How to grow fodder plants at home? How to grow a dandelion in the country How to grow a dandelion in a pot
Read also
The leaves of the dandelion are lanceolate, pinnately divided, collected in one basal rosette. Peduncles are hollow.
For therapeutic purposes, the root, leaves, milky juice of dandelion are used. Leaves, grass and juice are harvested in June, when dandelions are juicy, young, roots - in early spring or late autumn at the stage of leaf wilt. The harvested raw materials can be dried under a canopy or in a drying cabinet at a temperature of 40-50 °C.
Dandelion has a choleretic, laxative, antipyretic, expectorant, mild antispasmodic, sedative, and mild hypnotic effect.
An aqueous infusion of dandelion roots and leaves improves digestion, appetite, and general metabolism in the body, enhances the secretion of milk in lactating women, and increases the overall tone of the body.
Due to the presence of biologically active substances, food gruel from dandelion leaves quickly passes through the intestines, which helps to reduce fermentation processes in colitis.
Dried dandelion root powder is used for poisoning to enhance the excretion of harmful substances from the body with sweat and urine, and also as a remedy for gout, rheumatism, and atherosclerosis.
A decoction, a thick extract of the whole dandelion plant, is used as a natural bitterness to enhance the secretion of the digestive glands and as a choleretic agent and is therefore very beneficial for the liver.
It is today that dandelion is considered a malicious weed. And not so long ago, a salad made from this herb really helped out on the farm. In addition, the plant is called none other than Russian ginseng for the healing qualities of its roots. Why are we talking about dandelion now, when the dormant period of the plant is already beginning, and you will not find greenery? Yes, because the time has come to harvest its roots - both for medicinal purposes and for distillation at room conditions in the winter.
Harvesting dandelion roots for distillation
Dandelion roots prepared for forcing can be immediately planted in suitable containers - flower pots, boxes or simple plastic bags. They can also be stored buried in the garden - in a place where it will be easy to get them and move them into the house.There is also such a harvesting method: dig up the roots and pack them tightly in boxes, layering them with wet sand. This blank is left in the cellar, and then transferred to room conditions as needed to obtain vitamin greens in the winter.
How to provide conditions for dandelion forcing
To obtain healthy greens, dandelions need to provide optimal conditions. Pots with roots should not be left in a warm room. Distillation takes place at a temperature of approximately +7…+10°C. Bright lighting is also not suitable, the light should be diffused. We must not forget about watering, moisturizing should be regular.In order for the leaves to turn out with a delicate taste, without unpleasant bitterness, they should be bleached. To do this, use this technique: when a large outlet is formed, it is sprinkled with sand. You can make a cap out of thick paper.
After the leaf crop is harvested, this batch of dandelion roots is replaced with a new one. And do not rush to throw away the old roots. They are not used for medicinal purposes, but can be dried and then ground in a coffee grinder. From the resulting powder, you can prepare a drink that may well replace morning coffee.
Harvesting dandelion roots for a first aid kit
For medicinal purposes, the roots collected in the fall should be washed and dried. For drying, it can be sent to the oven or placed in the oven at a temperature within + 40 ... + 50 ° С. Store raw materials in tightly closed boxes.
The roots contain such useful components as organic acids and tannins, fatty oil and mineral salts, protein and resin. An infusion is prepared from them for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, diseases of the liver and gallbladder. For this, 2 tsp. tablespoons of ground root pour 250 ml of boiled water. Let it brew for 8 hours, and then take a quarter cup before meals 3-4 times a day. This remedy also helps with flatulence and constipation. In addition, it is recommended for those who periodically suffer from the symptoms of hemorrhoids.
How to use other parts of the plant?
Leaves are also used not only in cooking, but also in traditional medicine. They contain ascorbic acid, vitamin B2, carotenoids, elements such as iron, calcium and phosphorus.Dandelion is a good blood cleanser. A decoction of the leaves helps to get rid of acne and other rashes, it is used to treat furunculosis.
But what about dandelion flowers, how to use them with benefit? You can make jam from them! To do this, 500 heads are collected, they are poured with 0.5 liters of water and chopped lemon is added. Bring to a boil on the stove and leave on low heat for another 10 minutes. They let it brew for a day, and then squeeze it out. 750 g of sugar are added to the broth and boiled again until the consistency of fresh honey. This mixture is left to simmer on low heat for another 30 minutes. The shelf life of such a blank is one year. Keep jam jars in a cool place.
