Houttuynia (Fish Mint, Chinese Lizard Tail) Planting Season, Best Time to Eat, Benefits and Effects, and Cultivation Techniques
Houttuynia, also known as dog-heart grass, zhè'ěrgēn (folded-ear root), or dog-ear grass, was once a wild weed seen everywhere. Houttuynia is a medicinal and edible Chinese herbal medicine. In recent years, demand for houttuynia has been growing rapidly, prices have been rising continuously, and more and more herb growers are paying attention to its cultivation. So what are the prospects for houttuynia cultivation?
Houttuynia is a perennial herb of the Saururaceae family and the medicinal-vegetable category. In its natural state it grows about 30 cm tall, and under artificial cultivation it can reach 60-80 cm. Roots form at the nodes of the underground stems; the leaves are alternate and ovate, and the leaf stalk base is sheath-like and clasps the stem. The flowers are small, pale yellow or white, in a terminal spike; the fruit is nearly spherical. Houttuynia is cold in nature and has effects such as clearing heat, detoxifying, reducing inflammation, and promoting urination. In the past it was mostly used as a Chinese herbal medicine. With the development of food science research, it has further been found to be a very valuable health vegetable. According to determinations and analyses by relevant domestic departments, the fresh stems and leaves of houttuynia not only contain a considerable amount of protein and carbohydrates, but are also rich in vitamins, amino acids, and various nutrients essential to the human body such as calcium, phosphorus, and iron, and in particular also contain health substances such as quercitrin. Therefore, it is a medicinal and vegetable dual-purpose plant resource with great development prospects.
Prospects for Houttuynia Cultivation
Houttuynia is widely distributed in the southern provinces and regions of China, and is also found in parts of the northwest, north China, and Tibet. In recent years, influenced by the trends of “returning to nature” and “medicine and food from the same source,” the folk practice of digging up houttuynia for sale and for eating as a distinctive wild mountain vegetable has gradually flourished, wild resources fall short of demand, and market prices are relatively high.
In addition, houttuynia is also a traditional medicinal plant. It is pungent and cold in nature and flavor, and has effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling and draining pus, and promoting urination and treating strangury. It can be used to treat lung abscess and ulcers, cough and asthma due to lung heat, heat dysentery and heat strangury, edema, beriberi, urinary tract infections, excessive vaginal discharge, and carbuncles, swellings, and sores. Therefore, in traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, houttuynia often becomes the main herb for diseases related to the lungs and the urinary system.
Houttuynia can be produced industrially as a wild vegetable for in-depth development and utilization, and can also be used as a pharmaceutical raw material to be processed into Western medicine injections or Chinese patent medicines. Therefore, it currently has relatively ideal market prospects.
Planting Time for Houttuynia
Houttuynia can be planted in all four seasons; plantings in winter, spring, and early summer can be harvested in the same year, and the best time for planting is generally around the Beginning of Spring (Lichun). (In winter, dig up its thick underground stems as seed stock, bury them under loose soil to overwinter, and after they sprout the following spring, dig them up again, cut them into small sections (each with 2-3 nodes), and then plant them.)
Plant from the end of February to early March, and after 3 months of establishment they can be harvested in batches. Plant the stems, and in winter dig up the underground stems to supply the market; those under protected cultivation can be planted in January, or before frost arrives, move open-field-cultivated houttuynia into a greenhouse; combining open-field and protected cultivation can achieve year-round supply.
What Season Is Best for Eating Houttuynia
In the Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan regions, it is eaten after autumn. Now, through artificial cultivation, it is available to eat in all four seasons, but cultivated plants are always inferior to wild ones; wild ones have a stronger aroma. In Guizhou, we generally like to eat it as a cold salad. That way it is more flavorful.
Houttuynia is best eaten from October to March, when it is relatively tender and crisp and tasty; it is a food of the winter and spring seasons. It is available in all four seasons, but outside these two seasons it is relatively old and cannot be eaten, though it can be used to soak the feet and so on, and its effects are quite good. Eating it can reduce internal heat and reduce inflammation.
Planting Benefits
It is understood that houttuynia generally yields 2000-2500 kg per mu, and if grown well, the yield per mu can reach 3500 kg. At present, the market price of houttuynia root is about 10 yuan per kg, so the economic benefits are still quite considerable.
The prices of houttuynia on March 2, 2018 were as follows:
Wuxi Chaoyang Co., Ltd. Agricultural Products Wholesale Market - houttuynia price: 9.19 yuan/kg
Beijing Dayanglu Agricultural and Sideline Products Wholesale Market - houttuynia price: 12.50 yuan/kg
The average price of houttuynia on March 2, 2018 was as follows: 10.85 yuan/kg (down 2.3%)
Cultivation Techniques
I. Land Selection and Land Preparation
Houttuynia likes moisture and avoids drought. Besides being able to use corner plots or wasteland, it is even more suitable to choose dry land or paddy fields with convenient drainage and irrigation for planting. Before land preparation, plow and harrow first, apply organic fertilizer as base fertilizer. Before planting, apply 1500-2500 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer plus an appropriate amount of plant ash (per mu) into the planting furrows as base fertilizer, and mix thoroughly with the soil, then cover with 3 cm of crushed soil. After it decomposes (to avoid root rot), turn and level it once more, and make low beds 1.3-1.5 m wide, then dig planting furrows 15 cm wide and 20 cm deep in a transverse direction, with a furrow spacing of about 25 cm.
