I want to grow unpretentious, multifunctional plants in my garden plot. Planting lemon balm (popularly known as lemon balm) will allow you not only to evaluate its benefits for the body, but also to obtain decorative element for the flowerbed and for the home.

Sowing technology

The first priority before sowing is preparing the soil. You need to take 1 cup of vermicompost and 2 cups of coconut fiber. Mix the ingredients thoroughly and add the recommended dose of the mineral fertilizer complex to this volume.

Sowing in containers or boxes is done in the second half of March.

• You need to make several grooves in the soil, the distance between which is 4–6 cm.
• The seeds are small, so they should be mixed with a small amount of sand to facilitate the sowing process.
• Distribute the mixture along the grooves to a depth of 0.5 - 0.7 cm.
• Moisten the soil surface.
• Cover the container with glass or film.
• Place in a sunny, warm place.

After the seedlings emerge, the box must be placed so that they receive a sufficient amount of light, but are not exposed to scorching rays. Watering should be done as the soil dries.

Shoots appear 2–25 days after planting. After several leaves appear, it is necessary to pick. This is done so that the seedlings do not drown out each other’s growth and development. The distance between the stems should be at least 5 cm. If sowing was carried out in a special container, then the weakest sprouts are removed in one cell where several seeds need to be planted at once.

Transplantation into open ground takes place in the second half of May. To do this, you need to prepare a seat.

Melissa can grow both in a well-lit bed and in partial shade. Receiving enough light, the bush will intensely emit aroma.

One should take into account the fact that this crop is perennial and grows from 4 to 9 years.

The soil should be loose, light and nutritious. Mellisa does not like acidic and wet soil. Excess water contributes to rotting of the roots, so you need to choose a dry place for the bush, where moisture does not accumulate during precipitation. If the soil in the chosen place is heavy, then you need to add several buckets of fine sand.

After choosing a location, the soil needs to be fertilized. To do this, for 1 sq. m of soil is added:

1. 200 g wood ash(1 glass);
2. 10-liter bucket of humus;
3. Complex mineral fertilizer, the dosage is indicated on the packaging.

Plants should be planted in small trenches located at a distance of half a meter from each other. Each plant needs to be planted in a hole at intervals of 30–35 cm.

If you decide not to grow seedlings, but to plant the seeds directly in open ground, then you need to be prepared for poor germination; even careful care may not help. Several factors may influence this:

1. low quality of planting material;
2. heavy rainfall;
3. “clogging” the sprouts with weeds.

Planting is carried out in the 3rd week of May according to the following algorithm.

1. Make holes at a distance of 50 - 60 cm from each other.
2. Mix the grains with sand.
3. Deepen the mixture by half a centimeter.
4. Sprinkle with peat or humus.
5. Moisten the soil surface.
6. Cover with film.

To harden the seedlings and make them more resilient, you need to remove the film. First for a few hours, then for the whole daylight hours, and after picking, the covering material is finally removed.

Melissa is propagated by seeds, layering and cuttings. If you already have an adult lemon bush, then planting it will be much easier: bend several shoots to the ground, secure them and sprinkle them with earth. After a few weeks, the branches will take root and can be transplanted to a new location.

And to propagate by cuttings, just cut it from a friend’s garden or buy a bunch of fresh herbs in the store, shorten the stems by 2–3 cm and put them in water. They do not require additional care; they appear within a week. root system– and the cuttings are ready for planting in the flowerbed.

Growing at home

Melissa can be cultivated as indoor plant. Due to the small volume flower pot it will not grow much, and pruning and ongoing care will allow you to create a lush green bush.

Planting seedlings in pots at home is done in the spring, but you can also sow seedlings and plant seedlings in the cold season, but the growth will be slow and the leaves will be light. During the spring-summer period, the bush gains strength and adapts to external conditions.

Seeds for growing plants at home are sown in the same way as for a flower bed. Planting of seedlings in pots is carried out after the appearance of 3 leaves. You need to act according to the following algorithm.