"They tore golden flowers, flowers that flood the whole world, splash from the lawns onto the cobbled streets, softly knock on the transparent windows of the cellars, do not know how to calm down and hold on, and fill everything around with the blinding sparkle of the molten sun ..." (R. Bradbury, " Dandelion wine)
Looking into our own childhood, each of us will surely find there a sunny summer day and a wreath of dandelions. And also their own palms, stained with milky juice; pollen-yellow nose and fluffy parachutes flying in the wind. Such a dandelion flower-toy. And even his name is childish - diminutive. But the American writer did not exaggerate, arguing that dandelions "flood the whole world", they are really everywhere - on all continents (with the exception of Antarctica) and in all climatic zones.
Experts number several hundred species of this plant of the Compositae family. True, only they distinguish one species from another - by a slight difference in leaves and roots. Such monotony is explained by the fact that in this amazing plant, seeds are formed without fertilization - as a result of a complex biochemical process. This means that each "parachute" carries a clone of the mother plant. And there are about 3000 of them on each. Mathematicians calculated that if all the seeds germinated, their airborne troops would quickly take over the entire earth. And in ten generations, dandelions would need an area fifteen times the surface of the globe. But this is not all the wonders of dandelion. From a piece of root half a centimeter in size, a full-fledged plant will also grow.
It must be assumed that by providing such super-abundance and survival, nature clearly had something in mind. Perhaps the exceptional value of the plant. Its Latin name is Taraxacum officinale- translates as "soothing medicinal", and the list of ailments that are fought with it in folk and official medicine would take more than one page. Among them is such a serious "disease of the century" as, for example, atherosclerosis. It has been established that preparations from dandelion have the ability to dissolve and remove cholesterol from the body.
However, not only preparations, but also fresh leaves. In addition, dandelion greens are an excellent source of vitamins, iron, calcium and phosphorus. They have a lot of protein, which means they are also very nutritious. Therefore, both in Western Europe and in America, these plants have long been used as food.
And in order to have fresh dandelion greens all season long, French breeders created the varieties "Large-leaved", "Early Improved" and "Curly". Varietal dandelions are not yet found in our seed market, but recently it has been developing rapidly - perhaps we will soon grow this crop in the beds. Moreover, the plant is a perennial, unpretentious, frost-resistant, undemanding to soil conditions.
Care is simple: water, weed, loosen the aisles. And shortly before harvesting, bleach the leaves by covering them with an opaque film or flower pots: this will help get rid of the characteristic bitterness.
Care is simple: water, weed, loosen the aisles.
Shortly before picking, the leaves are bleached by covering the plants with an opaque film or flower pots: this helps to get rid of the characteristic bitterness.
Department of Education and Science of the Gubkinsky City District
MBOU "Nikanorovskaya secondary school"
Gubkinsky district of the Belgorod region
Sedykh Nina Nikolaevna,
biology teacher
Nikanorovka
Introduction
Dandelion is used as a food and medicinal plant. Almost all organs of the plant are used for food: young leaves are the basis of salads and seasonings for meat dishes, they are used like spinach; pickled flower buds are seasoned with salads and meat dishes; dandelion flowers make jam - “dandelion honey”, roasted dandelion roots - a coffee drink. Dandelion leaves contain from 13 to 19% of highly digestible protein (about 72%), fats, fiber, B vitamins, vitamins A, C, E, salts of iron, cobalt, phosphorus, calcium, aluminum, manganese and other trace elements. They contain more phosphorus than any leafy vegetable. Up to 40% of inulin accumulates in the roots. In medicine, dandelion is used to improve appetite, regulate the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, in case of cholelithiasis, as a mild laxative, is an anthelmintic and antitoxic agent, stimulates the activity of the cardiovascular system, has a wound healing, analgesic, anti-inflammatory effect, increases lactation, has a tonic effect. action on the body.
