March madness - this is how those who grow seedlings of their favorite vegetables themselves perceive the first calendar month of spring. In March, they sow their favorite tomatoes and peppers, carry out the first crops in the greenhouse and even sow vegetables in the beds. Growing seedlings require not only timely diving, but also considerable care. But only her efforts are not limited. It is worth continuing to sow in greenhouses and on window sills, because fresh herbs from the beds will appear not so soon.
In the month of March, most of the flowering annuals are sown, which need a seedling method of growing. Usually, these flowers take no more than 80-90 days from germination to flowering. In this article, I would like to focus on interesting annuals that are a little less popular than ageless petunias, marigolds or zinnias, but they have no less advantages. And they are also worth trying to plant for flowering next season.
With the approach of spring houseplants gradually come out of dormancy and begin to grow. Indeed, already in February, the day becomes noticeably longer, and the sun warms up in a completely spring-like way. How to help flowers wake up and prepare them for the growing season? What should be paid attention to and what measures should be taken so that the plants are healthy, bloom, multiply and please? We will talk about what houseplants expect from us in the spring in this article.
One of the most important rules for growing strong and healthy seedlings is the presence of the “right” soil mixture. Usually, gardeners use two options for growing seedlings: either purchased soil mixture, or made independently from several components. In both cases, the fertility of the soil for seedlings, to put it mildly, is doubtful. So, seedlings will require you additional food. In this article we will talk about simple and effective top dressing for seedlings.
After a decade of dominance in the catalogs of the original variegated and bright varieties of tulips, trends began to change. At exhibitions, the world's best designers offer to recall the classics and pay homage to the charming white tulips. Sparkling under the warm rays of the spring sun, they look especially festive in the garden. Meeting spring after a long wait, tulips seem to remind you that white is not only the color of snow, but also the joyful celebration of flowering.
Sweet indian sauce Pumpkin chutney with lemon and orange is originally from India, but the British contributed to its popularity around the world. This sweet and sour spicy seasoning of vegetables and fruits can be eaten right away or prepared for future use. For harvesting for the future, use fruit or wine 5% vinegar. If you keep chutney for 1-2 months, then its taste will become softer and more balanced. You will need butternut squash, ginger, sweet orange, juicy lemon and spices.
Despite the fact that cabbage is one of the most popular vegetables, not all summer residents, especially beginners, can grow its seedlings. In the conditions of the apartment they are hot and dark. In this case, it is impossible to obtain high-quality seedlings. And without strong, healthy seedlings, it is difficult to count on a good harvest. Gardeners with experience know that it is better to sow cabbage for seedlings in greenhouses or greenhouses. And some even grow cabbage by direct sowing of seeds in the ground.
Flower growers tirelessly discover new indoor plants for themselves, replacing one with another. And here the conditions of a particular room are of no small importance, because the requirements for their content in plants are different. Lovers of beautiful flowering plants often face difficulties. Indeed, in order for the flowering to be long and plentiful, such specimens require special care. There are not very many unpretentious plants blooming in rooms, and one of these is streptocarpus.
chicken rolls"Cordon Bleu" with bechamel sauce - great dish for holiday table and daily meals! It is prepared simply and quickly, it turns out juicy, and also thick sauce bechamel - lick your fingers! FROM mashed potatoes, pickled cucumber and slice fresh bread you will have a hearty and delicious dinner. Cheese for this recipe, choose according to your taste, it can be processed, it can be with blue mold. It is important that the cheese and ham are cut very thinly, this is the secret of success!
Calendula (marigold) is a flower that stands out among others with its bright color. Low bushes with delicate orange inflorescences can be found on the side of the road, in the meadow, in the front garden next to the house, or even in vegetable beds. Calendula is so widespread in our area that it seems that it has always grown here. Read about interesting decorative varieties of calendula, as well as the use of calendula in cooking and medicine in our article.
I think many will agree that we perceive the wind well only in a romantic aspect: we are sitting in a cozy warm house, and the wind is raging outside the window ... In fact, the wind that walks through our plots is a problem and there is nothing good in it. By creating windbreaks with plants, we break a strong wind into several weak streams and significantly weaken its destructive power. How to protect the site from the wind will be discussed in this article.