1. Choose a pot with a volume of 1.5 - 2 liters, so that its walls are at least 15 cm.
2. Ensure good drainage. To do this, you can take pebbles or expanded clay.
3. Pour the prepared soil and plant 2 or 3 sprouts in one container.
4. Moisten the soil with a spray bottle.
5. Place it on the windowsill.

A special feature of caring for a plant at home is watering. Heating and dry indoor air negatively affect the appearance and smell of lemon balm, so you need to additionally moisturize it:

• water as the soil dries;
• Spray every day.

Features of care

If you properly care for the bush in the first year of planting, then later there will be less hassle with growing it.

Care is provided in 4 main areas:

1. watering;
2. loosening;
3. weeding;
4. feeding

When the weather is hot, it is necessary to provide lemon balm sufficient watering. It is carried out 4 times a week, and on cloudy days, if there is no precipitation, you need to water 2 times every 7 days.

Loosening is carried out after each watering and after rain to ensure good air permeability of the soil and prevent rotting of the roots due to excess moisture.

A flowerbed or bed with seedlings needs to be weeded as needed: the planted seedlings are not yet strong enough, and the grass can choke its growth. In the 2nd and subsequent years of the life of this crop, small vegetation around adult bushes with a strong root system is allowed in your garden.

Feeding is carried out at the beginning of the season, when the seedlings move to permanent place stay or sprouts that sprouted outside reached 5–6 cm in height. Entered nitrogen fertilizer to increase growth and strengthen the stem.

If you store leaves for future use and cut them as they grow, then after each trimming you need to add mineral complex, the dosage of which is indicated on the packaging by the manufacturer. Several times a season you can add mulch or humus to the flowerbed with the plant.


Melissa – heat-loving crop. Although she endures negative temperatures, but it is recommended to cover it for the winter:

• cut off the top, leaving 1–2 cm above the ground;
• loosen the soil and moisten it a little;
• sprinkle fallen leaves on top.

To prevent the leaves from becoming smaller and the mint to continue to delight with the fresh aroma of lemon, you need to divide the plant into several bushes and plant them every 3 years.

Despite all the usefulness of lemon balm, which has become widespread in folk recipes, when growing it is not required special care, it can grow both in the country and on the windowsill at home.

Origin of the name unsightly appearance, but aromatic and rich beneficial properties plants shrouded in legends. According to one version, the name is formed by two Greek words, translated meaning “ honey bee"; Melissa is the name of the nymph who treated Zeus himself with milk and honey; according to another version, the beauty, transformed by the will of the gods of Olympus into a bee, was called Melissa.

Melissa is a good honey plant, which is why it has received popular nicknames such as honey plant, queen plant, bee plant, and swarmer plant. You recognize the plant by its strong lemon aroma, which gives it another name: lemon balm. Other names: censer, lemon balm, mint, bee mint.

When does lemon balm bloom?

Melissa begins to bloom in the second year of growth. The flowering period of lemon balm is July-August. Before flowering, the plant smells of lemon; after flowering, the aroma becomes sharp.

When to plant

Reproduction of lemon balm by dividing the bush

You can divide bushes that are 3-4 years old - by this time they will have grown well. The most favorable dates for division are the end of May or the end of August. Carefully dig up the bush and divide it into parts of approximately equal size, each of which should contain formed roots and 4-5 shoots. Plant the cuttings immediately in open ground. To ensure they take root well, provide shade and moderate watering.

Propagation by cuttings

For rooting in spring, cut from young shoots. After cutting, place in water, you can add a growth stimulator. The roots will appear in about 2 weeks. Grow in containers with nutritious loose soil, then transplant into open ground.

Melissa is easily propagated by cuttings, and if you don’t want to disturb old bushes, just cut the cuttings and root them to quickly get excellent planting material.

Caring for lemon balm in open ground

There is no difficulty in planting and caring for lemon balm - it is unpretentious, and care does not require any special specifics.