The relevance of the work. If in Russia dandelion is currently considered a malicious weed, then in the West it is grown as a cultivated plant. Although in our country this plant was cultivated back in the late 19th - early 20th century as a substitute for lettuce chicory with a bitter and piquant taste. To do this, in the fall they dug up the roots of dandelions, from which they carried out the forcing of leaves in a dark, warm basement in winter. For distillation, the roots of wild dandelions were collected, but there were also "garden modifications with large and softer leaves." In the book “Russian Garden, Nursery and Orchard”, Schroeder R.I.'s recommendations on dandelion farming are given, he also gives the Latin name to the domesticated form of Taraxacum officinale hortense. Schroeder also gives the names of varieties: multi-leaved, broad-leaved garden, curly large-leaved. Consequently, dandelion breeding was already underway at that time, but then was interrupted. Most likely, due to the exceptional availability of wild dandelion plants and its wide distribution, which in no way stimulated the work of breeders to develop cultivated forms.
Thus, the forcing of dandelions was forgotten with us over time. But the dandelion is unpretentious in cultivation, easily propagated, its individual forms with large roots and leaves can be cultivated in home gardens. Dandelion plants contain an abundance of vitamins, trace elements, flavonoids and other beneficial substances. Especially invaluable is its role in nutrition in winter and early spring, when the body suffers most from a lack of vitamins.
The purpose of the work: to consider the basic methods of growing dandelion as a distillation crop at home.
The work is intended to help beginner amateur gardeners who do not have experience in growing plants, incl. distillation forms, pet owners (obtaining highly fortified top dressing).
Guidelines for forcing dandelions
Procurement of planting material. Dandelion roots for winter forcing are harvested in late autumn (approximately the end of October), during the period of wilting plants. Segments of taproot and lateral roots of a dandelion are able to grow and give shoots both in a vertical and horizontal position. Studies have shown that dandelions are able to form new plants from root pieces over 0.5 cm long. Therefore, the most liked specimens can be quickly propagated by dividing the root and growing plants for forcing in the open field.
For distillation, roots with a diameter of about 1 cm are selected to obtain large specimens of plants. Lateral roots are removed with a sharp knife or secateurs. Before planting, the roots are slightly dried.
Soil preparation consists of sifting, removing debris and insects, and disinfecting. For disinfection, the soil is heated for 20 minutes in an oven at 90 ° or watered with a solution of potassium permanganate (1 h l per 1 l of water). To improve the soil, you can add ground eggshells (1 cup per bucket of soil) and foam chips to it.
Landing. Prepared roots are planted in boxes filled with moist soil mixed with humus, and stored indoors at a temperature of about 0 ° C or outside, covering the boxes with foil to prevent the soil from drying out. You can store the harvested roots in the refrigerator in a bag, periodically airing and moistening them.
In large containers, plant roots are planted in rows with a distance between plants of about 30 cm.
distillation. Depending on the expected timing of the result (about 1.5 months), containers with planted roots are brought into a warm room. Lettuce leaves are best bleached, for this purpose the plants are covered or covered with sawdust to prevent light from entering.
To get flowering specimens, plants are placed in well-lit areas. Dandelion is a photophilous plant, so after the appearance of the first leaves, the plant needs good lighting. For normal development, dandelion plants need 14-16 hours of daylight. In winter, artificially lengthen daylight hours with the help of backlighting.
Plant care: Regular watering (1-2 times a week) and loosening the soil (if necessary).
Top dressing: with a solution of saltpeter or urea.
Conclusion
The use of wild plants for cultivation as forcing crops is available to each of us: free planting material, low demands on growing conditions, an additional source of vitamins and microelements. And if you have pets, then they will get a delicious top dressing. And finally, a flowering and green window sill is an island of summer in the middle of winter: it pleases and uplifts.
Bibliographic list
Zamyatina N.G. Robinson's Kitchen. M.: Institute of Technological Research, 1994. p. 139-146.
Koshcheev A.K., Koshcheev A.A. Wild edible plants, 2nd ed., revised. and additional M.: Kolos, 1994. p. 155, 309-310. Kislichenko. Alma-Ata: Kainar. 1988. p. 59-61.
Turova A.D., Sapozhnikova E.N. Medicinal plants of the USSR and their application. Ed. 3, revised. and additional M .: "Medicine", 1983 p. 174-175.
Fedorov F.V. Wild food plants. Chuvash book publishing house, 1993, p. 60-61.
