Peppermint is part of the many herbs that help in the treatment of cardiovascular, gynecological, dental, gastro-intestinal diseases. It soothes, relieves pain, relieves itching due to its vasodilating, anti-inflammatory, tonic properties. Therefore, every gardener will certainly seek to put this plant on his land, and to procure mint for the whole winter. The main thing - it must be done in a timely manner to preserve all the healing properties of mint.

When you need to collect mint for winter storage



As soon as the spring will appear the first shoots of mint, 2-3 leaf, you can pick for brewing tea, because it is a preventive measure from headaches, frequent colds, gastro-intestinal disorders. But for procurement you need to wait until mid-June when the plant will increase its volume. July is peak season, when the green mass was increased, and the plant gained the maximum mint flavor. The summer months is the period of harvesting the mint, and this must be done repeatedly (1-3 times a month, depending on how old the plant is in its place.

From the second year of life on the same square, mint grows a thick carpet, and be it may without a transplant 4-5 years. Perhaps a longer growing, but, as a rule, the plant begins to be affected by diseases. Some believe that collecting mint need to wait a period of budding and flowering. However, leaves with twigs, and blossoms, possess all the medicinal properties. Shouldn't be cutting the stalks in rainy weather or early in the morning, when the leaves have dew drops. As a result of drying the color will be unnatural brownish.

Methods of drying of peppermint



Cut the stalks from the leaves and flowers can be collected in bunches and hung in ventilated room without direct sunlight. You can use a shed, an attic, an ordinary room, where the "walks" the draft. The sun is detrimental to the aromatics inherent in the mint. It is not forbidden to decompose the raw material in a thin layer on a clean tissue or paper. Sometimes for quick drying used oven, but specialists recommend to resort to his help. In this case, the mint would lose a significant proportion of nutrients. I must say that even in bunches it dries very quickly. If mint laid out on the floor, not dangling, it is recommended for drying time 2-3 times turn over.

Dried mint can be stored for the winter along with twigs or clean off their leaves and flowers and put in a cloth bag, cardboard box or glass jar with a lid. Some manufacturers grind the dried product to a powder, but keep in mind that crushed mint faster loses its beneficial properties and you need to remove it in a tightly sealed container. Dried mint leaves or mint powder should not be stored for more than 2 years, as after this period, its medicinal properties diminish.