Stevia, Agastakha (Mexican Mint), Parsley, Basil, Onion

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Leafy salads and spicy herbs. Part 3

Mexican mint - agastakha

Stevia was brought to the USSR by academician N. I. Vavilov in 1934 from an expedition to Latin America. For centuries, the Indians of Brazil and Paraguay have eaten the leaves of this plant as a sweetener. They called it "sweet grass."

The glycosides contained in the plant are 250-300 times sweeter than sugar. Stevia is used as a sweetener in Japan, USA, Canada, East Asia, Israel. Stevia does not significantly affect the amount of glucose in the blood and for this reason is indicated for those suffering from diabetes and carbohydrate diets.

Finally, we also have stevia seeds on sale, and I tried to grow it. The plant is not capricious. Seeds cannot be sprinkled with earth, they were laid out on the surface of the soil. I put the plastic seed boxes in a plastic bag and put them under the fluorescent lights. The seeds sprouted in a week. With the appearance of the first true leaf, I cut the stevia into a flower pot. I kept it at home on the windowsill, as it is a heat-loving perennial plant that can grow at home for several years. Constantly pinching the stevia to form even and beautiful bushes. Of course, I made a mistake: I had to plant each plant in a separate pot. On the windowsill, the plant in direct sunlight was too uncomfortable, and was placed next to the windowsill. From this, the stems of the plant stretched out and did not form beautiful and lush bushes.

When the stevia grew older, I tasted a small piece of the leaf. Indeed, this plant is much sweeter than sugar. I decided to pour hot water over one small stevia leaf. But I did not feel the taste of sweetness. Perhaps the leaf was young, and there was not enough of it for such a volume of water.

In the fall, I took the pot of plants to the city, put the pot in a plastic bag (I didn't tie the bag, but slightly covered it, but the air enters there) and put it under fluorescent lamps. I put it in a bag to create a little moisture in the air around the plants - very dry air comes from the battery. Supplemented 12-14 hours a day. In the spring I will transplant the plants into separate pots and in early June I will take them to the greenhouse. Stevia endured the winter well. This year I will try to grow full-fledged plants and taste the leaves in tea.

In the foreground is Mexican mint.

Agastakha Golden Jubilee (Mexican mint or Mexican multicolor).

Sowed the seeds of this plant in early March. The seeds sprout quickly. With the appearance of the first true leaf, I spread the seedlings into small pots with a retractable bottom. Kept the plants on the windowsill. In the second half of May, she planted mint in boxes and kept it in a greenhouse. At the end of June, she dropped them off in a permanent sunny place. I added rotted horse manure (with sawdust) and compost to the garden bed. The distance between plants is not less than 30 cm. Watered as the soil dries up.

This plant is unpretentious, decorative throughout the vegetative period. The height of Mexican mint is about 40-50 cm. The leaves and stems outwardly resemble mint, but do not form long rhizomes spreading in different directions. The color of the leaves is very decorative - they are golden yellow with a peculiar smell.

Against the background of other plants, agastakha stood out as a bright yellow spot. It can be planted among flowers to brighten up the composition. It will go well with low (up to 70 cm) perennial non-flowering plants, such as ferns or hosts with dark green leaves, with plants with purple flowers (ageratum, heliotrope), red (tritonia, begonia, anemone, Turkish carnation, balsam, marigolds, salvia), blue (anemone, campanula). The flowers of my agastakha (bloomed in the first year of sowing) are pale lilac in color. But there are plants with white, blue, lavender and pink-orange flowers.

In young plants, the smell of the leaves is not very pleasant, and after flowering, when the leaves become harder, a pleasant aroma appears. The flowers of the plant also smell nice. I didn’t like the tea made from young leaves, and the tea made from autumn leaves was very aromatic. Leaves can be added to compotes made from fresh berries, apples and dried fruits, to jelly, jams and preserves. Also, cooled tea from brewed leaves can be added to baked goods. I think the leaves can be added to meat dishes as well.

Parsleyleafy (with simple and curly leaves) I also grow through seedlings, its seeds germinate for a very long time in the garden and often turn out to be overgrown with weeds, they are difficult to detect later, which makes it difficult to weed. Parsley, sown in the spring in the ridges, grows only by mid-July, and I want to eat young greens in the spring, so for many years in a row I have been sowing parsley seeds for seedlings in mid-February. I sprinkle them with earth. With the appearance of the first true leaf, I plant one plant at a time in a small pot with a retractable bottom. In March, I take out the pots to the glazed balcony. At the beginning of April, I plant several plants in the greenhouse so that the greens grow earlier. I plant the rest of the seedlings in open ground in mid-May and cover them with spunbond so that the leaves of the plant do not burn in the sun, and the nights are still cold. I shoot Spunbond in early June. As soon as parsley can be eaten in the open field, I dig it out of the greenhouse and transfer it with a lump of earth into the open ground so that it does not take up precious space. I plant the smallest plants in flower pots and put them outside until autumn. Then I take them to the balcony and eat my parsley until the New Year.