Schroeder R.I. Russian garden, nursery and orchard: A guide to the most advantageous arrangement and management of gardening and horticulture. M.: GZhO "Sunday", 1994 (reprint 1929) p. 490-491.
Internet resources
http://narod-metod.ru/rural-work/zabytye-ovosznye-kultury.html
[Download the file to view the link]
http://vedrussa.org.ua/
Attachment 1.
Figure 1. Dandelion forcing
Appendix 2
Biological features of the plant.
Dandelion medicinal - Taraxacum officinale Wed. - perennial herbaceous plant. Compositae.
Numerous species of this genus, and there are more than 1000 of them, are widespread in cold, temperate and subtropical zones of both hemispheres. It grows on the territory of the entire former Soviet Union, except for the Arctic and the deserts of Central Asia. Usually at habitation, along roads, in gardens, kitchen gardens and on fields as a weed, in meadows and forest clearings.
Prefers moderate moisture and rich soils.
Dandelion is a perennial herb.
The root is taproot, fusiform, thick, fleshy, 20-60 cm long. Leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, serrated. 10-25 cm long and 1.5-5 cm wide, collected in a rosette. Flower arrows 5-30 cm in height, cylindrical, glabrous, hollow.
Inflorescence is a single basket with a diameter of 3-5 cm, reed flowers with a golden yellow corolla. Interestingly, dandelion flowers can be used to determine the weather and even time. In clear weather, baskets open at 6 am and close at 3 pm. In inclement weather, they do not open at all.
Dandelion contains milky juice in all parts of the plant, for which there are special lactic vessels.
The fruit is a wedge-shaped or spindle-shaped achene, 3-4 mm long, with a filiform nose and a tuft of white, soft hairs.
Vegetates from April to October.
Blooms from late April to mid June.
Fruiting since May. Propagated by seeds and vegetatively (root segments).
Appendix 3
The nutritional value of the plant
Chemical composition. Dandelion inflorescences and leaves contain carotenoids: taraxanthin, flavoxanthin, lutein, faradiol. The leaves contain 19-100 mg-% vitamin C and 30 mg-% vitamin P; in addition, in 100 g of fresh leaves: 6.7 mg of iron, 1 mg of copper, 4.8 mg of boron, 0.03 mg of nickel, 2.7 mg of manganese, 0.99 mg of titanium, 0.5 mg of molybdenum, 0, 7 mg vanadium, 3 mg tin, 0.9 mg strontium, 1.4 mg cadmium and 1.1 mg zinc.
The following were found in the roots of the plant: taraxerol, taraxol, taraxasterol, as well as sterols, B-sitosterol and stigmasterol; up to 24% inulin, up to 15% proteins; up to 2-3% rubber, fatty oil, which includes glycerols of palmitic, oleic, linoleic, melisic and cerotinic acids; there are carotene, mucous and tannins. The amount of phosphorus reaches 350 mg%, calcium 1430 mg%.
The flowers contain triterpene alcohols arnidiol and charaziol, caroinoids, vitamin C, etc.
100 g of dandelion pollen contains about 6 mg of boron, 1.3 mg of manganese, 1.3 mg of strontium, 0.6 mg of copper, 0.3 mg of nickel, 0.04 mg of molybdenum, 0.06 mg of lead, 0. 01 mg cobalt.
collection time. The roots are harvested during the withering of the leaves, in August-September, washed with water, dried. Ready-made raw materials dried roots, whole, simple or slightly branched, without a root neck, brown or dark brown on the outside, about 10-15 cm long, 0.3-1.5 cm thick. At the break in the center is a small yellow-brown wood surrounded by inner bark.
Grass is harvested during flowering. Leaves in spring before flowering. Flowers for pickling and jam are harvested in May-June.
Nutritional qualities. Almost the entire plant is edible. Vitamin salads and seasonings for meat and fish dishes are made from young leaves, soups and cabbage soup are cooked.
Young, barely blossoming dandelion leaves are considered a favorite salad in France, and there are even cultivars with larger and softer leaves. In winter, it is specially grown in greenhouses. Before the revolution in Russia, there were also salad varieties of dandelions, and then they were lost.
To remove bitterness, the leaves are soaked in salted water for 20-30 minutes or boiled in boiling water for 3-5 minutes. More time-consuming, but giving better results, the method of whitening. Dandelion leaves grown in the dark are devoid of green color and bitterness.