Weeding and loosening the soil

In the first year after, more careful attention will be required. Young plants are not yet strong enough and can easily be destroyed by weeds. It is better to pull out weeds by hand. Loosen the soil regularly to ensure oxygen access to the root system. Successful rooting will have a beneficial effect on the further development of lemon balm and productivity.

Watering

During the initial growth stage, water sparingly. Adult plants are watered only during severe drought, and watering is supplemented by loosening the soil. A layer of mulch will help maintain soil moisture longer and prevent weeds from appearing. Use humus or compost as mulch, which will additionally serve as fertilizer.

How to feed

Feed lemon grass Once per season is enough - at the beginning of the growing season. Apply comprehensive mineral fertilizers(proportions per 10 liters of water are 50 g of superphosphate, 20 g ammonium nitrate, 15 g of potassium chloride, consumption per 1 m²). In order for the plant to successfully overwinter, at the end of summer, potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are applied.

Trimming

Don't be afraid to prune your lemon balm. After pruning, it quickly recovers, gives a large number of new branches, the bushes become dense. This will allow you to collect good harvest, also neat, cute bushes will decorate the site. Even when growing seedlings, pinch the shoots at a height of 10-15 cm. Subsequently, two or three times per season, the bushes are radicalized: at a distance of 10 cm above the soil surface.

Wintering lemon balm in the Moscow region and the middle zone

To protect lemon balm roots from freezing, mulch the soil surface with peat, compost and humus in the fall. Additionally, cover with a thick layer of straw.

Melissa transplant

In one place, lemon balm bushes can grow for about 10 years. It was noted that frost resistance decreases from the 6th year of growth. Therefore, in conditions middle zone In Russia, it is better to replant lemon balm with dividing the bush every 5 years.

Harvest and storage

Regarding the question of when to cut lemon balm for drying, everyone decides for themselves. Melissa is capable of producing 3-4 crops per season. In June, young leaves have a delicate taste and aroma - at this time it is already possible to harvest. With the beginning of flowering, the concentration of essential oils is maximum, due to which the aroma intensifies, but the leaves become tougher.

Leaves and tips of lemon balm shoots, collected during flowering, are medicinal raw materials. It is officially recognized in more than a dozen countries. Gourmets also prefer to harvest lemon balm at this time. Melissa's ability to quickly recover allows you to harvest before and during flowering.

For collection, it is better to choose a cloudy day, when the evaporation of beneficial essential oils is minimal. Dry in the shade at an air temperature of no more than 35 °C, ventilation is necessary. To dry, spread the raw materials on paper or fabric; you can use cold dryers. After drying, store in glass jars with a well-closing lid, porcelain containers, can be placed in a plastic bag. The shelf life is two years.

Beneficial properties of lemon balm

Melissa can be called a dream come true for the most sophisticated gourmets: it combines a citrus aroma and subtle honey notes. It gives dishes a tonic, refreshing taste. In fresh or dried form, lemon balm is added to hot dishes (be it meat, fish or soup), to mushrooms, seasoned salads, and also used for pickling cucumbers and tomatoes. This herb can be used to prepare incredibly aromatic and healthy tea, refreshing summer drink or liquor.

Melissa can be called a universal remedy. Since ancient times, the plant has been used to treat diseases of the stomach, liver, and gall bladder. This is an excellent sedative for nervous disorders, hysteria, insomnia, lemon balm tea helps relieve headaches and dizziness. Currently, lemon balm is used in the complex treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, nervous and cardiovascular systems, and diseases of the upper respiratory tract. Melissa also helps the female body with various diseases genital tract, hormonal imbalances, menstrual irregularities.

Melissa varieties with name, photo and description

Let's consider the best varieties lemon balm for growing in the garden.

Lemon tea – flowering occurs 80 days after sowing, the flowers are white. The yield is 2.9 kg per 1 m².

Mojito - white flowers appear 5 months after sowing. From 1 m² you can harvest more than 3 kg of crop.

