How to Grow Garden Balsam? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Planting Methods
Garden balsam is the seed of the plant Impatiens balsamina of the family Balsaminaceae. It is a type of traditional Chinese medicinal herb, and in some places it is also called tougucao or impatiens. This medicinal herb has anti-fertility, anti-cancer, antibacterial and anti-uterine smooth muscle effects, and is often used to treat symptoms such as difficult menstruation, retained placenta and difficult labor requiring induced delivery. So do you know how to grow this medicinal herb? Do you understand its key growing points? Below, let us read the following article on garden balsam cultivation techniques together.
1. Land Selection and Preparation
Garden balsam has the characteristics of preferring warmth, moisture and sunlight, being intolerant of cold and not tolerant of high temperatures, but it is highly adaptable to soil, and ordinary planting sites can all be used to grow garden balsam. Wild garden balsam generally grows in wasteland, roadsides and similar places, but if you want to cultivate it, it is best to choose a plot with loose soil, sufficient fertility, strong water and fertilizer retention, and good drainage. Plots with soil that is too dry or poor, or with poor permeability, should still not be used for growing garden balsam. When preparing the land, carry out fine cultivation and intensive management, and apply base fertilizer together with land preparation. The base fertilizer is generally 60 jin of NPK compound fertilizer and 1,000 jin of farmyard manure. Finally, make high beds, level the bed surface, and then sowing can be carried out.
⟦NL>2. Propagation by Sowing
Garden balsam can be sown in spring and summer. In spring, it is around Qingming Festival, while in summer, it is around Mangzhong. Because there are certain differences in climate between northern and southern China, the sowing time also differs slightly. Generally, in the south it is carried out around March, while in the north it is carried out in April. The sowing methods can be hole sowing, row sowing or broadcast sowing. For row sowing, generally open furrows with a row spacing of 30 cm, then scatter the seeds evenly, cover with soil to bury the seeds and water. For hole sowing, open holes with a row spacing of 30 cm and a plant spacing of 15 cm, then place three seeds in each hole, and finally cover with soil to bury the seeds and water. For broadcast sowing, directly scatter the seeds evenly, then cover with soil to bury the seeds, and water to keep the soil moist.
3. Field Management
When the garden balsam seedlings grow to about 8 to 10 cm, begin thinning. During thinning, it needs to be combined with loosening the soil and weeding, which can reduce nutrient consumption. Pull out the excess seedlings to ensure a row spacing of 30 cm and a plant spacing of 15 to 20 cm, with two garden balsam seedlings per hole. When the seedlings grow to about 30 cm, remove the lower leaves and pinch off the growing tips to promote side branch growth, and combine this with fertilization by applying compound fertilizer in furrows. Later, we also need to pay attention to earthing up, which can prevent the plants from lodging. At the same time, water management should also be done well to avoid drought in the field soil, especially during the flowering period when water must absolutely not be lacking.
4. Pest and Disease Control
Throughout its entire growth process, garden balsam basically has no insect pests, and there are also very few diseases. The most common one is none other than garden balsam powdery mildew. Powdery mildew mainly damages the leaves, flowers and fruits of garden balsam. During routine field management, maintain good permeability and avoid water accumulation in the field. In the early stage of disease onset, carbendazim, or Baume Bordeaux mixture and triadimefon, can be used for control.
That is all for today's introduction to garden balsam cultivation techniques brought to you by the editor. If you are interested in growing garden balsam, you can learn more about its growth characteristics, and at the same time master its planting process and management work, and basically there will not be any major problems.