2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
If you are still choosing crops for your herb garden, consider caraway (anise). I think you will not regret it. This climate-resistant and picky plant is known not only for its fragrant greenery, but also for its very useful properties
In culture since the Stone Age
They knew about caraway even in the Stone Age. Archaeologists have found its seeds in ruins from ancient buildings. In the Middle Ages, cumin was widely used in cooking, adding it to the first, second courses and even desserts. Now it is successfully cultivated both in Europe and Asia. In Russia, he feels quite comfortable: it grows in the wild steppes, along roads, on the edges and lives in many garden plots. Unless it is difficult to find it in the Far North.
The most valuable part of cumin is its seeds. They extract excellent essential oil, tannins, which are used in cooking, cosmetics and medicine. It is thanks to the composition of the seeds that caraway has a unique bitter-burning, spicy aroma. It gives the dishes a special flavor. They are added to salads, soups, pastries, cheeses, preparations, etc. Traditional medicine advises using caraway seeds to improve lactation. And the cake from greens, rich in vitamins, is fed to cattle to strengthen the immune system.
Looks like dill
Caraway (wild anise, cumin, gunba, goat, etc.) is a biennial plant belonging to the Umbrella family. In the first year, it forms a fleshy taproot (usually light brown) and a small rosette of feathery, light green leaves. And next summer it is worth waiting for a significant increase in greenery, in the middle of which a branchy, single stem (up to 100 cm) stretches upward. The leaves of the plant resemble the greens of dill. They are saturated (about 40-45%) with ascorbic acid.
Flowers appear in July. At the end of the stem, an umbrella-shaped inflorescence is formed with numerous, small white or pinkish flowers. The fruit of the plant is an oblong droplet. Its seeds are harvested, as a rule, in the second year at the end of July or in August. They are very rich in B vitamins, proteins, calcium. They are recommended to be used during the period of adherence to all kinds of diets, as well as as a diuretic and antibacterial agent.
Morozov is not afraid
Anise perfectly tolerates even the most severe winters. Seeds hatch even at 6-8 C with a plus. The plant is demanding for light, moisture and feeding. It feels best on loose black soil, sandy loam and light loam with a good amount of humus. In order to really please caraway seeds, it is advisable to fertilize the beds under it with superphosphate (for 1m2 - 45g), potassium salt (for 1m2 - 15g) and humus (for 1m2 - 2, 5kg) in the fall. Then dig up the ground 30cm.
If possible, it is recommended to collect snow for the future bed with caraway seeds during the winter, and add a little urea (15g per 1m2) to it in the spring. Sowing of caraway seeds is carried out as soon as the soil warms up a little, or it is possible at the end of summer - before winter. Seeds are scattered quite thickly (1m2 - 1g of seeds) to a depth of 2.5cm. Somewhere 40cm is left between the rows. After the sprouts reach 7-10 cm, they are usually thinned out at a distance of 20 cm from each other.
Top dressing depends on the purpose of growing
Anise rises rather slowly. They become noticeable only after 2-3 weeks, and then another two weeks before the appearance of the first leaf. Various salads get along well with him - they will become a kind of beacons that will help in the fight against weeds. Crops should be regularly loosened, weeded and fed.
If you are more interested in juicy greens and a fragrant root vegetable of the plant, then it is better to fertilize it during the active growing season of greenery. For this, urea, potassium salt and superphosphate are suitable. Well, if you need to get excellent anise seeds, then feeding (already without urea) is repeated under the last loosening in the fall. Caraway also gratefully relates to hilling. After which he can release additional roots.
You need to collect quickly
The strongest plants with a strong stem are left for the seeds as usual. Collecting seeds should be done quite quickly, as they quickly crumble. The darkening of about 70% of the seeds can serve as a guideline. You need to cut off the branches, tie them into a bunch and leave to ripen, and then thresh. With a good harvest, about 150g of seeds per square meter are obtained.
It is advisable to store anise seeds in a tightly sealed container, otherwise beneficial essential oils can quickly evaporate, and their unique aroma will be lost. Among the few plant varieties, the most common is Khmelnitsky.
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