How to grow mint and lemon balm at home

Today more and more people take care of their health, prefer beverages rich in preservatives and dyes, and herbal teas. First place in the ranking of the raw materials for the preparation of tea is mint and Melissa. They are rich in vitamins, possess medicinal properties and are suitable for growing at home.

Growing mint at home

Mint is propagated vegetatively. In the first half of the autumn cut cuttings or dig a Bush of mint with the roots and ball of soil. The ball should be cut with a knife so that each share was only 2-3 shoots with roots or kidneys. Detached pieces or cuttings should be planted in pots with a diameter of about 10 cm.

On the bottom of the tank of the drainage stack, and then fall asleep moist mixture of parts of garden soil or two parts of humus. The roots of the plants should be in the ground, and above-ground part to be trimmed at a height of 5 cm above the surface.

To speed up the process of regrowth of leaves planted mint placed as close as possible to the light.

Plants need to be watered regularly settled water at room temperature. It is advisable to keep it in the pan because the mint prefers the air humidity about 80%. It is also useful to periodically spray the leaves.

When mint will take root, and the leaves begin to grow, you can spend one feeding a urea solution (1 liter of water 1-2 g of urea). As a rule, feed the plant at the end of September. Winter feeding is not carried out, their resume in February, when the sun comes out.

How to grow lemon balm

Seedlings to sow the seeds of lemon balm you need at the beginning of March. To do this in a container of prepared soil mix (one part peat, loam, and humus) to the groove depth of 0.5 cm should be laid in dry seeds and shed warm water. Before germination the soil must be sprinkled through the day. The seedlings appear after 8-10 days.

Planted seedlings should be in the period from 25 April to 5 may. Set the plants at a distance of 12 cm from one another. Melissa watered 3 times a week. When the plants reach 20-25 cm in height, and the buds appear, they should be prischipnut, preventing flowering. So will increase lateral branching, and in summer the greens can be cut 2-3 times.

When the plant reaches a height of 40-50 cm, it is cut together with the stem, leaving 10 cm the splendor of the Bush Melissa will be increased several times.

Melissa is not afraid of the cold, therefore it can be left in the loggia or the balcony until late autumn frosts. Further continue cultivation on the windowsill. Thus in each flower pot along with the clods of earth out of the box put 1-2 plants. Feeding the plant is not needed. For this purpose, can be used for irrigation weak tea and infusion eggshell.