A shrimp and avocado sandwich for breakfast or dinner is easy to make! This breakfast contains almost everything. necessary products, which will recharge you with energy so that you don’t want to eat before lunch, while extra centimeters will not appear on your waist. This is the most delicious and light sandwich, after, perhaps, the classic cucumber sandwich. Such a breakfast contains almost all the necessary products that will recharge you with energy so that you don’t want to eat before lunch.
Modern ferns are those rare plants of antiquity that, despite the passage of time and all sorts of cataclysms, not only survived, but in many respects were able to maintain their former appearance. In a room format, of course, it is not possible to grow any of the representatives of ferns, but some species have successfully adapted to living indoors. They look great as single plants or adorn a group of decorative foliage flowers.
Pilaf with pumpkin and meat - Azerbaijani plov, which differs from the traditional one in the way of cooking oriental pilaf. All ingredients for this recipe are cooked separately. Rice is cooked with ghee, saffron and turmeric. The meat is fried separately golden brown, pumpkin slices also. Separately, prepare onions with carrots. Then everything is laid in layers in a cauldron or a thick-walled pan, a little water or broth is poured in and simmered over low heat for about half an hour.
Birch sap (birch)- liquid coming out of a birch in places of damage to its trunk or branches. Such damage can be cuts or fractures, and the outflow of fluid is due to the action of root pressure in the tree.
Birch sap - very valuable product, enriched with many substances useful for the body, due to which this liquid has a complex beneficial effect on the state of human health.
Composition of birch sap
- Juice density - 1.0007-1.0046 g / ml;
- Dry matter content - 0.7-4.6 g / l;
- Ash content - 0.3-0.7 mg / l;
- The total sugar content is 0.5-2.3%;
- Proteins - 0.1 g / 100 g;
- Fat - 0.0;
- Carbohydrates - 5.8 g / 100 g;
- Among organic matter note: essential oils, saponins, betulol, more than 10 organic acids.
The calorie content of birch sap is- 22-24 kcal per 100 g of fresh product.
Birch sap also contains the following macro- and microelements (minerals):
- sugars - 1-4%;
- potassium (K) - 273 mg / l;
- — 16 mg/l;
- — 13 mg/l;
- — 6 mg/l;
- aluminum (Al) - 1-2 mg/l;
- manganese (Mn) — 1 mg/l;
- iron (Fe) - 0.25 mg / l;
- silicon (Si) - 0.1 mg/l;
- titanium (Ti) - 0.08 mg/l;
- copper (Cu) - 0.02 mg/l;
- strontium (Sr) — 0.1 mg/l;
- barium (Ba) - 0.01 mg/l;
- nickel (Ni) - 0.01 mg/l;
- zirconium (Zr) - 0.01 mg/l;
- phosphorus (P) - 0.01 mg/l;
- traces of nitrogen (N).
The chemical composition may vary somewhat depending on the region where the donor birch grows and the composition of the soil on which the tree grows.
Medical studies have shown that taking at least one glass a day for 2-3 weeks (it is optimal to drink a glass three times a day half an hour before meals) will help the body cope with spring, or absent-mindedness, and fatigue.
From the point of view of herbal medicine, birch sap is one of the best natural remedies for improving metabolism. Despite the fact that birch sap differs little from water, it ferments well and has positive influence to the work of the stomach.
Birch sap is rich in sugars, organic acids, enzymes, calcium, magnesium, iron and other salts necessary for the body, which we talked about a little earlier. Due to its rich composition, it is recommended for diseases of the blood, joints, skin, as well as for other respiratory diseases.
The use of birch sap helps to cleanse the blood, enhance metabolic processes, remove harmful substances from the body in case of infectious diseases. It is useful to drink juice for and, diseases of the liver, gallbladder, low acidity, scurvy, and venereal diseases.
Birch sap also contributes to the rapid cleansing of the body of harmful substances and the breakdown of urinary stones of phosphate and carbonate origin.
