Content
Peppermint (Mentha piperita) is an interspecific hybrid obtained by crossing Mentha aquatica (aquatic) and Mentha spicata (spikelet). Only wild plants are found in nature. Mint Kubanskaya 6 - one of the few varieties of pepper, especially common in Russia and neighboring countries.
Description of mint Kuban 6
Mint breeding is carried out in several directions. The first is decorative, when they try to make the plant as original or beautiful as possible for growing in flower beds and in gardens. Or they bring out an unusual aroma. All kinds of mint are involved here.
The second is economic. This is where peppermint comes to the fore. It is in it that the highest content of substances widely used in medicine, cooking and cosmetology. One group of varieties contains the largest amount of menthol. The other gives a high yield of essential oils, organic acids and carotene in dry leaves, provides a good aroma and taste.
The variety was created when selecting elite seedlings of the second generation when crossing Peppermint and Field. On variety testing since 1971. In 1977, Kubanskaya 6 was adopted by the State Register, recommended for cultivation in all regions.
Description of the plant
Mint Kuban 6 is an erect perennial herb about 45 cm high. Stems are tetrahedral, branched, well leafy, hollow inside. The edge of vegetative organs characteristic of other species is absent.
The leaves of the Kuban 6 are opposite, lanceolate, with a sharp tip and heart-shaped base, green, serrate along the edge. The petiole is short. The rhizome is horizontal, branched. The sucking processes are thin, fibrous.
Inflorescence is an ear consisting of false whorls scattered in the axils of the leaves of the upper part of the stem. Corollas are five-membered, irregular, small, pale lilac. Fruits - consisting of 4 zinobia nuts. They are rarely formed, often sterile, which is why it is difficult to grow Kubanskaya 6 mint from seeds.
The timing of the opening of the buds depends on the region and the weather. Usually Kuban mint blooms in June-August. The plant can be tricked. If the spikelets are cut off as soon as the buds begin to open, new shoots will grow, at the ends of which inflorescences will form. They will be much smaller than the first, but the same fragrant.
Industrial cultivation, yield, essential oil content
On industrial plantations, the Kubanskaya 6 variety reaches a height of 50 to 80 cm. This is due to the fact that in personal subsidiary plots, peppermint is usually planted somewhere in the backyards. At best, it is watered. Top dressing is given to the Kubanskaya 6 only if valuable crops grow nearby, the decorativeness or fertility of which must be maintained with the help of fertilizer.
With industrial cultivation, the yield of raw materials must be large, otherwise it simply does not make sense to occupy an area with a crop. Kuban mint is watered on schedule, fed, and pest and disease control.
In response, it gives a yield of 16-20 quintals of leaves per hectare. The essential oil yield is 3.6-5.5%. In turn, it contains from 53 to 60% menthol.
Features of the distribution of nutrients in Kuban mint 6:
- lower leaves contain more menthol;
- the top part of mint is rich in essential oils;
- at low temperatures, less aromatic compounds are formed, but there is more menthol in them.
The maximum content of essential oils in the Kubanskaya peppermint is reached at the beginning of flowering:
- stems - no more than 0.3%;
- leaves - 2.4-2.75%;
- inflorescences - 4-6%.
The use of Kuban mint in cooking
Before using Kuban peppermint in culinary recipes, you need to know exactly what kind is used there. Since they do not always write about this, it is better to first prepare a "trial" dish. The fact is that the aroma and amount of essential oils differs not only in different species, but also from variety to variety.
What is the flavor of the Kuban mint
Peppermint has the strongest smell and spicy taste. Experts call it refreshing, cold, invigorating. Ordinary people primarily feel menthol, diluted with more pleasant herbal notes. The Kubanskaya 6 variety is distinguished by the content of aromatic oils even in its own group.
Where can you add Kuban mint
Peppermint, grade Kuban 6 including, is used to flavor vinegar, cheeses, tea. It is used for canning, and it is put in both pickles and compotes. Fragrant leaves are used for making desserts and drinks. For example, the famous Mojito owes its unique taste to peppermint. Variety Kubanskaya 6 is great for this cocktail.
Peppermint goes well with vegetable and fruit salads, cheeses. Its leaves give a unique taste and aroma to roast from all types of meat, soups, marinades.
The British popular with lamb mint sauce. Americans add the leaves to tomato juice. In Arabic and Mediterranean cuisines, peppermint is included in many spice preparations. Russians and residents of neighboring countries are especially fond of tea with fresh or dry leaves.
Useful properties of the Kuban mint
The smell of peppermint relieves stress and fatigue, invigorates, stimulates mental activity. Its oils are used in aromatherapy and perfumery, in the care of oily skin, for the treatment of dermatitis, acne, rosacea. Mint lotions reduce bags under the eyes.
Official medicine uses peppermint to treat:
- colds due to antipyretic, antibacterial, diaphoretic, antiviral properties;
- cardiovascular system as a vasoconstrictor, relieving heart pain with angina pectoris, arrhythmias and tachycardia;
- upper respiratory tract, peppermint may even help with loss of voice associated with bronchitis, laryngitis, or other inflammatory process;
- Gastrointestinal tract - improves digestion, copes with heartburn, bloating, nausea, colic, increases the outflow of bile;
- musculoskeletal system - relieves muscle tension, has a resorbing effect;
- in dentistry, it helps to moderate pain in case of stomatitis, caries, treats inflammation of the gums;
- central and autonomic nervous system - has a therapeutic effect with increased excitability, overexertion, anxiety, mood swings, mild depression.
