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Peppermint (Mentha piperita) is an interspecific hybrid obtained by crossing Mentha aquatica (aquatic) and Mentha spicata (spiky). In nature, only feral plants are found. Mint Kubanskaya 6 is one of the few varieties of pepper, especially common in Our Country 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 gardens. Or they bring out an unusual aroma. All types of mint are involved here.
The second is economic. This is where peppermint comes into play. It is in it that the highest content of substances widely used in medicine, cooking and cosmetology. One group of varieties includes the largest amount of menthol. The other gives a high yield of essential oils, organic acids and carotene in dry leaves, providing a good aroma and taste.
The variety was created during the selection of elite seedlings of the second generation when crossing Peppermint and Field Mint. On variety testing since 1971. In 1977, Kubanskaya 6 was accepted by the State Register, recommended for cultivation in all regions.
Description of the plant
Kuban mint 6 is an upright perennial herbaceous plant about 45 cm high. The stems are tetrahedral, branched, well leafy, hollow inside. The margin of vegetative organs characteristic of other species is absent.
The leaves of the Kuban 6 are opposite, lanceolate, with a sharp tip and a heart-shaped base, green, serrated along the edge. The petiole is short. Rhizome horizontal, branched. The sucking processes are thin, fibrous.
Inflorescence – an ear, consisting of leaves scattered in the axils of the upper part of the stem of false whorls. Corollas five-membered, irregular in shape, small, pale lilac. Fruits – consisting of 4 nutlets of cinobia. They are rarely formed, often fruitless, which makes it difficult to grow from seeds of Kubanskaya 6 mint.
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 fooled. 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 just as fragrant.
Industrial cultivation, yield, content of essential oils
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 goes to Kuban 6 only if valuable crops grow nearby, the decorative effect or fertility of which must be maintained with the help of fertilizer.
In industrial cultivation, the yield of raw materials must be large, otherwise it simply does not make sense to occupy areas with crops. Kuban mint is watered according to the schedule, fed, and pests and diseases are controlled.
In response, she yields 16-20 centners of leaves per hectare. The yield of essential oil is 3,6-5,5%. In turn, it contains from 53 to 60% menthol.
Features of the distribution of nutrients in mint Kuban 6:
- lower leaves contain more menthol;
- the top part of mint is rich in essential oils;
- at low temperatures, aromatic compounds are formed less, but they contain more menthol.
The maximum content of essential oils in Kuban 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 cooking recipes, you need to find out exactly what kind is used there. Since this is not always written about, it is better to prepare a “trial” dish first. The fact is that the aroma and amount of essential oils differ not only in different species, but also from variety to variety.
What is the aroma of Cuban mint
Peppermint has the strongest smell and spicy taste. Experts call it refreshing, cold, invigorating. Ordinary people first of all feel menthol, diluted with more pleasant herbal notes. Variety Kubanskaya 6 is distinguished by the content of aromatic oils even in its group.
Where can I add Kuban mint
Peppermint, grade Kuban 6, including, is used to flavor vinegar, cheeses, tea. It is used in canning, and is put both in pickles and in compotes. The fragrant leaves are used to make 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 roasts from all types of meat, soups, marinades.
Mint sauce for lamb is popular with the British. Americans add leaves to tomato juice. In Arabic and Mediterranean cuisines, peppermint is included in many spicy preparations. s and residents of neighboring countries especially like tea with fresh or dry leaves.
Useful properties of Kuban mint
The smell of peppermint relieves stress and fatigue, invigorates, stimulates mental activity. Its oils are used in aromatherapy and the perfume industry, in the care of oily skin, for the treatment of dermatitis, acne, and rosacea. Peppermint lotion reduces 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 in angina pectoris, arrhythmia and tachycardia;
- upper respiratory tract, mint can even help with loss of voice associated with bronchitis, laryngitis or other inflammatory conditions;
- Gastrointestinal tract – improves digestion, copes with heartburn, bloating, nausea, colic, increases the outflow of bile;
- musculoskeletal system – relieves tension in the muscles, has a resolving effect;
- in dentistry it helps to moderate pain in stomatitis, caries, treats inflammation of the gums;
- central and autonomic nervous system – has a therapeutic effect in case of increased excitability, overstrain, anxiety, mood swings, mild depression.
Peppermint Kuban relieves spasms in migraine and menstrual cramps. Helps with sea sickness.