Birch increases the body's resistance to colds, infectious and allergic diseases, has an anthelmintic, diuretic, antitumor effect, it is useful to wipe the skin with birch sap to moisturize and cleanse dry skin.
And it’s also useful to wash your hair with birch sap, to enhance their growth and the appearance of shine and softness (an infusion of birch leaves has the same property). Birch sap is a good remedy for impotence. Birch "tears" have a very good effect on women during the period. If you drink at least a glass of juice a day, then drowsiness, fatigue, irritability and other accompanying menopause phenomena will disappear.
Birch sap remains one of those products that nature has generously rewarded us with. But here it is important to thank her, and not harm the tree. Unfortunately, not everyone knows how to properly collect Birch juice leaving no devastating traces behind. Therefore, the purpose of our article is not just to learn how to collect it, but also to make the birch give us a drink next year.
When to collect birch sap
The term for collecting birch sap depends, first of all, on the weather, so every year the season begins at a different time. Moreover, in the south and north of even such a small country as Belarus, the season can start at different times. But in general, we recommend focusing on mid-March - this is the traditional start of the season. The collection of juice ends approximately in the second half of April. Experts advise to navigate by birch buds: they should begin to swell. To make sure that the time has come, go out into the forest from the twentieth to the twenty-fifth of March. You will need a thin awl to cut into the wood. If the tree is already ready to give you juice, then droplets will immediately come out in the place where you pierced. So the juice can be collected. The only thing we advise you to take into account is the environmental friendliness of the forest. If you want to get a really healthy product, but it would be completely wrong to collect juice in radioactive areas or in forests near noisy highways.
How to collect birch sap correctly: 6 important basics
- One of the first and main rules of the birch sap collector is that the use of young birch trees is prohibited! Often such interference for a growing tree is simply fatal.
- When collecting birch sap, do not use a tool such as an ax. It also leaves "wounds" detrimental to the tree. Perfect option- drill. Moreover, the drill should be approximately five to ten millimeters. Such intervention will leave practically no traces on the tree.
- Many people make the mistake of making holes that are too deep. This is not at all necessary. Especially if you know that the movement of juice takes place in the surface layers, which are located between the wood and the bark.
- If you want the collection process to be as efficient as possible, then keep track of the time. It is best to go to the forest from twelve to eighteen o'clock.
- Another important rule that will help save the tree. In no case should you drain the entire drink from one birch! It will be much more beneficial for the forest if you go around five to ten different trees, collecting the juice from each. That way you won't kill any tree.
- At the end of the collection process, it is very proper to thank the tree. The "wound" will heal much faster if you put a small wooden plug in the hole.
How to choose the right tree The main thing is not to make a mistake when choosing a birch. It is desirable that the diameter of the tree be at least twenty to thirty centimeters. Also, a well-developed crown will be a plus for you. Professionals give one more practical advice: choose the best mature trees, their juice is often sweeter.
How to make a hole in a tree
It is important to make a hole in a birch not too high and not too low. The most optimal distance is about twenty centimeters from the ground. You should first prepare a device through which the drink will flow. Often, birch bark trays are used for these purposes. Such a device is sent to a jar or other container.Keep in mind: the diameter of the tree will tell you how many holes you can make in it.
- a tree up to twenty-five centimeters in diameter is considered thin, so only one hole can be made;
- if the volume is more than twenty centimeters, then feel free to make two holes;
- if the volume is more than thirty-five centimeters - feel free to make three holes;
- four holes can be made only if the diameter of the birch is more than forty centimeters.
Features of collecting birch sap in Belarus
In Belarus, as in any civilized country, sanitary standards are relevant for the collection of birch sap. The sap collector should be aware that not every tree can be drilled. It is possible to extract juice only from those birches that are planned to be cut down in the next five years.As we said, do not make holes too deep. The fact is that after felling birch, most likely, it will go to the factory, where parquet or a piece of furniture will be made from it. From damaged wood, this process will not be possible.
Another important point: you can collect juice in Belarus only from those trees that are at least forty years old.