Freshness - bushes about 80 cm high with blue flowers. In two cuttings you can collect 4.3 kg of young shoots and leaves. Suitable for growing on farms and in private plots.

Lada - very productive variety(dry weight yield 34 c/ha), grown on an industrial scale.

Pearl - the variety is suitable for growing in all winter hardiness zones. Productivity reaches 5.6 kg per 1 m².

Lemon balm - blooms 2.5 months after germination. Stems semi-lodging, flowers violet shade. Productivity – 3 kg.

Dozya is a plant 0.9 m high with dark green leaves and snow-white flowers. From the second year of growth, the yield of green mass is 3.4 kg.

Quadrille - each bush produces no more than 15 shoots, the yield is up to 1.5 kg per 1 m². Flowers of a light lilac hue bloom after 80 days.

Lemon aroma - excellent variety for vegetable garden cultivation. The height of the bushes is 60 cm, which is convenient for growing in a container. The plant produces a yield of 1.2 kg per 1 m².

Tsaritsynskaya Semko - the stem is erect, branched, the shoots are densely covered with small leaves. The yield is more than 2 kg.

Isidora is a plant up to 0.8 m high. The first harvest can be harvested 2 months after emergence. Productivity – up to 3.5 kg per 1 m².

Melissa - very popular in our country medicinal plant, which has a pleasant, refreshing lemon aroma. This herbaceous plant usually low - up to 50 cm. Although sometimes it grows up to 120 cm. It blooms all summer with small pale pink or white flowers. In medicine, its leaves are used to treat ailments, so it is often included in the composition of many herbs, infusions and teas are prepared.

In addition, young fresh lemon balm leaves are a wonderful seasoning for various dishes. They are added to desserts, sweet dishes, and used in the preparation of vegetable and fish soups. Dry and fresh leaves are brewed and drunk as tea. This drink strengthens the body and has calming properties. At the same time, Melissa excellent honey plant, its smell attracts bees to the garden plot.

Many gardeners are happy to grow it in their country houses, garden plots, the leaves are dried and then used to treat ailments and cook food. Why lemon balm is useful, cultivation, planting and care, soil, conditions, watering, what are relevant for it - I’ll tell you about all this now:

Beneficial properties of lemon balm

The plant has a valuable composition. Contains a large amount of essential oils, vitamins, tannins. It has antispasmodic, analgesic, as well as wound-healing and soothing properties.

Infusion and tea from the leaves are used for heart disease and hypertension. Used in the treatment of shortness of breath and insomnia. Effective use in the complex treatment of neuroses and gout. Plant-based products are very beneficial for the nervous system. Fresh or dried leaves are used as a culinary seasoning.

Melissa - growing conditions

The plant is quite unpretentious and frost-resistant. Although in severe frosts it is better to cover lemon balm for the winter. Grows well in fertile, well-moistened soils, sufficiently illuminated by the sun. It can grow in one place for a very long time - up to 10 years.

Before planting, you should choose a warm place, protected from strong winds, well lit by the sun. It is better to plant lemon balm on a small hill.

Although, as we already know, a plant can grow in one place for 10 years, we must remember that after 5 years the yield and winter hardiness are significantly reduced.

Like many other spices, lemon balm can be grown at home in a pot. Home plant It will feel great on a sunny, but without direct sunlight, windowsill. An excellent place would be windows on the east, south or west side.

You need to water, loosen the soil, and feed it a little more often than the ground one. It is best to take loose soil, which is a mixture of deciduous soil, sand, and humus. For convenience, it is best to use a ready-made soil mixture intended for indoor flowers.

How is lemon balm grown? Planting and care

The soil for a ground plant should be loose, slightly loamy and slightly acidic. This soil retains moisture well. Remember that lemon balm does not grow well in acidic soil.

As we already said, choose a well-lit area for lemon balm. In shaded areas, the content of valuable substances in the leaves decreases. essential oil, causing the plant to lose its bright aroma and reduce its medicinal properties.