II. Collection of Seed Stock
Houttuynia is mainly propagated asexually using underground stems. Houttuynia has two types, white-stemmed and red-stemmed, and red-stemmed houttuynia has a stronger aroma. It is generally advisable in winter to dig up its thick underground stems as seed stock, bury them under loose soil to overwinter, and after they sprout the following spring, dig them up again and cut them into small sections (each with 2-3 nodes), then plant them.
III. Planting Management
For winter planting, plant in January and harvest in April; you can also first harvest the aboveground stems and leaves, apply additional fertilizer, and then harvest the aboveground stems and leaves a second time, and for spring-planted ones harvest the roots afterward. Plant around “Qingming” in spring. Place one seedling every 6-8 cm, then immediately cover with 6-7 cm of crushed soil, and water as appropriate. After planting, pay attention to maintaining moisture and preventing drought. When the base fertilizer is sufficient, generally there is no need to apply additional fertilizer. If necessary, you can also apply a light application of manure water once during the vigorous growth period to promote increased yield and harvest. The key to daily management is to keep the soil moist, and never let it suffer drought, otherwise there will be many fibrous roots and poor quality. Pay attention to weeding in the early stage; after the rows close, there is no need to weed. Apply dilute human manure and urine once each when the seedlings are 5 cm tall and before the rows close. In addition, when flower buds first appear, it is advisable to remove them early, and combine this with one pinching to inhibit excessive vegetative growth. Houttuynia has very few pests and diseases; root rot is occasionally seen, and it can be controlled by spraying with a thiophanate-methyl solution. When the plant height is above 10 cm, earth up promptly so that the underground stems grow long and white and tender.
IV. Harvesting
When the underground stems reach more than 30 cm, they can be dug up, the leaves removed, washed, and sold. When harvesting the aboveground stems and leaves, artificially propagated plants can be harvested when their height is above 45 cm; in the south, harvest once each year
V. Seed Preservation
When digging, you may leave the small tips of the underground stems in the ground to let them sprout naturally. You may also select thick underground stems for temporary planting for seed use. If you do not dig them up that year, remove the aboveground stems and leaves to avoid freezing damage, which is also conducive to storing sufficient nutrients, and the following year after further cultivation they can be harvested and sold.
Benefits and Effects of Houttuynia
Houttuynia root is the root of houttuynia, and it is distributed throughout the country. It can be used as medicine, having effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling and treating sores, promoting urination and removing dampness, clearing heat and stopping dysentery, and strengthening the stomach and promoting digestion. It can also be eaten, and is a commonly used seasoning in southern regions. Its leaves can also be eaten and have good health benefits.
1. Clearing Heat and Detoxifying
Houttuynia root has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying. It can be used for heat-toxin sores and ulcers, often together with heat-clearing and detoxifying medicines such as purpleflower violet, honeysuckle, and forsythia. It can be taken internally or applied externally. Therefore it can be used for heat-toxin carbuncles and swellings; it may be decocted alone and taken internally, or the fresh herb may be pounded and applied externally.
2. Clearing the Lungs and Draining Pus
Houttuynia root is an important medicine for treating lung abscess. It is used for lung abscess with coughing up pus and blood, and for cough due to lung heat with yellow and thick phlegm, etc. For the former, it is often used together with platycodon, reed root, and winter melon seed, etc., to strengthen the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying and reducing swelling and draining pus; for the latter, it is often used together with lung-clearing, phlegm-transforming, and cough-relieving medicines such as skullcap, fritillary, and mulberry bark.
3. Promoting Urination and Treating Strangury
The diuretic effect of houttuynia root is also very good. It can dilate capillaries, increase blood flow and urine secretion, thereby achieving a diuretic effect. Therefore, for heat strangury with painful, difficult urination, it is often used together with diuretic and strangury-treating medicines such as akebia stem, talc, and plantain seed.
4. Anti-Radiation
Houttuynia root has an anti-radiation effect and the effect of increasing the body's immune function, and has no toxic or side effects at all. It is not only suitable for flight personnel, but also for personnel who are often close to radiation sources, such as X-ray machine and computer operators.
5. Helping to Quit Smoking
Houttuynia root also has the effect of helping to quit smoking. People who want to quit smoking can drink some strong houttuynia root tea every day, and they will not want to smoke as much. Houttuynia root is a food particularly suitable for smokers; it can neutralize tobacco toxins and clear lung heat. Prepare some dried houttuynia root, take a little each day to steep in water and drink; it can reduce the harm smoking does to the body and prevent chronic pharyngitis, bronchitis, and even lung cancer.