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Catmint "Citriodora"
Catmint - Nepeta cataria L. var. citriodora.
A perennial plant with a lemon scent and a spicy-bitter taste, 40-120 cm high. Sowing in mid-May to a depth of 1-2 cm. Blooms in July-August.
It has a pungent, pleasant odor reminiscent of lemon balm. This plant is also called Catmint because its strong aroma attracts cats in the same way as the smell of valerian...
In frosty winters it can freeze slightly, but is easily restored because it self-sows abundantly.
A perennial plant with a lemon scent and a spicy-bitter taste, 40-120 cm high. Sowing in mid-May to a depth of 1-2 cm. Blooms in July-August.
It has a pungent, pleasant odor reminiscent of lemon balm. This plant is also called Catmint because its strong aroma attracts cats in the same way as the smell of valerian...
In frosty winters it can freeze slightly, but is easily restored because it self-sows abundantly.
* Herbs (stems, leaves, flowers) harvested in June-August are used for medicinal purposes.
The chemical composition of the plant has not been studied enough. However, it is known that the plant contains essential oil, which includes citral, geraniol, citronellol.
In folk medicine, catnip infusion is used for exhaustion, anemia, to improve appetite, for constipation, chronic gastritis, shortness of breath, headaches, restless sleep, for biliary and gastrointestinal colic and as an anthelmintic.
Externally, the infusion of the herb is used to wash small wounds, in the form of compresses for boils and abscesses.
Catnip decoction is drunk for chronic bronchitis and gastric diseases, hysteria, melancholy, and menstrual irregularities.
Catnip essential oil is used in the perfume industry. 2 teaspoons of dry herb per 1 glass of boiling water, leave for 40-50 minutes in a sealed container, strain. Take 1/2 cup 3-4 times a day 20 minutes before meals for angina, headaches, and stomach cramps.
Location: grows well in a sunny, warm place.
Soil: dry, fresh. Does not tolerate heavy soils!
Care: apply mineral fertilizers. After the first flowering in July, cut the plant in half; it will bloom again and grow more compactly.
Reproduction: by division and cuttings in May. Can also be propagated by seeds. Sow in April for seedlings or in May in open ground. When grown by seedlings, plants bloom in the year of sowing. Seeds germinate in 14-20 days at +18+22°C. From sowing to flowering it takes 12-16 weeks.
Application: excellent plant for flower beds, borders, rockeries. Attracts beneficial insects to the garden. All parts of it are fragrant. Suitable for growing in pots and other containers, as well as for roof landscaping.
Partners: Achillea, Anaphalis, Lavandula, Phlomis, Salvia, Santolina.
Catnip, catmint, catnep. Pharm.: herba catariae, herba nepetae. Bot. syn.: Cataria vulgaris Moench., Nepeta cataria ssp. citrina.
* Catnip herb is used for medicinal purposes.
The above-ground mass contains essential oil.
In folk medicine, catnip infusion is used for exhaustion, anemia, to improve appetite, for constipation, chronic gastritis, shortness of breath, headaches, restless sleep, for biliary and gastrointestinal colic and as an anthelmintic.
Externally, the infusion of the herb is used to wash small wounds, in the form of compresses for boils and abscesses.
• 2 teaspoons of dry herbs per 1 glass of boiling water, leave for 40-50 minutes in a sealed container, strain.
Take 1/2 cup 3-4 times a day 20 minutes before meals for angina, headaches, and stomach cramps.
* Herbal flower kvass.
Kvass with herbs can be prepared in two ways. The first is the addition of herbs to regular rusk kvass, or at the stage of wort cooking. This is done when they are going to flavor kvass with roots: Acorus calamus, Inula helenium, Angelica archangelica, etc.
Or herbs are added to kvass at the fermentation stage: usually mint, lemon balm, catnip and many other aromatic herbs of your choice.
* Basic rusk kvass.
Rusk kvass usually serves as the basis for all other kvass - mint, lemon, caraway, etc. Fresh herbs are placed in the finished wort, and dry herbs, seeds and roots are added when the breadcrumbs are infused in boiling water.
Preparation: pour boiling water over the crackers, let sit for a day and strain. Add sugar and yeast. When the foam rises to the top, carefully pour off the sediment, strain again, pour into bottles and close tightly, and place on ice.
Ingredients: black crackers - 1 kg, boiling water - 18 l, sugar - 800 g, live yeast - 50 g.
* The second method is to prepare kvass only from the selected plant.
For 4.5 liters of kvass you need to collect at least 2 liters of flowers or herbs. 4.5 liters, not 5, is due to the fact that it is more convenient to prepare kvass in 5-liter bottles. For fermentation in the bottle you need to leave free space.
Pour boiling water over the raw materials, leave until completely cool, strain and squeeze. For each liter of strained infusion, add 5 tbsp. of sugar. To start fermentation, you can use a piece of black bread brushed with live baker's yeast, or, which is tastier but takes longer, unwashed raisins or grapes.
During fermentation, place the bottle, tied with a cloth or loosely twisted (only half a turn, so that the lid does not fall), in the warmest place. When numerous bubbles appear on the surface, transfer the kvass to a cool place (in field conditions this is shallow water of a river, in the country - a well) for 2-3 days. After this, the kvass becomes tasty and sizzles like a carbonated drink.
