Which month is suitable for planting Nepeta?

Many people don’t know what kind of plant Nepeta is. Nepeta is actually a plant of the genus Nepeta in the family Lamiaceae, and its whole herb is famous as a traditional Chinese medicinal material . In traditional Chinese medicine, Schizonepeta is widely used to treat various diseases and has high medicinal value. Let’s learn together which month is suitable for planting Nepeta?

Which month is suitable for planting Nepeta?

The suitable planting season for Nepeta is spring, and it is generally planted from late March to early April. In addition, nepeta can also be planted in autumn depending on the regional climate, but spring planting is more common. When planting nepeta, you should choose an environment with sufficient sunlight, good ventilation and appropriate moisture, and pay attention to the fertility, looseness and air permeability of the soil to ensure the healthy growth of nepeta.

Key points for field management of Nepeta

1. Thinning and replanting seedlings

For direct-sown nepeta, timely thinning is necessary to prevent the seedlings from growing too crowded, resulting in weak plants. Thinning should be carried out twice when the height of the Nepeta seedlings reaches 6 to 7 cm and 10 to 13 cm respectively. During the second thinning, the seedlings should be determined according to the sowing method: for row sowing, leave one seedling every 7 to 10 cm; for hole sowing, keep 4 to 5 seedlings in each hole. If a shortage of seedlings is found, timely seedling replenishment should be carried out to ensure that the number of seedlings in the field is uniform. For the transplanted Nepeta tenuifolia, the missing seedlings should be checked after transplanting and replaced in time.

2. Cultivation and weeding

Whether it is hole sowing or row sowing of Nepeta, while thinning the seedlings, it should also be combined with inter-row cultivation and weeding. The first tillage should be shallow to avoid damaging the seedlings; the second tillage can be appropriately deepened. Afterwards, depending on the compactness of the soil and the growth of weeds, carry out 1 to 2 more tillage and weeding, and add appropriate amount of soil at the base of the plants to protect the fertilizer and stabilize the seedlings. For the transplanted Nepeta seedlings, two tillage and weeding operations are required after they are transplanted to the field. The first one is after the seedlings survive, and the second one is when the seedlings reach a height of about 30 cm. Once the rows are covered with schizonepeta, no more tillage and weeding will be carried out.

3. Fertilization

In order to promote good growth of nepeta and increase yield, three top dressings are required during its growth period. The first topdressing is carried out when the seedlings are 7 to 10 cm tall, combined with tillage and weeding, and 1000 to 1500 kg of human and animal manure is applied per mu; the second time is when the seedlings are 20 cm tall, and 1500 to 2000 kg of human and animal manure is applied per mu; the third time is when the seedlings are 30 cm tall, and an appropriate amount of human and animal manure is mixed with 100 kg of cake fertilizer per mu for composting, then applied by digging trenches between plants and covered with soil after application.

4. Irrigation and drainage

During the seedling stage, Nepeta has a greater demand for water. When the soil becomes dry, water it in time to keep the soil moist. Mature plants of Nepeta have strong drought resistance but are afraid of waterlogging. If there is too much moisture in the soil, especially after a heavy rain, the accumulated water must be drained quickly to prevent root rot and plant death.

The above is an introduction to the sowing time of Nepeta. If you want to try to grow Nepeta this year, you can first learn and master the relevant knowledge.