Content
- Harvest melissa expertly - it depends on the time
- Optimal harvest date is just before flowering
- Keep crop surplus clever - that's how it works
- Tips & Tricks
Harvest melissa expertly - it depends on the time
Lemon balm from the own cultivation scores with a unique aroma. The responsible essential oils and other components unfold at a specific time in perfection. When this is and how you harvest melissa skillfully, we tell you here.
An overview of the care of lemon balm - a guide Next article Use of lemon balm - a feast for the sensesOptimal harvest date is just before flowering
Lemon balm planted in May aims for the first flowering in June. In the days before the white flowers unfold, the aroma content in the foliage is at its highest level. During flowering and subsequently, the taste decreases significantly, as the plant now focuses on the growth of seed levels. At the appointment itself, the time of day comes into focus:
From the remaining drive piece drives the lemon herb again vigorously. A carefully groomed plant performs this feat up to 4 times a season before turning into the winter break.
Keep crop surplus clever - that's how it works
If the yield exceeds all expectations, the question arises of suitable storage. There are divergent methods of preservation to choose from, which score with individual advantages. The most important procedures are summarized below:
The experts agree that freezing preserves the greatest flavor retention. If you prefer to use balm as a medicinal herb, the dry method is considered. The essential oils volatilize, but the healing powers remain well preserved in the dried state.
Tips & Tricks
Another fragrance and medicinal plant is known under the name Goldmelisse. Although this is also a labiate, this is attributed to another genus. Who wants to cultivate both melissa species in the garden, assigns them to different locations. Lemon balm and golden melissa do not tolerate each other as plant neighbors.