Where are mugwort seeds generally sold?
Mugwort, also known as bingtai, ecao, xiang'ai and other names, is a perennial herbaceous or slightly subshrub-like plant of the genus Artemisia in the Asteraceae family. It often grows in wasteland, along roadsides and riverbanks, and on hillsides from low to medium altitudes. In China, it is found almost everywhere except in extremely arid and extremely cold regions, and it is very widely used among the people. Now let us take a look at where mugwort seeds are sold!
Where are mugwort seeds sold?
Mugwort seeds are rarely sold; they can only be bought in a few agricultural supply markets or online. Mugwort mainly reproduces asexually through rhizome division, but it can also be propagated by seed. Generally, seed propagation is sown in March, and rhizome propagation is carried out in November. Before sowing, sufficient base fertilizer should be applied, with 4000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure per mu, deeply plowed and thoroughly mixed with the soil, and after leveling, a sufficient bottom watering should be given immediately.
What are the uses of mugwort?
1. Medicinal: Mugwort has the effects of regulating menstruation and stopping bleeding, preventing miscarriage and stopping uterine bleeding, and dispelling cold and removing dampness. It treats irregular menstruation, menstrual pain and abdominal pain, miscarriage, uterine bleeding and other conditions. Because it can make ice into a round shape and can also moxa various diseases, it is one of the most commonly used medicinal herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.
2. Edible: Mugwort is a very good food. Among traditional foods in southern China, there is a kind of ciba (glutinous rice cake) made with mugwort as an ingredient. In the Dongjiang River basin of Guangdong, local people pick fresh tender mugwort leaves and mugwort sprouts to eat as vegetables.
3. Warding off evil: Mugwort has a close relationship with the lives of Chinese people. Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, people always place mugwort in their homes to “ward off evil.” After drying, the plant body is soaked in water and fumigated to achieve disinfection and relieve itching. Postpartum women often use mugwort water for bathing or fumigation.
4. Moxibustion: Dried and mashed mugwort yields “moxa floss.” Moxa floss can be made into moxa sticks for moxibustion, and can also be used as a raw material for “seal ink (whose main raw materials are cinnabar, zhubiao, moxa floss, castor oil, musk, borneol, etc.)” and as a natural plant dye.
How are mugwort seeds planted?
1. Sowing method: Mugwort is sown in early spring, from February to March in the south and from March to April in the north. It can be direct-sown or raised as seedlings and then transplanted. After sowing, the soil covering should not be too thick. Pay attention to management after emergence. When the seedlings are 10-15 cm tall, thin them to a spacing of 20-30 cm between plants.
2. Planting density: For mugwort in February to March, when the seedlings are 5-10 cm tall, choose a time when the ground is moist and plant the seedlings at a spacing of 30×40 cm between plants and rows, with 2-3 plants per hole, then cover with soil and press firmly. If there is no rain within 2-3 days after planting, drip irrigation is needed to preserve soil moisture.
3. Timely fertilization: After mugwort planting has survived, when the seedlings are 30 cm tall, apply 90 kg/ha of urea as a seedling-promoting fertilizer, broadcasting it on cloudy and rainy days and spraying it on the leaves on sunny days. In early November, apply farmyard manure, stable manure, cake fertilizer and the like as base fertilizer.
4. Reasonable watering: For mugwort, after harvesting Qiai in early to mid-June, turn and sun the garden plot, remove residual branches and fallen leaves, and thin out overly dense stem bases and perennial roots. In dry seasons, when the seedlings are below 80 cm tall, use foliar sprinkler irrigation; when the seedlings are above 80 cm tall, flood-irrigate the whole plot.
5. Harvesting and processing: Mugwort is usually harvested in summer. Before it is lush and before flowering, cut the aboveground stems and branches with leaves, remove impurities and dead leaves, spread them in the sun to dry, then tie them into bundles and store them in a dry place to prevent moisture and mold.