How to be treated with mint

Mentha piperita.

The origin of this perennial medicinal plant with a height of 30-90 cm is not exactly established. Many consider it the birthplace of the country of the Mediterranean and the northern regions of Egypt, others - China and Japan. The remains of mint were found in the Egyptian tombs of the period XII-VI centuries BC.e. In Europe, it fell, probably due to travelers, crusaders and monks.

For 1500 years before Egypt in Egypt, peppermint was used as a medicinal plant. No less than the Egyptians like spice mint revered and used in Japan. In ancient Rome, in order to create a cheerful mood among the guests, they were rubbed with fresh mint leaves, and the rooms were sprayed with mint water. In the Middle Ages, students were recommended to wear mint wreaths on their heads during classes to improve brain function.

The priority of using mint as an etheriferous plant also belongs, apparently, to the Egyptians, who for 410 years before our era learned to extract and receive mint essential oil by hydrodistillation. England became the first European country where mint was introduced into culture, but it happened only in the XII century. Here, in England, its first scientific description was made, and in the 18th century industrial plantations for the production of essential oil were laid for the first time.

Like most spicy plants, mint is demanding for lighting conditions. When grown in a shady place, the essential oil content decreases, which sometimes makes the smell more subtle, and the greens are more suitable for fresh use. With a limited number of illuminated sites, they can be used for more light-loving crops, and mint as a shade-tolerant culture to place in some shading. Mint is undemanding to heat. It is well wintered in a temperate zone and tolerates frosts to -25-30 ° C under sufficient snow cover.

In Russia, "English" mint( as it was then called) came only in the late XIX century. Originally it was grown for use in tobacco production and soap making, and later for essential oil.

In the herb garden you can grow any sort of peppermint with the liked aroma: Riddle, Krasnodar, Kuban, Muscovite, Prilukskaya, Medicinal. Many will have to taste and mint curly, the cultivation of which does not differ from the cultivation of peppermint.

Description : a plant with a tetrahedral branchy stem, densely covered with spear-shaped peaked-edged leaves with serrate margins. Blossoms from June to September. Flowers are small on short stalks from pale lilac to purple, located at the ends of the stems, collected in whorls, turning into spikelets. Calyx flowers are glabrous or covered with sparse hairs, grooved, bilabiate, corolla violet, funnel-shaped or slightly dou- ble, 4 stamens and upper testis. Fruits - nuts. The root is filiform, leaving to the ground to a depth of 2 m.

Mint types

Mentha crispa: Mint curly

Mentha xpiperita: peppermint with purple and pink or white flowers

Mentha X piperita citrata: mint lemon

Mentha spicata: mint green

Mentha suaveolens: mint apple

Mentha suaveolens "Bowels": pineapple mint

Ingredients: contains up to 2.5 % essential oil, the main component of it is menthol, which mint due to its characteristic cooling odor, tannins, flavonoids and mountainschi. There are varieties of mint, which contain up to 80 % menthol in the essential oil. In addition, leaves and mint inflorescences contain organic acids, carotene, ascorbic acid, rutin and valuable trace elements.

Cultivation of : mint loves moisture, is demanding of soil fertility. It grows well on chernozems, loamy and sandy loamy soils with clayey subsoil that ensures moisture retention. On heavy swampy acid soils, plants develop very weak.

Propagates vegetatively with the aid of creeping rhizomes that extend from the root collar. In the middle belt, planting of mint is best done in the spring, and in the southern areas it is possible in spring and autumn. The soil for mint should be prepared from autumn: remove the remnants of the previous crop, thoroughly dig and remove the weeds, especially the rhizomes of perennial weeds. As a foregoing, it is good to use a culture, under which organic fertilizers were introduced. It is undesirable to apply organic fertilizers directly under peppermint, as it at the same time develops an abundant green mass, but the aromatic nature of the plant decreases. In spring, on heavy compacted soils, digging is carried out, and on the lungs it is enough to loosen to a depth of 10-12 cm. On the area prepared for planting, make furrows at a distance of 45-60 cm with a depth of 8-10 cm. Frozen mint roots are laid on the bottom of the furrows,and compact. Peppermint is cultivated in one place for several years and grows rapidly. Therefore, when using mint planting for many years( 5-6 years), it is advisable to keep the distance in rows between plants of 20-30 cm. In addition to the rhizomes for reproduction, it is possible to use rooted shoots, which are also planted according to the indicated scheme. Mint care consists of loosening the soil, weeding and watering in arid weather. Top dressing with mineral fertilizers is carried out on poor soils in the spring.

