Useful and medicinal properties of marjoram garden
Synonym: kitchen grass.
Description. The herbaceous plant of the family of the clearing( Lamiaceae) 30-50 cm tall. The stem is branchy, erect, tetrahedral, covered with delicate hairs. Leaves are opposite, grayish, short-eared, narrowed in petiole, oblong, oval, entire, 1.5-3.0 cm long and about 1.0 cm wide. Flowers irregular, small, bisexual, with white or reddish bilabial whiteted, collectedin a dense false ear. The fruit is dry, consisting of four small single-seeded nuts.
Blossoms in July-August. The seeds are very small. The mass of 1000 seeds is 0.1-0.2 g.
Medicinal raw materials: grass.
Biological features. Marjoram is cultivated in Europe as an annual plant, because it does not stand even faint frosts at 5-7 ° C.
Distribution. In the wild it occurs in Central Asia and North Africa, where it grows as a perennial plant, as well as in some countries of Southern Europe. In the subtropical environment, marjoram reaches 0.8-1.0 m in height.
Nowadays it is cultivated in many countries of Asia, Africa and Europe( in France, Germany, Greece, Poland).
In the CIS, marjoram is cultivated in the Krasnodar Territory, Central Asia, the Transcaucasus and southern regions of Ukraine in small areas.
Chemical composition. The yield of essential oil from fresh grass averages 0.3-0.5%, and from dry - 2-3%.Essential oil includes: mayoran acid, terpinene, terpineol, the grass contains tannins, pectin and pentosans.
Application. Marjoram has a very wide application: leaves with inflorescences are used in cooking as seasonings for meat soups, salads and side dishes, fish and meat dishes;in the canning industry is used for pickling cucumbers and tomatoes, in alcoholic beverage and perfume industries;in sausage and bakery production. With a medicinal purpose it is recommended in the treatment of the respiratory tract and digestive system as a substitute for oregano, in folk medicine - for insomnia. Essential oil of marjoram is used for making spicy extracts and liqueurs. In reserve stocks, he
and is used as a honey plant in the second half of summer and early autumn.
Agrotechnics of cultivation. Site selection. Marjoram grows well on fertile, loose, sandy-loamy and loamy soils. Under it should be taken away the southern slopes, illuminated by the sun and protected from cold northern winds. The best predecessor of marjoram is steam and winter crops, which go along the fertilized couple.
Soil treatment. The soil is prepared according to the system of autumn plowing. Plowing on plowland is carried out at the end of August and September to a depth of at least 20 cm. Early in the spring, shortly after the moisture is closed, the soil is cultivated with simultaneous harrowing, and up to planting they contain a field in a loose and clean state of weeds. Before planting, the soil is cultivated again, harrowed and rolled with a light roller.
Application of fertilizers. Under autumn plowing, 25-30 t / ha of compost, 3-4 c / ha of superphosphate and 1.0-1.5 c / ha of potassium salt should be introduced, and in spring another 1.5-2.0 c / ha of ammonium nitrate. During the summer, two additional fertilizing is required from local or mineral fertilizers.
Reproduction. Marjoram reproduces by growing seedlings in early greenhouses, directly sowing seeds in the soil( in the southern regions), dividing the bushes into parts and by means of green cuttings.
In most cases, marjoram is grown in seedling mode with a pre-picking. When the seedlings reach a height of 5-6 cm, it is planted in a constant place at a row spacing of 30 cm and a distance between plants in a row of 20 cm.
For propagation of marjoram, a small number of seeds in a greenhouse( on racks) or in greenhouses is planted by propagation. When three pairs of leaves appear on the plant, staginally young cuttings( the upper part) are cut from it and planted there( on racks or in greenhouses).After a lapse of two weeks, the original plants are cut again. Then, the plants obtained from the first cuttings are re-cutted, and so on. Thus, with a lack of seeds from 16-20 g, marjoram can be propagated during the spring and obtain the amount necessary for planting on an area of about 1 hectare. -
The seed is sown directly into the soil in the early spring, as soon as the soil has warmed up enough and passed the time of frost. Since the seeds of marjoram are small, the top layer of soil should be crushed to a fine-grained structure. Seeds are sealed to a depth of 0.5-1.0 cm. To conduct a blind marrow, the seeds of buckwheat or mustard are mixed with seeds of marjoram as beacons. After sowing the rows between the rows are mulched with compost, since with a fine embedding the upper layer of the soil dries quickly, and the seeds of marjoram may not give seedlings. The rate of sowing in the open ground is 4-5 kg / ha, and per 100 m2 of greenhouse sowing - 2-4 g.
Care of plantations. Plantations of marjoram should be maintained in a loose and clean condition from weeds. This requires a frequent rowing of rows and simultaneous weeding in rows( at least four to five times during the summer).
Harvesting. Marjoram is removed in August at the beginning of flowering in good weather. Plants are cut at a height of 5-7 cm from the soil level by mowers, and in small areas by plaits or sickles. If during the summer it is necessary to make two cuttings, then during the first cut, the plants are cut at an altitude of 10-15 cm( at this cutoff level, marjoram will grow faster and after a month and a half it will have time to blossom and give a new crop).
Drying. Marjoram is dried in attics under an iron roof with good ventilation, spreading it in a thin layer. At the end of the drying, the marjoram is slightly threshed in order to separate the leaves from the stems. Then the resulting mass is sieved through rare sieves or thick sieves to separate from dust, sand and other impurities.
Packing. Raw marjoram is packed in boxes in such a way that it does not rub off.
Storage. Marjoram is stored in a dry and dark place on racks or coasters.
With a high degree of agrotechnics and favorable climatic conditions, it is possible to obtain a dry crop yield with two cuttings an average of about 8-10 centners per hectare.
Quality requirements. Raw marjoram must meet the requirements of OST 4328.
Seed cultivation. Seeds of marjoram almost do not mature in our climatic conditions. However, if grown-
is taken marjoram by forcing in early hotbeds, it yields a negligible yield of mature seeds. To obtain a large number of mature seeds, it is necessary to apply fertilizers in the form of a 5% solution of potassium phosphate in an amount of 5.4 cm3 per 1 kg of soil in the growing pots. The introduction of calcium nitrate Ca( NO3) 2 delays seed ripening.
To accelerate the maturation of the seeds of marjoram, it is recommended that the areas designated for this culture be protected by greenhouse frames, installing them at the end of the summer at the onset of cold nights.