Currently the demand for herbal drugs are increasingly high. Various types of medicines are already using basic ingredients, medicinal herbs as the main ingredient of drug makers. Often the price offered herbal medicine manufacturer outrageously high.
The cultivation of medicinal plants in the Yard of the House as an alternative replacement, herbal remedies that are on the market. You can also save some money up to 80%, the remaining 20% can be in need to buy pots and fertilizers for growing herb lawns.
Success in planting a crop is indicated by growing and growing plants you sow them. Not a few are indeed failing in terms of cultivation of this plant, but it is not recommended to lose motivation to plant just about any plant you want to embed. You have to keep the spirit of doing your hobby on this one.
Stages of the cultivation of plants are done as follows:
Land management
Some things that should be noted in the land for cultivation medicinal plants include:
- For medicinal plants that are free of the results in the form of bulbs (tuber) is generally the desired processing-processing of land deep enough (25 – 40 cm), the loose structure so that the growth of the rhizome or tuber can be well developed.
- Avoid mixed parent material that has not occurred on the grounds of weathering plant. For it needs for sufficient time to give the chance of occurrence of weathering processes, among others, the process of oxidation, so it will form layers of soil that ensures the growth of roots. It was important at the time of making the hole the ground (as deep as 40 x 60) for medicinal plants, trees, shaped like cloves (Eugenia caryophyllata), Kola (Cola nitida).
- Manufacture of terrace – terrace when the ground is too tilted, so that erosion can be minimized, e.g. in planting Citronella (Cymbopogon nardus).
- Intensive tillage, weed free and tried in the early growth of medicinal plants.
- The making of land for planting seeds, often equipped with drainage channels, especially for plants that are not tolerant of standing water. Like Chili (Capsicum annuum).
Planting
Things that need to get consideration on the cultivation of medicinal plants, among others:
- Given to General cultivation on dry land without irrigation and the weather is hot enough, then the planting was done at the beginning of the rainy season.
- Planting with distance or regular line will be better viewed in terms of the physiology of plant maintenance and aesthetics.
- Planting singly (monoculture) especially for plants that cannot bear the light of the Sun, e.g. Menthol (Mentha piperita).
- Double Planting can be done on plants that require shade or for its growth can adapt to indirect sunlight, for example, Cubeb (Piper cubeba). Plants that can be mutually tolerant of competition because they can meet several objectives, among others: expand the acreage for planting (at one place and time were planted more than one kind of plant), saving maintenance, decrease the risk of crop failures. The use of cantilever for medicinal plants that have stems of climbing plants with a system of dual stanchion can only be replaced by an upright and then plants can also produce.
- Population of plant closely related to results, among others, influenced by the occurrence of competition between plants and soil fertility.
Plant maintenance
Some measures on maintenance of medicinal plants are:
- Seeds are easily withering, the need for the timing of his planting so it does not get excessive sunlight, such as planting Tempuyung (Sonchus arvensis) should be done in the afternoon and was given the temporary shade.
- Weeding intensive in order to suppress the weed population besides can reduce the chance of growing the crop effort can also interfere with the results of hygiene at the time of harvest (i.e. On the plant, Mentha arvensis)
- Hoarding and make the land becomes tender is done in order to improve the nature of the ground where it grows.
- To reduce evaporation (evaporation) of groundwater, so soil moisture can keep fit, do the giving of mulch. For example, in plant ginger (Zingiber officinale) the granting of straw mulch can increase the yield of 35%.
- Pruning flowers, which means preventing changes to the generative vegetative phase many requires energy, so the nutritious substances as a source of energy is not reduced. On the plant glycosides diosgenin content of Dioscorea compositae can grow with done trimming interest rates.
- Trimming the tops of the stems will stimulate branching, so as to increase the number of leaves that grow as well as the content of the principal in the roots grow. For example, Orthosiphon stamineus.
Harvest
Some of the determination when the harvest:
- For the plant Familia Zingiberaceae, harvesting is done at the time of the above ground parts of the plants ripen or yellow that normally occur in the dry season, and if that's taken root. For Example (Curcumaxanthorrhiza)
- Leaves collected during the process of photosynthesis a maximum before the formation of the fruit. E.g. plant Saga (Abrus praecatorius).
- Flowers are picked while still in bud (before) for example, at clove (Eugenia caryophyllata).
- Fruit picked ahead of Cook, e.g. Solanum laciniatum while fennel Anethum graveolens is quoted after Cook was right.
- Seed should have at the time of fruit ripening.
- Skin has taken during sprouting.