Dandelion leaves become tough and tasteless after bud formation. Flower buds are pickled and used to season soups, pickles, pickles, vinaigrettes and game dishes. Basal rosettes are suitable for frying.
Drinks are prepared from the inflorescences, ranging from syrup to wine, jam (or dandelion honey), dandelion petals are used to color dough and other dishes instead of saffron.
In September, the roots are dug up, boiled or fried, and the bitterness disappears during heat treatment. The roasted dried roots are used to make a coffee substitute.
At home on the window in a pot there is always the opportunity to grow different food for turtles and other pets.
1. It is necessary to cut off 3 cm from the largest place of the carrot;
2. Place in water, on wet sand, or stick into wet earth with the cut surface down;
3. If the carrot is in the ground, then it must be watered after 3 days;
4. After 12 days, carrot tops will rise in length by 10 centimeters;
5. For pet food, it must not be cut to the very root, so it will gradually grow back.
In the same way, you can grow beet tops on the window at home.
How to grow lettuce from cuttings?
In a very short time, it can grow lettuce from cuttings, which we often cut off and do not use for food. After cutting off the lettuce leaves, place the stalk in water and the next morning you will see new leaves. These leaves can be cut, and the cuttings will continue to produce a crop.
How to make a green bed in your window?
Now there is such an opportunity to buy in any store, greens sprouted on special window sills in boxes. Slowly, without sudden movements, pull out a bundle with roots from this box and plant it in a pot with soil combined with other components. Water well and carry out constant care. With this you can grow different varieties of lettuce, as well as a variety of mixes in a common box, with this you will enrich your animal with various vitamins. In the same boxes in stores, sprouted dill, parsley, cilantro, basil, lemon balm and many others are on sale.
seed salad
You can grow lettuce in the summer in pots on the window, and in the winter under special light bulbs for plants. For such cultivation, it is recommended to pick up quickly ripe lettuce seeds, such as: Lolo bionda, Odesky, Lolo dew, Grand Rapids and Red credo.
Any early-ripening salad releases arrows within a month after a lush harvest. Very often, after cutting off the first fluffy bunch of lettuce, the bush is left to grow for another two weeks, and then thrown away. With each new month, you need to plant lettuce in another pot of earth to replace the old one. It is better to take one part of biohumus and a couple of parts of coconut fiber as the basis of the land for sowing lettuce.
Before sowing, lettuce seeds must be kept in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for about two hours, and then placed in the ground by 0.5 - 1.0 cm. After that, we close the pot with a plastic bag for 5 days. During this time, the seeds should germinate.
It is necessary to sow lettuce seeds only in large pots, because the lettuce may not take root during transplantation. But in terms of height, you can pick up a small pot of only 10 cm. Sow seeds in watered soil, putting pebbles on the bottom of the pot 2-3 cm. The first shoots must be thinned out. This should be done twice: five days after the first shoots at a distance of 2 cm from each other, and when 3 leaves have already appeared, then at a distance of 5 cm. Even lettuce leaves should be sprayed once a week. And if the lettuce is not thinned out, then it will stretch out, become weak and there will be no harvest.
And already after five weeks after sowing, the salad can be used for food.
How to grow plantain at home?
Having collected mature spikelets of plantain, it is necessary to remove the seeds from them and sort out the garbage. Fill the seed with water and leave them overnight, and in the morning drain the liquid and leave the seeds alone. Sprinkle the seed with water for about 5 days until they sprout. After germination, plant them in the ground. And after 20 days, the sprout will grow up to 5 cm. And then after another 20 days, the plantain will become quite large and with spikelets.
How to grow dandelion at home?
You need to collect ripe dandelion seeds, put them in a bag and mash, this is necessary in order to remove fluff. Then fill them with water overnight, and in the morning drain the liquid and leave the seeds on plates. Spray them with water for five days in a row until shoots appear. Then sow the seeds in the soil. After about 16 days, a 3 cm sprout will appear. If a large dandelion is not cut at the root, then it will constantly grow.
And in conclusion, at home on the window you can grow any fodder plants for your animal, the main thing is to choose the right land, as well as prepare the seeds well and germinate them in advance. And then an excellent crop will grow on your window even in winter.