Many widespread and highly specialized medicines are made from peppermint, for example, Validol, Pectusin, Valocordin, Menovazin, Campholine, Anestezol, Bronchosan, DeepRelief, Dolaren, Combigripp, Strepsis, Fanigan, Flamidez, Flukold.
In domestic preparations, peppermint of the Kubanskaya 6 variety, which is grown on industrial plantations, is usually used.
The use of Kuban mint in folk medicine
Herbalists treat with mint the same diseases as official medicine. They only use alcohol and water infusions, decoctions, teas, and not drugs. Dry raw materials are used for the preparation of potions along with freshly cut grass.
Rules of landing
For peppermint Kubanskaya 6, you need to choose a sunny area with fertile soil. First, they dig it up, remove all the roots of weeds, add, if necessary, humus, peat, sand. On dense clay soils, the culture will not grow.
Kuban mint 6 reproduces well by offspring and pieces of rhizome. She easily tolerates the division of the bush, quickly recovers and takes root. In regions with a cool climate, 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 go deep. 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 carefully walk along it.
When planting mint with offspring or rhizomes, special tricks are not needed:
- Furrows about 10 cm deep are made in the garden. If it is assumed that the mint will grow in a continuous carpet, the distance between the rows does not matter. To form even ridges, the grooves are placed 50-60 cm apart.
- Abundantly watered.
- When moisture is absorbed, lay out in a line of rhizomes. If the aerial part by this time has managed to grow more than 10 cm, it is cut off and used in the kitchen.
- Sprinkle mint rhizomes with soil, compact well, water.
If there are few seedlings, they can be placed in holes. With sufficient watering, Kuban mint 6 will grow quickly. In one place, she feels good for 3 years, then begins to grow smaller, degenerate, and at the beginning of the next season she may disappear altogether.
Growing from Kuban mint seeds is problematic. This is a complex hybrid, few fruits are set, many of them are barren. Even if a piece sprouts and looks like peppermint, it won’t be a pure variety.
Features of cultivation and care
Weeding and loosening Kuban peppermint 6 is difficult. Bushes grow rapidly, rhizomes spread in all directions. If the crop is grown on ridges, a strip overgrown with mint is left, the rest is weeded out in 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 mint is difficult to keep clean. They try to do it not in the garden, but in the berry or garden in a fairly well-lit place.
The culture is demanding on watering and does not like the soil to dry out. Many gardeners do not fertilize mint at all. Even without top dressing in a tiny area, it produces enough greenery to last until the next season. If you still need a lot of mint, it should be borne in mind that even a slight excess of nitrogen causes a 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 withstand short-term frosts. But in a 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 in autumn.
Pests and diseases
With peppermint, you need to be constantly on the alert. They grow it for culinary and medicinal purposes, use the aerial part, so there can be no talk of any chemistry. And mint has a lot of pests. Here is an incomplete list:
- mint flea;
- green shield;
- mint leaf beetle;
- aphid;
- cicada;
- long-nosed;
- meadow moth;
- mint mite;
- drooling pennitsa;
- wireworm.
You need to fight pests with folk remedies, for example, infusions of celandine, bird cherry or pine. The sooner a problem is detected, the easier it is to deal with it.
Peppermint grade Kuban 6 suffers from:
- rust;
- powdery mildew;
- verticillium wilt;
- anthracnose;
- leaf spot.
The growth of mint is also a disease. It is called microplasma and affects the rhizomes. The best way to deal with peppermint diseases is prevention. It needs to be transplanted in time, in the fall to remove plant debris.
When and how to collect Kuban mint
The greatest amount of essential oils in peppermint is found at the beginning of flowering. Then you need to procure raw materials for cooking and treatment.
Stems contain few nutrients. If possible, cut off or cut off only the flowers and leaves in the upper part of the mint. The lower ones contain more menthol, but have a not too pleasant aroma and are bitter.
If there is not enough time and enough space to store raw materials, you can cut and dry the mint along with the shoots. But then you will need to pick off the leaves immediately before cooking or medicine.
How to dry Kuban mint
Leaves and flowers are laid out on clean paper in a dark, well-ventilated area. When the mint dries, it is placed in a glass jar and closed with a lid. The shoots are tied in bunches and hung to dry. Stored in cardboard boxes for no more than 2 years.
Conclusion
Kuban mint 6 is a domestic variety rich in menthol and essential oils. The culture easily takes root and propagates vegetatively. It will not require much attention if it grows in a bright place, gets enough moisture, it is transplanted every 3 years.