Mint at home: growing, care and storage
Content
How to grow mint properly
The selection of the planting capacity is a very important point, the pot for planting mint should be wide and low. This is due to the fact that mint has a strong and branched root system, which will be uncomfortable in a small box. The soil must contain a large amount of peat. If you decide to use land from a summer cottage, and not from a specialized store, it is better to choose a more fertile mixture with a high content of useful trace elements and then the plant will develop well. Having decided to choose soil from the garden, you cannot just pour it into a pot.
Disinfection of the earth with a manganese solution is required, and after calcination with boiling water or rinsing with water. These procedures are necessary to reduce bacteria in the soil that can infect the plant and, as a result, it will get sick.Growing mint is possible in two different ways: mint seeds and mint cuttings. It all depends only on how quickly the harvest of mint is needed and what you want to get in the end.
Cutting method - in the fall, you should dig up an adult plant and divide it into seedlings without damaging the roots. A large and voluminous bush of mint should be divided into several parts with some buds and stem shoots. Before direct planting, the cutting is rooted in sand or in a jar of water until the roots grow back on the plant. At the bottom of the container in which the mint will be placed, drainage is needed, then a layer of prepared earth. The earth is well moistened and covered with mint roots with shoots. After 2-3 weeks, green leaves will appear on the stem, after which the whole plant should be fed.
Top dressing is performed from urea (carbamide) 1-2 grams per liter of water. In winter, the plant does not need additional feeding. Mint loves a well-lit place at any time of the year, but in the summer you need to watch out and not let the mint ground dry out and crack. Watering is necessary with water only at room temperature. A plant grown by cuttings will be a copy from a dug bush in the fall.
Planting mint seeds gives first shoots in three weeks, and the bush is formed within two months. A grown plant will be tender and cuddly, while a cuttings plant will have mature and firm stems. Mint tends to be pollinated and the bush that is painted on the package of seeds cannot always grow. Therefore, you should plant several types of mint and plant them in peas together (for example: pepper and plectrantus or any other type).
In order to start planting seeds, they should be laid out on the ground, where they should be no deeper than half a centimeter. The first shoots will appear in 2-3 weeks. For a low height, the plant should be placed in a well-lit place or illuminated with artificial lamps. Watering at first is done only from a spray bottle.
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Crop care
The mint plant is unpretentious and does not require special personal care. But for mint home care can vary at every season. In the summer, caring for mint is almost no different from country mint, it develops well on a balcony or windowsill to saturate it with sunlight.
There must always be water in the pan to prevent the plant from drying out and the appearance of diseases (aphids or mites). Occasionally, extra care should be taken and the leaves should be sprayed to remove dust from them to give them freshness and revitalization from drought.
In winter, the care of the plant changes slightly, and watering is carried out very carefully, it is at this time that the processes of filling the stem and leaves with juice and essential oils take place in the greenery of the plant. Plant growth slows down and the aroma is not as noticeable as in summer. Drafts are harmful to the plant and should be avoided. So, now let's summarize and tell you briefly about all the actions for caring for mint:
- Watering. It is impossible to allow it to dry out, but you should not fill it with water either.
- Spraying - regularly remove dust and let the plant breathe.
- Top dressing. In the summer, we feed once 1-2 grams per liter of water; in winter, no feeding is required.
- Lighting. There is enough light in summer, but from October to March it is necessary to add daylight hours to the plant up to 12 hours.
- Sun rays - direct light is destructive to the leaves, we put the plant in a slightly shaded place.
- Temperature. Cold for mint is unacceptable, the required temperature is 20-23 degrees. In the summer we put on the balcony, in the winter on the windowsill.
How to collect mint
Mint leaves are harvested young before the plant blooms. During this time, they contain many healthy oils. Harvesting can be done in two ways: leaves and stems. But since our plant does not have large volumes and branching, the leaf method is suitable. You need to carefully collect a small amount of leaves from the bush and prepare them for drying or freezing.
Storage and procurement
With the drying method, you need to wait well until the leaves dry and crumble them. Then all this is folded into boxes or a jar for storage in a dark and cool place for no more than a year. You can also simply freeze the leaves in the freezer or in ice cubes, which can then decorate any drink. With this method, almost fresh leaves can be added to tea even in winter.
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