How to grow bay leaves? A detailed guide to the latest cultivation techniques

Bay leaf is one of the traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, with effects of detoxifying and disinfecting, and of resolving blood stasis and relieving pain. At present, it is mainly distributed in Shaanxi, Gansu, Hunan and Guizhou in China, among other places. So how much do you know about bay leaf? And do you know how to grow it? Follow along with the editor below and let's learn about it together.

1. Preparing the planting site

Bay leaf is shade-tolerant, prefers warmth, and tolerates drought and poor soil, but it grows better in fertile, acidic sandy soil. Next, we also need to choose a good seedling site and prepare the seedbed well. Seedlings are generally raised in a sand bed, with the fine sand in the sand bed about 12 cm deep. As for the planting site for bay leaf, we should turn and prepare the soil about half a month before planting, apply enough base fertilizer, and open drainage ditches to make drainage and irrigation easier.

2. Seed treatment

After the bay leaf seeds are harvested, they should be put into a bag and rubbed, then rinsed clean with clear water, and then the seeds should be placed in a chemical solution for disinfection. After three to four minutes, take them out and rinse them again with clear water. After the moisture on the bay leaf seeds has dried, spread them evenly on the prepared seedbed, and finally cover the seeds with moist river sand. The covering of river sand should not be too thick; it is best at 3 cm thick, otherwise it will affect the seeds' sprouting.

3. Seedling raising and transplanting

After sowing the seeds, we must keep the seedbed moist, so we need to water, and we must maintain good ventilation. When the seeds sprout, we should appropriately increase the number of waterings to promote seedling emergence. When the bay leaf seedlings have grown to about 5 cm, we can transplant them. During the transplanting of bay leaf, what needs attention is how to plant them and when to pull the seedlings, otherwise it will affect the survival rate of planting. When planting, set the young seedlings upright, do not damage the seedlings' root system or outer skin, then let the seedlings' root system spread out fully, backfill with soil, firm the soil, and water once.

4. Field management

After bay leaf is planted, we must do a good job of field management. Generally, this mainly means weeding, loosening the soil, topdressing, watering and so on. For weeding, we only need to grasp one principle, which is to weed early, weed while small, and weed thoroughly. Next, pay attention to the depth of soil loosening; it should not be too deep, but it must also be done thoroughly. Also, after planting, we need to observe its survival and replant seedlings in time, and carry out topdressing at the first rainfall to promote the growth of the seedlings. In the early stage of seedling growth, in order to promote its growth, the main fertilizers are nitrogen fertilizer and phosphorus-potassium fertilizer, and after the seedlings have grown for a period of time, we can use a small amount of compound fertilizer. Each time you fertilize, it is best to water once to avoid fertilizer damage.

5. Pest and disease control

The most common diseases in bay leaf cultivation are root rot and damping-off, which we can prevent and control by spraying with dexon. The greatest harm to bay leaf comes from leaf roller moths, cutworms, weevils and mole crickets. When these pests occur, we need to use fenvalerate, carbofuran, trichlorfon and black light traps respectively for control.

The most important thing in growing bay leaf is still to be careful, and there are also many things to pay attention to when planting, such as lifting seedlings, preventing frost damage, and water and fertilizer management. If you want to understand it in depth, then you can contact the editor.