Important!Birch sap in Belarus can be collected for free. You don't need any documents for this. But you need to get permission from the forester. For example, it is forbidden to collect juice thirty kilometers from the main city of the Mogilev region. Please note that if you are caught illegally extracting juice, you will have to pay a fine of up to twenty basic units.
Which forest to choose in Belarus
Of course, pure birch groves in Belarus are often found, but not in the way we would like. Often sap collectors choose traditional mixed wood. However, experts assure that this option is even better, and in a mixed forest the drink will be noticeably tastier. This is explained simply: a mixed forest grows, as a rule, on sandstones. As a result, such soil transfers more nutrients to the juice. If, on the contrary, the ground is too wet, then too much water passes through the tree. As a result, the juice turns out to be watery, almost tasteless and of little use. By the way, it will not work to hand over such juice to the plant - they simply will not accept it.How to save birch sap
The easiest option: bring the juice to a boil, but do not boil. If desired, you can add a little sugar: the proportion is simple - one tablespoon per liter of drink is enough. Also often added to juice citric acid or a few slices of lemon. Then the juice is again brought to a boil and rolled into a glass jar.It often happens that your juice has already begun to ferment. Even such a drink can be successfully saved. You can add some raisins, dried fruits, sugar and a couple of peels to the juice rye bread. It is better to store such a drink in a cold place.
Original recipes for storing birch sap
1. Among the non-standard storage options for birch sap, we would name Russian balm. For cooking, you will need, of course, juice (about ten liters), three kilograms of sugar, two liters of dry wine and four lemons.Birch sap must be preheated. Sugar is stirred in warm juice, and then wine is poured. Citrus fruits, pre-cut into small pieces, the peel can not be removed. All this is added to the juice. The container into which you poured the juice is best covered with something and stored for about two months in a cold place (a basement or cellar will do). Two months later, the juice is bottled in already glass bottles and stored for about three weeks.
2. Another non-trivial option of how you can save juice for the winter is to make kvass with dried fruits from it. In this case, yeast is not needed: from the ingredients, only juice and dried fruits directly to taste.
First, prepare the dishes in which the fresh drink will be aged for seven days. It is important that the dishes are not made of metal, and the temperature in the room is the average room temperature. When you notice that the souring process has started and a sourish tint has appeared in the smell of kvass, you can add dried fruits (pre-washed). The juice can be covered with a clean towel and hidden in a dark, cool place for a couple of weeks. Pour the prepared drink into glass containers, close tightly and store in a place away from daylight.
Useful information
Absolutely every forestry in the country has at its disposal areas for the extraction of birch sap by ordinary citizens. Often, the extraction of juice for personal needs is about fifty liters. You don't have to pay for these amounts. In the forestry, juice can be bought at a low price, just check its availability in advance by calling 245-64-31.
Any inhabitant of a Russian village knows perfectly well how and when to collect birch sap. The city does not provide such a luxurious opportunity to enjoy this wonderful drink in the spring, and because there are not too many birches in it, but to a greater extent because there will be little benefit from such juice. Gas pollution, the use of reagents and other chemical additives poison the soil, and after it the herbs and trees growing on it. Therefore, if there is a desire to get a truly complete healthy drink, incomparable to anything in your taste, you will have to get away from the city, noisy highways and industrial areas.
When and how is birch sap collected?
With the onset of spring, nature wakes up, and active sap flow begins in the birch tree trunk. People say about this period that birches begin to cry. At this time, you can start collecting birch sap. It is very important to remember that when starting work, you need to act carefully and according to certain rules so as not to harm the tree.
Thinking about how and when to collect birch sap, do not stop near young trees. Their juice will not be very tasty, besides, a young tree may not tolerate such a procedure. Most delicious juice will give a tree with a trunk thickness of more than 20 cm.
