of the soil, lightly covered and watered regularly. The seedlings look just like miniature sage plants, with the characteristic color and texture of mature plants. When grown from seed, sage takes about 2 years to reach mature size.

That said, since you only need one or two decently sized plants to give you all the sage you’ll ever need, I will buy a seedling or two from the nursery.

Propagate from cuttings: Use a sharp knife to cut off a young shoot approximately 2 inches below the leaf crown. Then strip off the lower leaves so that the cutting is left with at least three pairs of leaves.

Plant the cutting into already moistened Sunshine #4 mix and water it carefully. Make sure that the mix is always moist.

Alternatively place the cutting, shortly after removing it from the sage plant, into a glass of water. After about 2 weeks the cutting should have developed sufficient roots so that it can be planted directly into the soil.

Planting

Sage can be grown in a medium to large planter, transplanting as it grows, or directly into the garden. Use a good draining soil like my Best Hawaiian Soil Mix. My adult sage plants end up in 5-gallon containers.

Sun and Water

Sage does best in medium to full sun; four to eight hours of direct sunlight per day is ideal. Sage is a fairly hardy and prefers drier conditions; water sparingly. It does not like to be wet for long periods of time.

Fertilizing

Sage is relatively slow growing compared to other leafy herbs and, as such, should be fed less. It does not have as much chlorophyll as its greener cousins and therefore does not need much nitrogen. I use a blend of primarily phosphorous rich guano with a small amount of nitrogen rich bat guano added and feed about a quarter the amount you would normally feed any other plant of same that size.

Harvesting

Sage harvesting can be done at almost any time, but you'll get the best flavor when you pick leaves before the plant blooms. You can extend harvesting by picking off flowers as the buds develop.