How to Harvest Hydroponic Plants? Master the Right Method for an Easy Harvest
The harvest season for hydroponic plants varies by region. In Zhejiang it is April to May, in Guangdong and Fujian it is March to April, while in Lianyungang mid-May to mid-June is suitable. Naturally grown hydroponic plants can be harvested after the water flows through during spring tides; in sea areas with good growth, one person can harvest 100-150 kg of hydroponic plants per day. For raft-cultured plants, they can be harvested together with the ropes, washed thoroughly, and then the hydroponic plants are removed from the ropes to be sun-dried or salt-dried, for use as food or as raw material.
Surely everyone now knows a little more about hydroponic plants. The current state of hydroponic plant cultivation is quite ideal, and harvesting hydroponic plants is mostly done by hand, which shows that the labor involved is still considerable. That is all for today's content, thank you all for reading!
What Are the Types of Hydroponic Plants
Gorgon Nut
Gorgon nut, commonly called chicken-head rice in northern China, and also known in other regions as goose-beak fruit, wutou, spiny lotus seed, chicken-head fruit, suhuang, huangshi and so on, is the dried mature seed kernel of the aquatic plant Euryale ferox, harvested in late autumn each year. Gorgon nut is a traditional Chinese medicinal material, with the effects of tonifying the kidneys and securing essence, strengthening the spleen and stopping diarrhea, and removing dampness and stopping vaginal discharge.
Water Caltrop
Water caltrop, also known as water chestnut or water chestnut fruit, is the fruit of the annual herbaceous plant water caltrop (Trapa spp.), widely cultivated in the southern provinces of China. Water caltrop is a fruit-type food; because it does not store well, it is mostly made into water caltrop powder and sold throughout the country. Water caltrop powder is rich in starch, which can be converted into sugar in the body.
Sargassum fusiforme
Sargassum fusiforme is an excellent marine algae. It generally grows on rocks along the coast, but as everyone knows, things in the water are inevitably wet, making transport and storage relatively difficult. So clever merchants came up with the idea of drying Sargassum fusiforme before transporting and putting it on shelves, which is why dried Sargassum fusiforme is also very popular.
The above are some of the higher-yielding varieties of hydroponic plants in China. The yield of hydroponic plants is slightly lower than that of aquatic plants, because harvesting is very difficult. So how should hydroponic plants be harvested?
The Benefits and Effects of Mint, and How to Grow Mint
For many friends, placing some small potted plants on the balcony can bring some greenery into the home, freshen the air and decorate the room, so why not? Moreover, some plants also have advantages such as resisting radiation, absorbing harmful gases and treating diseases. Below, let us introduce the benefits and effects of mint as well as how to grow mint.
The Benefits and Effects of Mint
Pungent in taste, cool in nature. It enters the lung and liver meridians, with effects such as dispersing wind-heat, clearing and soothing the throat, promoting eruption and detoxifying, soothing the liver and relieving depression, and relieving itching. It is suitable for conditions such as cold with fever, headache, sore and swollen throat, absence of sweating, red eyes due to wind-fire, rubella, itchy skin, hernia pain, diarrhea and scrofula. When used externally it has a mild analgesic effect, used for neuralgia and so on.
1. Stimulating and Inhibiting Nerves
Mint has the effect of stimulating the central nervous system. While it acts on the skin with a burning and cooling sensation, it also has an inhibiting and paralyzing effect on sensory nerve endings; therefore, it can be used as a counterirritant and skin stimulant. It not only has anti-allergic and itch-relieving effects on itchy skin, but also has a clear relieving and analgesic effect on neuralgia and rheumatic joint pain.
2. Anti-inflammatory and Antibacterial
Mint has desensitizing, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects on insect bites on the skin; it also has clear cough-relieving, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects on upper respiratory tract infections; and it has swelling-reducing, pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory, antibacterial effects on hemorrhoids and anal fissures.
3. Strengthening the Stomach and Dispelling Wind
Formulas containing mint products in the mouth have an excitatory effect on the taste and olfactory nerves. It has a burning and stimulating effect on the oral mucosa, can promote salivation, increase appetite, increase blood supply to the gastric mucosa and improve digestive function. It is beneficial for treating indigestion and relieving the feeling of gastric distension. It can also treat hiccups and spasmodic stomach pain. In addition, mint also has a good wind-dispelling effect in the intestines, can reduce intestinal gas, relax intestinal muscle peristalsis, and has the effect of alleviating intestinal colic.
4. Aromatic Flavoring
It mainly uses the unique cool, throat-soothing and pleasantly aromatic odor of mint to mask and improve the discomfort of some medicines that have an unpleasant odor and are difficult to swallow.
5. Dispersing Wind-Heat
Mint disperses with its pungent nature and clears heat with its cool nature. Its pungent dispersing property is relatively strong, and it has the effect of cooling and dispersing with a pungent nature. It is one of the medicines that best disperses exterior pathogens among the cooling exterior-releasing medicines, is an important medicine for inducing sweating, and is a commonly used product for dispersing wind-heat. It has a certain therapeutic effect on wind-heat cold and the early stage of wind-warmth.
6. Clearing the Head and Eyes
Mint is aromatic and opens the orifices, light and rising in nature, and is good at dispersing wind-heat in the upper energizer, soothing the throat and clearing the head and eyes. When combined with corresponding Chinese medicines, it has a very good effect on those with headache, dizziness, red eyes and excessive tears.
7. Soothing the Throat and Promoting Eruption
Mint is pungent and cool. It has the effects of promoting eruption, dispelling wind and relieving itching, and dispersing wind and dissipating heat. It is often combined with different Chinese medicines to soothe the throat and promote eruption in cases of incomplete measles eruption and rubella with itching.