Peppermint Kuban relieves cramps with migraines and menstrual pain. Helps with seasickness.
Many widespread and highly specialized medicines are made from peppermint, for example, Validol, Pectusin, Valocordin, Menovazin, Campholin, Anestezol, Bronkhosan, DipRelif, Dolaren, Kombigripp, Strepsis, Fanigan, Flamidez, Flukold.
In domestic preparations, peppermint of the Kubanskaya 6 variety is usually used, which is grown on industrial plantations.
The use of Kuban mint in folk medicine
Herbalists treat peppermint for the same diseases as mainstream medicine. Only they use alcohol and water infusions, decoctions, teas, and not drugs. Dry raw materials are used to prepare potions along with freshly cut grass.
Landing rules
For peppermint Kuban 6, you need to choose a sunny area with fertile soil. First, they dig it up, remove all the roots of weeds, add humus, peat, sand if necessary. The culture will not grow on dense clay soils.
Mint Kuban 6 reproduces well by offspring and pieces of rhizomes. She easily tolerates the division of the bush, quickly recovers and takes root. In regions with cool climates, the best time to plant mint is May-June. In the south, this should be done at least 2 weeks before the onset of extreme heat, or the operation should be postponed until early autumn.
It is important that the soil after digging has time to sink, otherwise the mint will deeply deepen. It will grow only when the part of the stem that is underground is overgrown with new roots. If there was no time to prepare the bed in advance, you can roll it up or put a wide board on the ground and walk carefully on it.
When planting mint with offspring or rhizomes, special tricks are not needed:
- Furrows about 10 cm deep are made in the garden bed. If it is assumed that the mint will grow in a continuous carpet, the spacing in the rows does not matter. To form even ridges, the grooves are placed 50-60 cm apart.
- Water abundantly.
- When the moisture is absorbed, they are laid out in the rhizome line. If the aboveground part has grown by more than 10 cm by this time, it is cut off and used in the kitchen.
- Sprinkle mint rhizomes with soil, compact well, watered.
If there are few seedlings, they can be placed in the holes. With sufficient watering, the Kuban mint 6 will grow rapidly. In one place, she feels good for 3 years, then begins to shrink, degenerate, and at the beginning of the next season she can disappear altogether.
Growing from seeds of Kuban mint is problematic. This is a complex hybrid, little fruit sets, many of them are sterile. Even if a piece pops up and looks like peppermint, it won't be a pure variety.
Features of growing and care
It is difficult to rinse and loosen the Kuban 6 peppermint. Bushes grow rapidly, rhizomes spread in all directions. If the culture is grown on ridges, a strip overgrown with mint is left, the rest is poured out with a solid line.
Damage to rhizomes does not affect the yield of greenery and flowering. But the weeds growing between the bushes are removed by hand. Often they are not touched at all. Carpet planting of mint is difficult to keep clean. They try to do it not in the garden, but in a berry or garden in a sufficiently lit place.
The culture is demanding for watering and does not like drying out of the soil. Many gardeners do not fertilize mint at all. Even without top dressing in a tiny area, it produces enough greenery to last until next season. If you still need a lot of mint, it should be borne in mind that even a slight excess of nitrogen causes the rapid growth of greenery to the detriment of flowering and the accumulation of essential oils in the leaves. In addition, nitrates provoke many diseases. But phosphorus-potassium fertilizer at the end of the season will benefit mint.
The plant hibernates without shelter. Young greens can withstand short-term frosts. But in the harsh winter with little snow, some of the peppermint may die. Therefore, in the northern regions, it is better to sketch spruce branches on the garden bed in the fall.
Pests and diseases
With peppermint, you need to be on the lookout at all times.They grow it for culinary and medicinal purposes, use the aboveground part, so there can be no question of any chemistry. And mint has a lot of pests. Here is a partial list:
- mint flea;
- green shield beetle;
- mint leaf beetle;
- aphid;
- leafhopper;
- weevils;
- meadow moth;
- mint mite;
- slobbering penny;
- wireworm.
You need to fight pests with folk remedies, for example, infusions of celandine, bird cherry or pine. The sooner a problem is discovered, the easier it is to deal with it.
Peppermint varieties Kubanskaya 6 are ill:
- rust;
- powdery mildew;
- verticillary wilting;
- anthracnose;
- spotted leaves.
Mint overgrowth is also a disease. It is called microplasma and affects the rhizomes. The best way to fight mint diseases is through prevention. It needs to be transplanted on time, in the fall to remove plant residues.
When and how to collect Kuban mint
Peppermint contains the largest amount of essential oils at the beginning of flowering. Then you need to procure raw materials for cooking and treatment.
The stems of nutrients contain little. If possible, only flowers and leaves in the upper part of the plant are cut off or cut off from the mint. The lower ones contain more menthol, but they do not have a very pleasant aroma and are bitter.
If there is a lack of time and sufficient storage space for raw materials, you can cut and dry the mint along with the shoots. But then you will need to pick off the leaves just before preparing dishes or medicine.
How to properly dry Kuban mint
Leaves and flowers are laid out on clean paper in a dark, well-ventilated area. When the mint is dry, it is placed in a glass jar and covered with a lid. Shoots are tied in bunches and hung to dry. Store in cardboard boxes for no more than 2 years.
Conclusion
Mint Kubanskaya 6 is a domestic variety rich in menthol and essential oils. The culture takes root easily and reproduces vegetatively. It does not require much attention if it grows in a bright place, receives enough moisture, it is transplanted every 3 years.
