Peppermint is an aromatic plant of the family Lamiaceae. It is widely used in medicine and cooking. But peppermint is not one species. Now there are more than 25 of them. They contain different essential oils. Therefore, they have various odors on which their use depends. In addition to natural, there are about a dozen hybrids. One of the species is spearmint.
Peppermint Description
Spearmint is a perennial plant. Its height depends on the conditions of growth and cultivation. It can reach from 30 cm to 1 m. The stem is straight, quite soft. Leaves are ovate, wrinkled, pubescent with soft hairs. Their edges are serrated.
Spiky mint differs from peppermint in a lighter and sweeter flavor. It can grow in one place for many years. But if the site is not dug up, it soon degenerates and disappears. The top of each stem ends with an inflorescence - a false whorl. Spiky mint blooms in small white or light pink flowers. This happens in July and August.
The spearmint has become the basis for the creation of the well-known peppermint - one of the most popular hybrids of this culture. And their appearance is not very different.
Peppermint Regions
In the wild, spearmint has long been found in Western Asia, Egypt, in southern Europe. Now its habitat has expanded. Spearmint grows in a temperate climate.
Using Peppermint Raw Materials
The spearmint is distinguished by its original menthol flavor. But, unlike peppermint, it does not cool in the mouth. It is used in cooking for the manufacture of chewing gums, sweets, gingerbread cookies and other confectionery products.
Fresh leaves are placed in desserts and salads. Garden peppermint tea helps with insomnia, neurosis. Widely used in the manufacture of liquors and other wine and vodka products. Used in the manufacture of soap and cigarettes.
Lotions for the eyes will help restore the condition of tired eyes, a decoction of peppermint will remove excessive sweating. With flatulence, they also recommend consuming spearmint.
Gardening
Spiked mint is planted in fragrant gardens and drugstores. Beautiful leaves allow you to use it in mixborders. Mint is planted on the shores of lakes, including artificial ones. It is only necessary to take into account that it is growing rapidly and occupying new territories. Therefore, periodically you need to remove excess growth. It can be planted in a new place.
Mint cultivation
The soil for the cultivation of spearmint is better to choose fertile and moist. Reproduction methods: from seeds, layering, dividing the bush. Which one to choose? The easiest way is reproduction by layering. Mint forms a lot of them. It is only necessary to dig out part of them with a shovel and transplant to a new place. It is just as easy to get a new seedling by dividing the bush.
Growing from seeds is much more difficult. It is necessary to constantly monitor the humidity of the earth. Seeds are sown to a depth of about 0.5 cm. The distance between them should be 15 cm. You can plant more densely. But then it will be necessary to thin out the shoots. Watered, covered with a film. After the seeds sprout, they do not remove it. Wait until the first real leaflets appear.
The cultivation of spearmint in the infield does not require much effort. It is planted in a sunny area or in partial shade. There it will need to be watered less often. After the bushes take root, you need to weed out, loosen the soil, periodically water. You can fertilize once a month. After the mint has grown to a height of 35 cm, pinch its tops. Too thick bushes are thinned out using cut stems with leaves and flowers for drying or freezing. In one place, spiky mint is recommended to be grown for no more than 3 years.
If it is not possible to plant garden mint on a personal plot, in summer and spring it can be grown in pots on the balcony. The soil should be moist, it will be able to replenish water supplies from the pallet. So that the plant does not grow up, but in the form of a bush, pinch its top. For potted plants, it can be carried out at a height of 25 cm.
By winter, the pot can be moved to the house. Install where there are no drafts. There, spiky mint will also grow. But it must be regularly fed with mineral fertilizers.
Spiky mint tolerates a drop in temperature. But getting it out of the snow is quite difficult. Therefore, mint leaves can be prepared for the winter. They are dried or frozen.