8. Soothing the Liver and Moving Qi
Mint enters the liver meridian and has the effect of soothing the liver and moving qi. It is often combined with different important medicines to soothe the liver and move qi in cases of liver qi stagnation and chest and hypochondriac distension.
9. Relieving Digestive Tract Discomfort
Mint can effectively relieve symptoms of digestive tract discomfort such as nausea, indigestion, constipation and abdominal bloating.
How to Grow Mint
Best propagation time: For seed sowing, spring from March to April and autumn from September to October are suitable periods.
Rhizome propagation: Either spring planting or planting before winter is acceptable. Spring planting is mostly carried out from late March to early April, and planting before winter is carried out around late October.
Best growing soil: Mint does not have very strict soil requirements. Apart from overly sandy, overly clayey, excessively acidic or alkaline soils, and low-lying poorly drained soils, ordinary soils can generally be used for planting, with sandy loam and alluvial soil being preferable. The suitable soil pH is 6-7.5.
Growing humidity requirements: Mint has a relatively strong ability to adapt to environmental conditions. It can grow in areas below 2100 m altitude, and when growing in damp places beside water, it can reach altitudes as high as 3500 m.
Best growing temperature: Mint has a relatively strong ability to adapt to temperature. Its rhizomes overwinter as perennials and can withstand low temperatures of -15°C. Its most suitable growing temperature is 25°C-30°C. When the temperature is below 15°C, growth is slow; when above 20°C, growth accelerates. At 20°C-30°C, as long as water and fertilizer are suitable, the higher the temperature, the faster it grows.
Best growing light: Mint is a long-day crop and likes sunlight.
Fertilizer application:
Growing mint requires fertilizer, and mint likes fertilizer. During its growing period, apply fertilizer once a month, mainly nitrogen fertilizer, and phosphorus and potassium fertilizer can be applied appropriately. If branches and leaves need to be harvested during the growing period, topdressing should be carried out at the time of harvest to promote the plant's recovery of a good plant shape.
Key watering points:
(1) Mint needs more water in the early and middle stages, especially in the early growth stage when the root system has not yet formed and it needs more water. Generally, water about once every 15 days; from emergence to harvest, water 4 to 5 times. After the rows close, water lightly and moderately to avoid excessive growth of stems and leaves, lodging, and shedding of lower leaves. Stop watering 20 to 25 days before harvest.
(2) Mint likes a moist soil environment and is relatively tolerant of moisture, especially during the growing period when the soil should be kept moist, but the amount of water must not be too large, and waterlogging is strictly prohibited. Usually when watering, maintain the habit of "do not water if not dry, water thoroughly when watering." If rice-washing water is used, it will be even more beneficial to mint growth; in winter, reduce the frequency and amount of watering.
Pruning essentials: Those growing mint must prune regularly. Once old plants no longer have a fresh fragrance, they can be cut.
Repotting and soil replacement: When repotting and changing soil each spring, a large number of plants can be separated out. Usually keep the potting soil slightly moist.
Disease control:
1. Black shank. The main disease of mint is black shank, which occurs at the seedling stage. The symptoms are contraction and sunken blackening at the stem base, rotting, and lodging and withering of the plant. For control, during the disease period, use 70% chlorothalonil or 40% carbendazim at 100 g-150 g per mu, diluted with water and sprayed.
2. Mint rust. It occurs easily from May to July. Spray leaves with a 25% triadimefon 1000-1500 times solution.
3. Leaf spot. It occurs from May to October. In the early stage of the disease, spray a 65% zineb 500 times solution once a week to bring it under control.
Hydroponic mint:
1. Mint likes light and likes water, so it should be placed in a place with sufficient light and must not stay all the time in a shady place where it cannot see sunlight; otherwise, it will be difficult for photosynthesis to occur, few roots will form, and it will also be difficult to grow leaves.
2. There is no need to change the water every day. I generally change it only once a week. If there is less water in the bottle, I will add a little more, but not fill it to the brim. I will drip some nutrient solution into the water, which can supply nutrients to the mint.
3. Mint likes moisture, so I will spray the leaves with water twice a day, using a small spray bottle. Actually, the amount of water sprayed is not much, but because it is in mist form, it is fully absorbed.
4. Even with such care, the leaves will still turn black. I generally remove black leaves as soon as I see them. Herbaceous plants are not afraid of being picked; rather, the more they are picked, the more vigorous they become. Black leaves may also spread, so it is better to remove them early.
5. When changing the water, wash the roots at the same time, remove some leaves that have already rotted, and keep the bottle and the whole mint plant clean.
6. Mint grows very quickly, both in water culture and soil culture, so it can be divided at the right time, that is, break off one branch and divide it into two branches to continue water culture or soil culture.
Tips for Growing Mint
Mint likes a warm and humid environment, and the frost-free period should preferably be more than 200 days.
It has no strict soil requirements. Except for heavily alkaline land, heavy clay land and sandy land, it can be planted everywhere, but fertile loam and sandy loam are preferable. Sunlight plays an important role in increasing the content of menthol and mint oil, especially during the budding and flowering period, when there must be sufficient sunlight. Therefore, mint should not be planted in shady places.
Mint is a long-day plant. It likes sufficient sunlight. During the budding and flowering period, it requires sufficient sunshine and dry weather, which can increase the oil and menthol content.
If there is too much rain later, it is prone to excessive growth, thin leaves, easy leaf shedding on the lower part of the plant, and also more diseases.
It likes neutral soil. Sandy loam, loam and humus soil with a pH of 6.5-7.5 can all be used for planting.
Mint likes fertilizer, especially nitrogen fertilizer, and avoids continuous cropping. Long sunshine can promote mint flowering.