Take care of creating the right wound. In order for it to quickly tighten, it would be more correct to prepare a small hole in the tree trunk with a downward slope of 3 cm, for which you can bring an ordinary drill with you. Valuable liquid will immediately begin to flow from the resulting hole. Insert any conductor (something that will allow the juice to flow directly into the container, such as a wooden groove) into this hole and guide it into the container. It is best to use a plastic bottle. The narrow neck will not allow insects and forest debris to penetrate, and due to the large volume, it will not have to be emptied so often - 2.3 times a day.
When a tree receives a cut, it immediately tries to heal it. Therefore, the productivity of birch will gradually decrease. Don't dig your old hole or make a new one - just change the wood.
A wound on a birch tree that has given up part of itself to support human life will heal very quickly. Returning to this place a year later, you will no longer find a scar on the trunk. However, in order for the process to be the fastest, after collecting the juice, your hole must be sealed. You can immediately find any dry twig or twig in the forest, and score a wound with it. Some "hunters for birch sap" bring garden pitch with them, which, like resin, close up the hole. Both methods are good, the main thing is not to leave the wound open so that the tree does not lose a few more liters of juice and dry out.
How to store birch sap
Most The right way drinking birch sap fresh, just obtained from under the birch. It can stand in the refrigerator for only a few days, so, we repeat, it is better not to gain much. While the season is on, you can always pick up fresh. If you want to save it for autumn-winter, you can do conservation. Only with this method of storage, many useful material birch sap will leave, and the taste will deteriorate a little.
If possible, birch sap can be frozen. With this method of storage, it will not lose useful properties and can be stored for about a year.
Having figured out the question of how and when to collect birch sap, you can very quickly prepare your own "source" of this nutritious drink. Just remember that we must save the trees for our children, so birch trees need to be injured with the least loss.
Chemical composition
Birch sap is very rich in vitamins, carbohydrates, minerals and other chemical elements. Also in this drink contains many saponins, essential oils, tannins and fruit sugars.
Birch sap is considered a treasure trove of chemical elements, because it contains calcium, potassium, copper, manganese and copper. Outwardly, birch sap looks like water, but chemical composition displays an advantage over all vitamin shakes.
Birch sap calories
In many countries, nutritionists of the most expensive and prestigious clinics advise drinking birch sap. After all, in addition to the benefits in the form of many vitamins and minerals, you get only 22 kcal per 100 grams of the drink you drink. Birch sap is considered to be a low-calorie drink.
The benefits of birch sap
Birch sap contains many chemical elements: calcium, potassium and magnesium, which contribute to the recovery and strengthening of the heart system. The juice contains many biological enzymes and stimulants that help increase the level of the immune system.
Birch sap is also useful because it contains many tannic components that give the drink antiseptic abilities. Certain types of fructose and glucose stored in birch sap make it a stimulant for the human brain. Therefore, doctors recommend drinking this drink during heavy mental stress (at work, school).
Birch sap is allowed to be drunk by children, adults, the sick or absolutely healthy people. Due to its diuretic properties, the drink helps fight edema, which often forms in some tissues or throughout the body. So young mothers are recommended to drink birch sap to reduce swelling of the body.
Scientists have proven that birch sap does not cause allergic processes in human body. Therefore, doctors very often recommend using it for children.
Birch sap is useful because it helps the body cleanse the blood and kidneys. It is recommended to use it for intoxication of the body, symptoms chronic diseases, as well as during severe inflammatory processes.
Birch sap should be drunk for colds and infectious diseases, because it not only helps the body fight the disease, but also removes the remains of the decay products of viruses and bacteria.
People who suffer from digestive diseases are simply obliged to drink it. After all, it is this drink that best of all stimulates the production of gastric juice, after which the digestion process is normalized.
If a person suffers from problems with the exchange of societies, then we again return to the use of birch sap. After all, it contains many chemicals that stimulate and regulate the metabolism in our body.
The properties of birch sap are widely used in cosmetology. After all, with its help, cosmetologists recommend fighting acne, boils and neurodermatitis. The drink also reduces sebum secretion, the amount of dandruff and the level of hair loss.
Birch sap contraindications
Despite the many beneficial properties of birch sap, it is not recommended to drink it for people who have problems with kidney stones. Also, do not abuse the drink for people who have an ulcer.
