Melissa is a perennial herb that has been used in folk and official medicine in many countries for several centuries. It grows in gardens, personal plots and does not need special care. The smell of lemon balm is mint-lemon and spicy, attracting bees. The taste of the plant is bitter, but pleasant.
Melissa has many healing properties, so it is important not only to grow it, but also to preserve it. To this end, harvest the leaves of grass and its tops.
Storing fresh lemon balm
Fragrant melissa leaves turn ordinary tea into a healing drink that helps to normalize the nervous system. Fresh plant more useful. But to keep it for a long period is impossible. Melissa, plucked from the flower beds or beds, will last, not fading, not more than a week.
Fresh plant should be put in a jar of water, put a bag on top. Then put a bouquet of lemon balm on a shelf located on the door of the refrigerator. At a temperature of 5-8 degrees, it will last from five to seven days.
Harvesting melissa for storage
Ideal if the grass smells on its own site, located away from places of concentration of transport, production plants. In this case, all of it is healing, since it has grown in pure territory. Starting the preparation of lemon balm, do not forget about this:
- It is advisable to collect the leaves when the grass is picking up color or has just blossomed. Most often this period begins in July. In the middle of summer melissa is simply overflowing with useful substances. They do not go anywhere even after the plant has faded, but significantly reduced in quantity.
- The collection of leaves should be carried out in the morning after the dew has dried.
- The weather must be dry. During the rain or immediately after it you should not collect the leaves. We need to wait until they dry out.
- It is better to cut the leaves from the stem in order not to damage the plant. Tearing is also not prohibited, but it should be done very carefully.
- Melissa in the cut state is undesirable to wash. If its leaves are too polluted, it is necessary to water them in the evening with a garden hose or a watering can. Water will have time to dry until the next day.
How to save melissa for the winter
To preserve the harvest of lemon balm for the winter, raw materials are best dried. It is not recommended to freeze it, because low temperatures will destroy a significant amount of nutrients.
Dry lemon balm in the open air in the shade or under a canopy. A room that is well ventilated is also suitable. The plant is laid out on a clean, flat surface in a single layer. Once a day they turn it over.
You can dry lemon balm in small bunches suspended on a rope or hedge. For a week, the herbal bouquet will reach the desired state and be ready for storage.
Experts do not recommend treating the grass in a dryer or oven. After exposure to elevated temperatures (35 or more), its medicinal value decreases.
How to store dried lemon balm
Before laying dried lemon balm for long-term storage, it is ground in the palms and thus crushed. But such a procedure is not necessary. Dried lemon balm is best stored in a glass container with an airtight lid. Suitable banks can always be found in your household or on shelves in stores.
But plastic containers, polyethylene bags can not be used. In such packaging melissa will suffocate, acquire an unpleasant smell.
It is not forbidden to store the medicinal plant in cardboard boxes, paper bags, fabric bags. It is only important to keep lemon balm away from products with a strong smell, other types of dried herbs.
The grass must be stored in rooms with moderate temperature and humidity, hidden from sunlight.
Several times a month, you should consider the condition of lemon balm and, if necessary, remove the raw material that seems to be stale.
In the dried state, lemon balm is stored for up to 2 years. In the first year, it is the most useful, and then gradually begins to lose its healing qualities.
Melissa begins to bloom the next year after planting. Since this period, the plant can be collected to save for the long winter months, brew tea, use it as a medicinal raw material.