You can propagate using seeds or plant seedlings. The plant reproduces well by layering and dividing the bush. If you are going to plant the seeds, first mix them with damp, clean sand. Sow them in the spring, when the soil is well warmed up. The seedlings need to be thinned out so that there is a distance of no more than 25-30 cm between plants.

If you plan to plant seedlings, sow the seeds in small boxes around the end of March. After that, keep them in a greenhouse. After the first two leaves appear, the seedlings need to be picked. After 2 months, when the threat of possible frost has passed, young plants can be planted in open ground. Just before this, fertilize the soil well (3-4 kg per 2 sq. m).

Suitable for lemon balm organic fertilizers, for example, compost, humus. It is also quite possible to use complex mineral fertilizers, for example, superphosphate, ammonium phosphate, and potassium salts. Feed the plant twice during the summer. When fertilizing for the last time for the year, use only phosphorus or potassium fertilizers.

With the onset of deep autumn, it is advisable to protect plants from severe frosts. They are covered with earth or sprinkled with humus.

Watering: It is important to know that timely moistening of the soil where lemon balm grows is simply necessary. Plants should be watered especially abundantly in dry, hot summers. It is better to water early in the morning, when the sun is not yet hot.

Harvesting and storage

Shoots and young leaves are collected before lemon balm blooms, when its aroma is strongest. The leaves are used fresh or dried in a shaded, well-ventilated area, spread on a clean surface in a thin layer. Then stored in well-closed, dry glass jars.

As you can see, growing lemon balm will not be difficult. Planting and care, soil, conditions, watering - we have discussed everything today. I hope our simple tips will help you grow a healthy plant that is useful in all respects. Good luck to you, dear gardeners!

Many of us know this pleasant, intoxicating and refreshing citrus aroma of lemon balm. Melissa is also popularly called lemon balm. Thanks to its beneficial and gingerbread properties, the herb is used in cooking and medicine. If you don’t have a summer house, but want to enjoy all the delights of this plant, you can try growing lemon balm at home.

Is it possible to grow lemon balm on a windowsill?

Lemon balm grows well as in open ground, and in pots. When growing lemon balm at home, the bushes reach a height of 25-30 cm. Regular pruning promotes the growth of the bushes. All that is required of us is just to choose a sunny windowsill, cook good soil and water correctly.

Did you know? The plant was named lemon balm in honor of the ancient Greek nymph - the patroness of beekeeping.

What conditions are needed in the room for comfortable growth of lemon balm?

Let's figure out what it means to care for lemon balm at home. Success in growing lemon balm awaits those who stick to it. simple rules according to plant content.

Lighting for lemon balm

Before growing lemon balm at home, you should take into account the fact that this plant is light-loving. It is better to place it on windowsills with good lighting. It will not disappear from lack of light, but it will also grow lush bush it won't. With a lack of light in winter period better install artificial lighting. Gives a good effect fluorescent lamps with lighting 8-10 hours a day. Then the bush is guaranteed to produce not only growth, but also seeds.

Humidity and temperature conditions for the plant

Since lemon balm is more of an outdoor plant than an indoor one, it needs to create certain conditions for comfortable growth. Melissa loves humid air, so the humidity in the room should be at least 65%. In order for the leaves not to lose their juiciness in summer time, the bushes are irrigated using a spray bottle. Melissa is unpretentious to temperatures. In the autumn-winter period, it calmly tolerates temperatures of +15...+18 ºC. Melissa is a moisture-loving plant, and high temperatures have a detrimental effect on its development. The optimal temperature range for it is +18...+24 ºC.

What kind of soil should be used for indoor lemon balm?

To grow lemon balm at home, you can use a specially purchased substrate at the store or prepare the soil yourself. Considering that the lemon balm bush needs nutritious soil to grow, the substrate can be prepared from garden soil, sand and humus in equal proportions. Drainage must be placed at the bottom of the pot.