Collection: collection of leaves is done several times a season, the grass is harvested before the flowering, when it reaches a height of 20-30 cm. Dry the grass quickly at a temperature of 35 ° C to avoid loss of valuable essential oil. Raw materials are laid out in the shade a thin layer on fabric or paper or bundled in bundles and suspended in a well-ventilated place.

Medicinal properties: menthol has a disinfectant and analgesic effect. Promotes digestion. It is used for asthma, colds, cough, liver and gallbladder diseases, flatulence, digestive tract disorders, stomach diseases, with neuroses and headache.

P Application: mint has a pleasant minty odor and has a refreshing effect. The taste is cold, refreshing, spicy-minty. In pharmaceuticals from peppermint medicinal teas are prepared, included in the composition of medicinal herbal preparations, tinctures and syrups are made. Essential oil of peppermint and pure menthol are included in many medicines. It is used in the production of liqueurs, in the confectionery industry and cosmetics.
Peppermint infusion. 2 tablespoons chopped dry herb mint or lemon balm pour 1 glass of hot water, stand on a water bath for 15 minutes, insist at room temperature 45 minutes and filter. Take in a warm form 1 / 3-1 / 2 cup 2-3 times a day for 15 minutes before a meal as a means of soothing the nervous system.

You can cook the infusion and in another way: 2 tablespoons of crushed leaves pour a glass of boiling water, insist 2 hours, then filter. Take 1 tablespoon 2-3 times a day with meals. This infusion has an antitoxic effect, is useful in various inflammatory processes.

Powder of mint leaves is taken 1-2 times a day at the tip of the knife.

With nervous disorders

Prepare the infusion: 2 tablespoons of dry shredded leaves pour 0.5 liters of boiling water, insist half an hour-hour with the lid closed, strain. Drink 1 / 3-1 / 2 cup 3 times a day for half an hour before meals. Brew mint leaves and like tea - at the rate of 5-10 g( 1 teaspoon) per glass and drink without special restrictions during the day.

Mint infusion can be taken with the same goals for 10-15 drops per tablespoon of water 2-3 times a week.

With headache

A strong green or black tea helps if you add a pinch of dry peppermint leaf to it. After a cup of tea, the pain must subside and completely disappear.

With meteorism

With painful sensations, a large accumulation of gases in the intestine brew 2 tablespoons of mint grass in 2 cups of boiling water, insist for a day. Take 1/2 cup 2 times a day before meals. Instead of mint, you can take other herbs rich in essential oils - dill, cumin, anise, lemon balm, sage.

With nausea and choleretic

Brew 5 g( 1 teaspoon) of dried leaves of mint with a glass of boiling water, insist 40-50 minutes, take 1 / 3-1 / 4 cup 3-4 times a day.

A medicine that's always at hand

Growing peppermint on your garden can even beginner gardener. Of course, it has its own preferences - for example, it most quickly develops on cultivated peat bogs, sandy loamy and loamy soils with sufficient humus content. But at the same time it is a very unpretentious plant;if you just provide her with a sufficiently moist and illuminated "place of residence", then you will receive uninterruptedly valuable medicinal raw materials practically throughout the whole summer.

Propagation of peppermint by dividing rhizomes, rooting lashes or trimming stems with a length of at least 15 cm. You can get the planting material in the nearest nursery;willingly they will share with you and experienced gardeners.

Before autumn planting, it is recommended to dig the soil to a depth of 25-30 cm and apply organic fertilizer( manure) at a rate of 3-4 kg per 1 sq. Km. Under the snow rhizome withstand frost to -20 ° C.In early spring, the planting material is laid in furrows to a depth of 8-10 cm with a row spacing of 45-60 cm. For a square-nested method( 60x60 or 45x45 cm), 4-5 rhizome segments are placed in each nest.

In the future, special mint care will not require you;It is sometimes necessary to loosen rows between rows and remove weeds. The optimum temperature for plant growth is 18-20 ° C.