In everything you need to observe the measure, the use of birch sap is no exception. Drink a glass of juice every day and health will never leave you.
TOTAL!
Collection can be started from the beginning of sap flow (spring equinox), continue until the leaves bloom.
You can not use young trees.
You can not make wide cuts with an ax.
You can not take a lot of juice from one tree.
It is better to get 5 liters of juice from 5 trees of 1 liter each than from one.
You can: use a drill up to 10mm. A special groove or just a bunch of clean dry grass is inserted into the hole, through which the juice flows. At the end of the collection, a dry stick treated with garden pitch or a piece of wax is hammered into the hole. Mature, strong trees are used. After clearing, the juice can be extracted from the stumps.
Wine, kvass, syrup are obtained from birch sap.
Recipe for birch kvass:
Strain the birch sap through several layers of cheesecloth to remove debris. Add raisins, sugar and leave to ferment in a cool place. After 3-4 days kvass is ready. Then strain the kvass, cork the bottles and put in a dark, cold place for long-term storage. Kvass from birch sap can be stored until autumn.
Birch tears or how to collect birch sap
Slender white birches have been inspiring poets and writers to create masterpieces for centuries. Birches are not only pleasing to the eye, but also serve as a source of trace elements, proteins, acids and vitamins. Each person has tried birch sap at least once, but it must be collected carefully so as not to cause irreparable harm to the birch. Unfortunately, not everyone knows how to properly collect birch sap.
First you need to know when you can collect birch sap. The season for extracting birch sap opens from the end of March, and ends with April. As it gets warmer, one should gradually move from the edge into the depths of the forest, where the forest wakes up from hibernation much later. An injection is made with a thin awl on a birch trunk, if juice oozes from the wound, then you can proceed to its systematic collection.
Preparing to collect juice. You need to take a few plastic bottles, because they have a narrow throat, and insects, dust and small leaves will not get into them. Be sure to take a hand drill or a cordless drill to make a neat hole in the barrel. You can’t make a cut with an ax, it destroys the birch, very often the tree dies from such a procedure. Be sure to make small plugs with which you will later close the holes you made. To collect the juice, you can take a soft rope, a piece of cloth, or just a clean bunch of grass.
Extraction How to properly collect birch sap is a whole science. The tree must be chosen old enough so that it can heal the wound. As soon as all the preparations are made, we proceed directly to the collection of juice. We choose a tree, preferably a little at an angle, so that it is easier to collect the juice. We make a small hole in the barrel with a drill and firmly fasten the bottle with a cloth (rope or grass) to the barrel. Three times a day we go to check bottles and collect juice. It is best to drill 5 or 6 trees rather than drain all the sap from one tree. In different trees, the intensity of the flow of juice is different, as soon as the amount of juice received decreases, the tree needs to be changed.
Helping the tree Once you leave the tree, you need to help it heal the wound it has caused. Carefully insert the plug into the hole, which was prepared in advance. Birch has already begun preparations for healing the wound, and your help will make the healing process quick. If you understand how to collect birch sap correctly, next year you will not find the place where it was taken from.
Storage Birch sap is best drunk fresh, then it will retain all the nutrients and vitamins in full. If you have a cellar in your house, and best of all, a glacier, then the juice will be stored for quite a long time without losing its qualities. It is not recommended to close in jars or pasteurize birch sap. If you want to try it, then the recipe for making it is extremely simple: it is made in the same way as usual, only birch sap is added instead of water, and the product turns out to be much more useful than plain kvass. Birch sap helps treat acne, narrows pores on the face, so you can freeze “birch ice” from it and use it as needed.
Strengthens the immune system, increases the body's resistance. Birch sap will help you avoid depression and fatigue. Juice destroys stones in the kidneys and liver, improves metabolic processes, cleanses the blood, reduces blood pressure. For pregnant women, birch sap is simply irreplaceable.
If you know how to collect birch sap correctly, take care of trees, do not take more juice from them than they can give you, nature will generously endow you useful vitamins, minerals and trace elements for the health of you and your family.
