Whether rosemary suits Indian climate, fresh culinary market vs essential oil, buyers, price range, and whether it is worth growing.
3 जवाब
Yes, rosemary grows well in India, especially in milder and hill climates, and it is one of the more durable culinary herbs because it is a woody perennial that lives for years once established. It sells in two streams: fresh sprigs to hotels, restaurants and gourmet retail, and rosemary essential oil and dried herb to the flavour, cosmetic and herbal industry. Fresh culinary rosemary is a small but steady premium market in metros, sold in bunches; price ranges widely and is set by your buyer, so confirm rates yourself rather than assuming. Rosemary oil is steam distilled from the herb but oil recovery is low and needs scale plus a still, so a small farmer is usually better off selling fresh sprigs or dried herb. Its big advantage is that it is a perennial: plant once, harvest sprigs repeatedly for several years with low input, and it tolerates dryness once rooted. Propagate from cuttings rather than seed for reliable results. As with all these herbs, the limiting factor is buyers, not growing, so secure committed buyers for fresh or dried rosemary before scaling up.
Mine has been giving sprigs for over three years now from cuttings I planted. Very low maintenance once it roots. The hard part was finding regular buyers, not growing it.
Seed germination was terrible for me. Switched to cuttings and it was easy. Take cuttings from healthy soft new growth.