Important! The soil for growing lemon balm should be well water- and breathable, with neutral acidity.

Ways to plant lemon balm on a windowsill

You can grow lemon balm not only in the country, but also in a pot at home. There are several ways to grow a plant on a windowsill.

Seed method

Consider growing lemon balm from seeds at home. It should be taken into account that growing in pots is a long and labor-intensive process. Before planting, seeds can be soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate. For planting we will need a soil mixture and seeds. Place drainage (perlite, pieces of polystyrene foam) at the bottom of the pot and add moist soil. We sow the seeds to a depth of 1 cm, cover the pot with polyethylene and place it in a warm place. Sprouts will appear in 10-15 days. We make sure that the soil does not dry out and periodically irrigate the plants. The sprouts that appear must be thinned out. Picking lemon balm seedlings is carried out after the appearance of 3-4 leaves. Transplant the seedlings into large pots with a capacity of up to two liters and a depth of at least 15-20 cm. After 2 months, the first leaves can be picked.

Did you know? People call lemon balm honey. It attracts many bees with its spicy smell.

Dividing the bush

If you don’t want to bother with seeds and wait two months, you can try growing homemade lemon balm by dividing the bush. Melissa is propagated by division in the spring, when the plant sprouts new roots. The bush is dug up, the soil is shaken off and divided into several small bushes (the roots must have at least a few buds). The new seedling is planted in pots with pre-prepared soil. After 2-3 weeks, the bush will grow, and you will be able to reap the fruits of your labor.

Reproduction by layering

If you have a lemon balm bush at your dacha, but you don’t want to dig it up, you can resort to propagation by layering. At the beginning of summer, when the shoot reaches a length of 10-15 cm (preferably before flowering), it is pressed to the ground and sprinkled. In order for the sprinkled shoots to take root, the soil around the embankment must be periodically watered. Within two weeks the cuttings will produce roots. It can be safely dug up and cut off from the main bush. We plant the honey honey in a pot and take it home, since it is easier to grow lemon balm at home, and you will always have it at hand. Place the pot for hardening the bush in the shade for 3-4 days.

How to cut indoor lemon balm

There is another way to plant a lemon balm bush at home - cuttings. You need to buy a bunch of lemon balm at the market or supermarket and place it in water. After 10 days, roots will appear, and the shoots can be planted in a pot with ready-made drainage and a special substrate. Then we place the seedling in a shaded place for several days so that the seedlings do not get sunburn. Within two weeks, the plant will produce new shoots. After 2 months you can harvest.

Important! Melissa for cuttings should be freshly cut.

Rules for caring for lemon balm at home

The rules for caring for lemon balm are simple. All she needs is timely watering, the addition of nutrients and correct pruning. When buds appear, pick them off. The main value of lemon balm is its leaves.

Watering and fertilizing the plant

In the warm season, lemon balm bushes need to be watered as the soil dries out 2-3 times a week. For the winter, when the quantity sunny days decreases, watering is carried out more economically. Overwatering of the plant or stagnation of water in the soil can lead to disease powdery mildew or root rot, the bush subsequently dies. It is better to feed lemon balm with a special liquid fertilizer. It is diluted according to the instructions. Fertilizing is carried out throughout the entire growing season.

If you want lemon balm leaves to be more juicy, water it daily with a spray bottle.

Tea connoisseurs will understand me when I say that every true gourmet should at least once try herbal tea from their own garden. An indispensable component of this tea is lemon balm, also known as lemon balm, bee grass, and raven. One of the topics will be devoted to its diversity and scope of application. next posts, and now I would like to give detailed agricultural technology growing lemon balm on a personal plot.

Melissa is cultivated in perennial culture and feels good in one place for three to five years. However, there are cases when this weed did not change its place of residence for 20 years and every year pleased its owners with a harvest of fragrant shoots (of course, with proper care).

