Time to plant that winter garden: Agroecology students show how to propagate plants


FIU News recently caught up with agroecology students Nall Moonilall and Carin Luna at the organic garden on the Modesto A. Maidique Campus for a demonstration of how to propagate plants. Their plant of choice was an herb: tropical oregano. “It’s very easy to propagate,” said Moonilall.

The students worked together to show how anyone with a set of garden shears, a flower pot and a little soil can start a new plant in a matter of minutes, simply by taking a cutting from an existing one.

“These procedures can work with a variety of herbs, including rosemary, thyme, basil, also other kinds of oregano, and also mint,” said Moonilall.

Luna described how people can easily propagate herbs at home for cooking and other uses. “Tropical oregano is very high in vitamins A, C and E,” said Luna. “It also has medicinal properties, and when used as a tea, boiled in water, it can suppress coughs.”

Luna and Moonilall plan to be on hand to share other gardening tips and the bounty of FIU’s organic garden at the annual Thanksgiving lunch at the garden on Friday, Nov. 16.