Tarragon has long been fond of Russian gardeners, thanks to the ease of cultivation and unique aroma. A refreshing drink "Tarragon" is made from the plant, used to flavor wines and liqueurs. Particularly popular in France is the production of special aromatic spicy vinegar from the above-ground part of the tarragon wormwood used for filling salted fish.
A bunch of tarragon branches - green or dried, put in a bottle of vodka for several weeks, gives the vodka a special taste and aroma. Depending on whether green or dry branches were taken, the taste is different.
In this article, you will learn which varieties are suitable for growing from seeds, how to plant them, and how to care for a plant to get a large shrub.
What varieties of tarragon are suitable for growing in this way?
Experts have more than a hundred types of tarragon, which can be grown from seeds. Below we give the most popular ones.
Aztec
This variety of tarragon looks like a strongly branchy bush with dense foliage, the average height is one and a half meters. At one place it can grow up to seven years. The first cut of greenery occurs in the second year. It has a spicy aroma with aniseed notes.. Best suited for seasoning.
Valkovski
A characteristic feature is a faint aroma and matte leaves. From the time of planting to the first cut, on average, one month passes. The leaves of the plant are used in cooking, and the essential oils in perfumery.
Gribovsky
This grade belongs to frost-resistant. Its leaves are dark green, with a pronounced aroma. At one place it grows to fifteen years. Used mainly in traditional medicine, as well as cooking.
Dobrynya
Plant height about a meter. The first cut-off is 25-30 days after regrowth (from the second year). The second is in three months. Use it both in fresh and in dried form. Applies to cooking and traditional medicine, due to the content of large amounts of vitamin C and carotene.
Zhulebinsky Semko
The height of the bush of this variety of tarhuna reaches one and a half meters, the flowers are yellowish. Cutting occurs in a month. The plant belongs to frost-resistant, lives well in central Russia. It has a distinctive spicy aroma and sweetish taste.
King of herbs
Non-capricious plant that can tolerate both cold and short-term drought. The first cut-off occurs in a month and a half, the second in three. Used in cooking. The smell is dominated by notes of anise.
Goodwin
This tarragon has a characteristic strong taste with a touch of bitterness. It grows very quickly, for the second year after planting up to 0.5 kg of grass can be obtained. It grows not only in the soil, but also in the apartment.
When is it right to plant in open ground in spring and autumn?
Depending on the variety, this time may shift. Frost-resistant tarragon can be planted almost immediately after the snow melt, but with more thermophilic species it is better to wait until mid-April. Sowing can be done at a temperature of 7-10 degrees. But for germination the optimum temperature is 18-20 degrees.
Sowing time
For seedlings, sowing of tarragon seeds in the first half of March is carried out in prepared pots or plastic containers. But planted seedlings only in mid-June.
Choosing a place for a plant in the country
Tarragon feels best on sunny, brightly lit areas.. Although, due to its unpretentiousness, it can grow in the shade. The soil should be sandy, airborne and water permeable. But the tarragon does not like sour soils. Increased acidity should be reduced to normal values using wood ash, ground chalk, fluff lime or dolomite flour.
It is also not recommended to plant tarragon in lowlands and places with close groundwater storage. Strong and lush grass will grow on fertile and chernozem soils rich in mineral salts and organic matter. In order to enrich the land make in the autumn digging manure or humus.
Requirements for sowing material
Healthy tarragon seeds, from which you can grow a plant, look like this: small (one gram contains about five thousand seeds), dark brown or brown-brown in color.
How to collect the material yourself?
We offer you step by step instructions:
- Wait until the seeds appear on the tarragon. This usually happens in late September-October.
- Cut them and collect the seeds.
- Dry the seeds and store them in a dry place.
Where to buy it?
You can buy seeds on the market or in special gardening shops. However, be careful. Buy seeds only from well-known producers, otherwise instead of tarragon you can grow an ordinary weed. Before you buy, refer to the reviews on the Internet, read written not on sites, but on special forums. You can also ask advice from friends.
The price of a bag of tarragon seeds in Moscow is 19 rubles per package (Goodwin variety), and in St. Petersburg similar seeds will cost 16 rubles.
A photo
Below you can see how the seeds look on seedlings and seedlings on the photo:
Seed soak
Soaking the seeds is not necessary, but it will help accelerate the growth of the plant. Soak the seeds for three days before planting in the seedling box. It's very easy to do this:
- Take the container, fill it with warm water (you can replace it with a special soaking solution from the gardening shop).
- Add feed.
- "Marinate" the seeds for three days, then proceed to their planting.
Rooting in open ground
Planting tarragon seeds in open ground is quite simple. Seeds do not even require digging, if you do not want to bother, then it is enough to just scatter them on the site selected for these purposes. To land tarragon in the ground need to carry out the following steps:
- Prepare the soil, it is advisable to do it in the fall. Dig it, clean weeds, fertilize with superphosphate, potassium salt and humus.
- Before planting, you can soak the seeds to make them grow faster.
- Sow the seeds in shallow parallel grooves, while the ground must be moistened without fail. The distance between the grooves should be about seventy centimeters.
- Do not cover the seeds with earth.
- Water the future plant, repeat watering in a month.
To seedlings
- Planting seeds for seedlings occurs in the first half of March. Fill the pots with soil, it should be soft and loose, so that water and air flow well through it.
Place the containers on trays, so it will be easier for you to water the bottom of the soil.- Place the pots in a greenhouse or on a cool windowsill. Water and fertilize them periodically. The main thing is not to overdo it, otherwise the plant may die.
- The first shoots will appear in a month and a half.
- In the second phase, the leaves break through thick seedlings, leaving the strongest seedlings at intervals of at least 6-8 cm.
- In June, planting tarragon seedlings in open ground. Can be planted on two things in one hole. Seedlings are planted in wet fertilized soil in a wide-row pattern of 30x60-70 centimeters. For a family, 3-6 bushes are enough.
Place the containers on trays, so it will be easier for you to water the bottom of the soil.How to care for grass?
Tarragon is one of the most unpretentious plants, so caring for it will not cause any special problems.
- The only thing that needs to be done is to clean the area from weeds and loosen the ground to better provide the roots with air.
- Watering is moderate. Focus on weather conditions, in dry weather it is better to do it once every two weeks, and if it rains often, you can restrict yourself to watering once every two weeks. Top dressing in the form of a mullein infusion is done once after the first weeding.
- You can also feed the plant with dry ash or a mixture of fertilizers (10 liters of water is added to a spoonful of superphosphate and potassium chloride).
- Tarragon loves light, however, can grow in the shade, but in this case one can hardly expect a good harvest. The ideal temperature for it is about 20 degrees.
Harvesting
Harvest tarragon leaves before flowering. In general, from one bush you can get about five hundred grams, depending on the variety. Then the leaves can be dried for the winter or used fresh when cooking or in conservation.
Diseases and pests
The main pests of tarragon are aphids, cicadas, wireworms. To get rid of them, spray the bush with an infusion of onion peel or tobacco.
Among the diseases that are susceptible to tarragon, the most common is rust. It manifests itself in the form of brown pads. It leads to the fact that the leaves wither and dry out. To prevent its appearance in time to cut the greens, and burn plant residues.
Estragon is one of the most fragrant spices that everyone can grow. Its use is extensive: seaming, cooking, traditional medicine. Now, following the recommendations above, you will be able to start growing tarragon yourself.