Melissa is relatively undemanding to growing conditions, but develops better in sunny plots with loose soil rich in humus. Of course, this culture can tolerate light shading, but at the same time its leaves lose some of their aroma. I advise you to have lemon balm closer to the beds, because this wonderful honey plant (melissa in Greek means “bee, honey”) will intensively attract bees, which will certainly visit your cucumber plantings. Melissa is cold-resistant and overwinters well under a light cover of peat, tree leaves, humus, compost, etc. In particularly harsh winters, of course, there is a risk of it freezing, but in 5 years of growing it this has never happened to me.

When growing lemon balm, it is propagated by seeds (seedlings or sowing directly into open ground), layering and dividing the bush.

Melissa seeds are sown for seedlings in late March-early April. I advise you to pre-soak the seed for 3-4 days, because when sowing “dry”, seedlings will appear only after three weeks. In the phase of two true leaves, the seedlings are transplanted into cups or pots, and at the age of approximately 60 days the seedlings will be ready to move to the garden. Please note that for a family of three people, it is enough to have 3-4 lemon balm bushes for all needs, so pick only 6-8 of the strongest seedlings (that is, twice as many as the above 3-4 in case some of the plants do not survive replanting ). When planting in the garden, seedlings are placed in rows with row spacing of 40-50 centimeters and a distance in the row of 20-30 centimeters.

Using the same scheme, seeds can be sown immediately in open ground as the soil warms up. Thus, growth processes in seeds begin at a temperature of +10...12 degrees, but the optimal temperature regime for pipping it will be +20...25 degrees. Before sowing, dry seeds are mixed well with fine sand, and the seeding rate is about 1.5-2 grams per square meter. To ensure uniform germination, try not to deepen the seed more than half a centimeter. When the plants grow enough, the plantings are thinned out, leaving the required 3-4 lemon balm bushes.

By dividing the bush, lemon balm is propagated in spring or early autumn. For propagation, 3-4 year old bushes are selected, which are carefully divided and planted according to the above scheme.

You can also get lemon balm using layering. To do this, in early June, the shoots of this crop are pinned to the ground and sprinkled with a mixture of humus (compost) and sand (but you can just use garden soil). After rooting, the cuttings are cut off and planted in a permanent place. But it is better to do this in the spring of next year.

If you don’t have the opportunity to get lemon balm from your summer resident friends, then I advise you to try to get it seedling method. The reason is the same as with: this crop takes a very long time to sprout, which causes difficulties with weeding, because thin sprouts are very easy to confuse with ordinary weeds.

Lemon balm requires very routine care, consisting of weeding, loosening and fertilizing. The first two operations should be given Special attention in the first year of growing lemon balm, and in subsequent years it grows sufficiently to give no chance to the ubiquitous weeds. This crop should be fed in early spring and after each cutting of leaves. As a top dressing, you can simply add half a bucket of humus or compost under each bush, or water the plants with a solution of nitroammophoska (20 grams per watering can).

In humid summers, lemon balm can be affected by rust and white spotting. The main preventive measures against these diseases are not to thicken plantings, frequent weeding, and adherence to crop rotation.

Melissa shoots are usually cut off just before flowering, when their aromatic properties reach their peak. When sowing seeds in the first year, I recommend making no more than one cutting, and if you divided the bush in the spring, then you can make two cuttings. At good care in the future, it will be possible to carry out 2-3 harvests of the greenery of this crop per season. Cut leaves quickly become covered with brown spots, so they should be used immediately or laid out to dry in a thin layer in the shade at a temperature not exceeding 35 degrees. Dried raw materials are perfectly stored in tightly sealed jars.

It is better to grow lemon balm in one bed in company with other herbs and seasonings, for example, oregano, thyme, tarragon, thyme, etc. Just make sure your “pets” behave decently. For example, in my medicinal bed, the mischievous oregano literally strangled her neighbor Melissa, who is now modestly huddling against the side of the bed. To prevent such incidents, it is important to prevent plant contamination and, accordingly, self-seeding.