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Many know the effects of catmint on our feline Quaker , but few substantiate that catmint has medicinal effects for humans .
From stomach aches to bring down fevers , catnip is a versatile herbaceous plant with many benefit . The next time you grow this plant for your big cat you may end up taking a few cuttings for yourself !
The chase is an excerpt fromThe Organic Medicinal Herb FarmerbyJeff and Melanie Carpenter . It has been adapt for the web .
Catnip.Photograph courtesy of Kate Clearlight
Catnip . pic courtesy of Kate Clearlight
Catnip –Nepeta Cataria
Life Cycle
Catnip is a curtly - live herbaceous perennial that is sturdy to USDA geographical zone 3 to 9 .
Plant Description
Native to Europe , this perennial was introduced to North America and is a favorite among felid and herbalists likewise . A member of the Lamiaceae fellowship , catnip is a mint with definitive square stems and alternating leaves .
Catnip has toothed sum - forge leaves that are fuzzy and greyish - honey oil in color . It is extremely aromatic and grows three to four foot tall , urinate a great borderline and companion plant life .
In mid - to former summer catnip produces dumb spikes compose of minor soul flowersthat are white with a lovely weak purple undercurrent . On mean Nepeta cataria lives around five season but is most fertile during its 2nd and third long time of growth .
Growing Conditions
In the wild , catnip grows in dry soil and is usually encounter on the edge of fields , on stream bank , and on upset land . It grows well in full to fond sunand like well - drain soil with right birth rate and organic thing .
Propagation
The seed of catmint are promiscuous - dependent germinators and should be planted on the control surface or covered thinly with potting commixture . Seeds should be stratified for best sprouting results . Catnip can be directly - seeded in early outpouring or grown from transplants or vegetative cut .
On our farm we opt mature catmint from transplant ; this makes for fewer weeds and a unobjectionable harvest . Once established , catnip will diffuse vegetatively and will also self - seed .
Planting Considerations
Although this perennial can go for five years or more , catnip yield tend to be lower in older plants . takings are systematically higher in plant in their second and third years of growth but after that begin to wane .
Being highly redolent and attractive to pollinator , catnip can be a good companion plant to repulse pestering worm and pull in beneficials .
It makes a gracious border for crops such as calendula and echinacea , which are susceptible to disease carry by worm . Plant spacing is twelve inches between plants within the row , twenty - eight inches between rows .
Medicinal Uses
Catnip is a wonderful nervine that is dependable to use with children and adults . It has a calming , ataractic effect and can help facilitate fussiness in baby ; it promote nap and is good for reducing digestive upset .
Catnip has caustic properties and not only settle down the stomach but work as a carminative and helps dispel accelerator pedal . In addition to its nervine and sulfurous action catniphelps promote sweating , lend down fevers , and is commonly used with herb like boneset and milfoil to treat flu symptoms .
slenderly astringent , it is also good for treating children with diarrhea and can be taken as a tea or tincture . Another way we use catnip is to make an herbally impregnate honey with it and tot up it to potable . Catnip is a stimulant for CAT and is often find in their toys and goody .
Harvest Specifications
Large commercial-grade herbaceous plant farm often produce Nepeta cataria much like they would a hay crop , using machinery to cut , field of force wry , and bale the harvest .
Field - dry catnip bring out lowly - quality result and is not recommend for medicinal purposes . Catnip is harvest when it give way into full bloom in mid - to late summertime .
Cut the whole plant , both leaves and flowers , with a field knife or sickle bar cutter . When harvest be sure to will at least six to eight inch of growth for regeneration . This will avail plants overwinter , and some warmer climates countenance for a second harvest .
Postharvest and Drying Considerations
Dry catnip at temperature of 95 to 100 ° F.Do not dry Nepeta cataria at very mellow temperatures or the volatile essential oil can be lost .
Tops should be dried whole , in fond wraith and with respectable airflow . Under good weather condition catnip can dry in two to three days .
Leaves and flowers can be garbled after dry out by rubbing them over quarter - to half - inch unstained steel mesh and picking out the stalk . Once garbled , mix leaf and blossoms together .
Pests and Diseases
Catnip has minimal disease or plague pressure due , in part , to its extremely aromatic nature .
Yields
Two hundred Irish pound of dried catnip leaf and prime per one - eighth - acre layer ( multiple harvests per time of year ) . Moisture ratio for catmint folio flowers is 3.5:1 bracing : dried .
Pricing
Retail Leontyne Price for one pounding organic :
Recommended Reads
Start Your Own Medicinal Herb Garden with These 3 Herbs
Herbal Medicine : Knowledge Rooted in Connection
The Organic Medicinal Herb Farmer, Revised Edition
How to Produce high-pitched - Quality Herbs on a Market Scale
$ 39.95
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