Has anyone grown marjoram from seed? I started some last year and must have waited too long, because I did not end up planting any in the garden. They grew slowly and stayed small.

This year, my 2" pot of seedlings has about 35 tiny marjoram plants. (I love Craig LeHoullier's dense planting method!) At what point do I need to separate them into their own pots? Probably the weather will not be settled enough to plant them in the garden for at least another month.

I grow marjoram from seeds most years. I separate when they are a few inches or at least big enough that I can get a hold of them to separate them. Once they are planted outside (after last expected frost) and they get settled in, they grow much better and faster than when indoors under lights. They always look so pathetic when still under lights. I've learned to pinch them back when they are small to promote bushiness. I use what I pinch off in an omelet or whatever.

I have a patch of sweet marjoram that I started from seed years ago that comes back every year. I put a generous number of seeds in the bed, and scratched them in, and they weren't too dense, but the patch gets denser every year. Just in case it gets too cold, I take a couple of cuttings, and root them on my back porch (about 10° warmer when it's really cold out), and do the same with Syrian oregano - both of these are listed borderline hardy for my area, but they come back every spring, and you obviously wouldn't have that problem!

As my favorite herb, by far, I use about 1 dry ounce a month. Fresh, that would about 2 pounds a year. I wonder how many plants I would need?