I plant some of the plants between perennial low flowers. I plant curly-leaved parsley one plant at a time in the center of a large flowerpot, and along the edges I sow an annual simple gypsophila (or plant it with seedlings) with white flowers. I pinch the gypsophila in the initial stage of growth to bush. Such a flowerpot looks very elegant, and the green color of parsley goes well with the small white flowers of gypsophila. Its branches hang from the flowerpot when they grow up. Curly parsley leaves give this composition an airiness. As the bush grows, we pluck the lower leaves of parsley in order to slightly limit its growth, and we grow it for the sake of greenery. I tried to add sprigs of such parsley to bouquets with flowers instead of greens, but, unfortunately, parsley is not in a vase - it withers quickly, but it's a pity - it is a very ornamental plant.

Basil is a very demanding plant for agricultural technology. Prefers humus-rich soils. It is a very thermophilic plant. I sow seeds in mid-February for seedlings. Sprinkle the seeds with earth. After the emergence of seedlings, I dive them into peat-peat tablets, and when small roots appear from the mesh, I plant each such tablet, removing the mesh in a separate small pot with a retractable bottom. I keep the seedlings under fluorescent lamps, supplementary lighting 12 hours a day. As soon as the temperature rises above + 15 ° C on the glassed-in balcony, I transfer the basil there.

When the plants reach a height of 6-7 cm, I pinch the growth point so that they bush. I add the broken point of growth to salads. When the side shoots grow 4 leaves, I also pinch them. This is how I form basil before planting seedlings. I plant well-formed bushes in mid-May in a greenhouse in flower boxes and put them in the aisles. So they grow until late autumn.

I cut off part of the shoots of the plant and dry it. I grind the dried basil in a coffee grinder and store in closed glass jars (to preserve the aroma). I add dried basil to fresh vegetable salads, and it gives a special aroma to fresh cabbage salad. I also use dried basil in hot meat dishes. I add fresh basil to salads.

Last spring I discovered another new kind of basil - lemon (Lemon aroma). Its leaves have a pleasant lemon scent and are good in tea. The dried leaves do not lose their aroma and do not smell like hay like many herbs.

After picking, I will plant several plants in flower pots and take them home to the balcony in the fall to brew tea with this plant for longer. I didn't like the lemon basil in the fresh vegetable salad.

Basil leaves contain a large amount of essential oils that have a bactericidal effect and raise the overall tone. It has a high content of mineral salts, vitamins A, C, P, group B.

Purple basil is very decorative and can be grown as an ornamental plant. Such basil can be planted with low flowers with white, yellow, pink flowers. But in this case, in order not to spoil the decorative qualities, it will be necessary not to use it for food. But after the flowering of this composition, purple basil can be cut and dried - this is a heat-loving plant and in August it will be uncomfortable to grow in open ground.

Garlic, perennial onions

and sorrel on film

BowI have been growing on a feather for many years. Favorite variety - Parade. Its leaves are juicy, not sharp. I sow it early in the spring in a greenhouse along the edge of the garden, it grows for a long time, and in early May I plant seedlings of tomatoes and cucumbers in the center of the ridges. It ripens when the first green onion sets have already been eaten. The second sowing is carried out in the second half of August in the greenhouse, after I remove the tomatoes. It grows by early October and grows until frost. First, in the fall, we use green onions grown in a greenhouse from seedlings for food, since it cannot be overexposed in the garden - the leaves become coarse. And onions grown from seeds are the last to eat. I tried to plant the seeds of this onion in the spring for seedlings. But this type of onion is not suitable for seedling growing. You can sow its seeds in the summer, but we do not need this - other types of onions grow in the summer.

The question always arises before gardeners: how to preserve the green leaves of various herbs for a long time. I have these plants stored for two weeks and stay fresh and juicy. As soon as I pluck the leaves of the plant, I immediately wash them (each leaf separately), shake them off of the water and place them in a plastic bag so that the plants are not crowded, inflate the bag, tie and store it in the refrigerator. When I take out the right amount of leaves, I inflate the bag again and tie it. The bag will contain carbon dioxide, which the plants need to breathe, and they will have enough moisture that remains on the leaves.

By eating these valuable plants, we not only strengthen the immune system, but also do not accumulate extra pounds in our body. Instead of a side dish for meat dishes, I make salads from fresh vegetables with the addition of various salads and herbs. This is especially useful for people over 40.

Leafy salads and spicy herbs

• Part 1: Leafy salads Lollo Bionda, Frillis, Endive

• Part 2: Cabbage and watercress, mustard, arugula, reindeer plantain, spinach, Swiss chard

• Part 3: Stevia, agastakha (Mexican mint), parsley, basil, onions