Kate
Are lovage and celery the same thing?
Lovage is a crop from the Umbelliferae family. These plants are similar to each other not only in appearance. The taste and beneficial properties of herbs are similar; they are used in cooking and medicine. The differences in the photo are visible only in the size of the stems and the shade of leafy greenery.
Lovage officinalis: description and care
People have given it many names: lyubets, mountain celery, love-herb, and even love potion. Lovage (Levisticum officinale) is the only representative of its species. This plant reaches a height of more than 2 m. Its powerful stem is hollow inside (piper), the leaves are pinnate, dark green, with a strong spicy aroma. All parts of the plant have a scent, including the root. Lovage blooms in “umbrellas” with small yellow flowers.
Lovage is a cold-tolerant perennial. Flowering and seed ripening occur in the second year of life. It is very easy to propagate and care for it. Sow the crop in ridges, thinning the plantings to 60 cm between plants.
Lovage is planted in moderately moist, nutritious, not heavy soils. For full growth and development, apply fertilizers:
- mineral complexes with potassium;
- humus or compost.
Lovage
The composition of the mixture for feeding can be taken as follows:
- compost 4-5 kg;
- urea 20 g;
- superphosphate 30 g;
- ash 1 cup.
In order for the plant to grow tubers, the flower stalks should be removed. The roots are removed in the second year and used for their intended purpose.
Spicy celery in the garden
Celery has three types:
- Root.
- Sheet.
- Chereshkovy.
Unlike lovage, its taste and aroma are less tart. The culture is inferior in size to lovage (height up to 1 m). In agricultural technology, plants have a lot in common. Celery is a biennial. Grows well in moist soils. Resistant to cold and light frosts.
Celery
Celery is grown using the seedling method. Seeds are ready for planting by February. A month after emergence, the seedlings are planted in separate containers. Fertilizing is done with a Nitrophoska solution (1 tsp per bucket of water). Before planting in the ground, seedlings are hardened off by taking them outside for several hours.
Attention! Do not overcook celery root seedlings, this will slow down the development of tubers.
The distance in the beds for stem and leaf celery is 15-20 cm, for root celery is at least 25 cm.
Celery does not tolerate dry soil. On dry days, the garden bed is watered every day. Young plantings are supported with herbal infusion. A couple of weeks after planting in the ground - with a solution of bird droppings or mullein. In the middle of the season - superphosphate (30 g per 1 m²). Beds with spicy vegetables need weeding, mulching and loosening.
Advice! In order for root celery to grow nutritious tubers, its top and side roots are broken off at the end of summer.
Leaf celery is dug up with the first cold weather and transplanted into pots at home. A good way to have fresh herbs on the table.
Lovage and celery are equally rich in vitamins and nutrients. Some differences in growing and caring for plants are due to the crops belonging to different species of the same family.
Lovage officinalis: video
What kind of plant is lovage? This is a valuable perennial spicy-aromatic, vegetable, and medicinal plant. Everything about lovage is valuable—root, leaves, petioles, seeds. Cultivation is widespread in the south of Russia and Ukraine. The medicinal properties of lovage are widely used in traditional medicine, but there are also contraindications. Lovage received this romantic name because of the ability attributed to it to enchant lovers. Therefore, it has numerous popular synonymous names: zorya, lovage, mountain celery, piper, love, zaborina and others. Girls bewitched guys with lovage. When getting married, they sewed its leaf into the hem of the wedding dress so that the husband would love him all his life. It was believed that for good luck, lovage should grow in every household.
Lovage, photo
Are lovage and celery the same thing? Many people believe that lovage and celery are the same thing. Yes, they are very similar in both leaf structure and smell. But these are two different plants. True, they both belong to the same family - celery (Apiaceae). Apparently, this is where their similarity comes from.
Leaves, fleshy petioles, and roots are used for food. The smell is reminiscent of celery, the taste of lovage is sharp, salty-bitter. In terms of dietary, nutritional, medicinal properties, as well as aroma, lovage is close to celery. Sometimes it is even called perennial celery. Used as a fresh spicy seasoning in cooking, pickles and marinades, vegetable and fish dishes.
Lovage leaves are an excellent seasoning for salads and soups. Chicken and meat broths are especially tasty with it. Dried roots also serve as a spicy seasoning, and fresh ones are used to make candied fruits and jam. The seeds are used for pickling vegetables and baking bread.
Young fleshy lovage petioles can be pickled. Moreover, the spicy aroma is well preserved when pickled. Young leaves have a very persistent, strong aroma, so when consuming you need to be careful and add small amounts as a seasoning. Young roots and stems are used to flavor confectionery, drinks, and make liqueurs.
Medicinal properties of lovage and contraindications
Lovage is rich in potassium salts and contains vitamin C up to 118 mg%. In terms of carotene content (5.3 mg%), it is not inferior to carrots. Lovage especially contains a lot of essential oils (0.5-2.7%), which give a specific taste and aroma. Therefore, lovage is used in the preparation of green oil, as well as a spicy mixture of herbs along with parsley leaves, chives with a small amount of black pepper, thyme, and rosemary. It is of particular importance for dietary nutrition along with dill and basil.
The medicinal properties of lovage are widely used in folk medicine. The roots, leaves, and seeds are used for medicinal purposes. The root has a tonic effect on the gastrointestinal tract, improves appetite, reduces flatulence, stimulates the secretion of bile, urine, sputum, and reduces nervous excitability.
Lovage is used for heart disease, bronchitis, as a diaphoretic, and as a mouth rinse. Children are given young leaves, stems or their decoction as an anthelmintic. A decoction of the roots helps strengthen hair in case of premature hair loss. Fresh, slightly crushed leaves of this plant relieve headaches of various origins when applied to the forehead. A certain dose of lovage tincture can cause an aversion to vodka.
But there are also contraindications. Firstly, children should be given lovage decoctions with caution, only when absolutely necessary under the supervision of a doctor. And pregnant women should avoid using it altogether. The fact is that its use causes blood flow to the pelvic area and can cause uterine bleeding or lead to miscarriage. For the same reason, people suffering from hemorrhoids or pyelonephritis should not eat or drink lovage decoctions.
One more word of caution. Lovage should not be eaten during flowering - it is believed that it becomes poisonous.
Growing lovage
Lovage can be grown as an annual, biennial or perennial plant. The leaves are used the first two years, and starting in the autumn of the second year, the roots can be dug up. During the summer period of the second year, the leaves are cut off three to four times, subsequently - up to five times. It is necessary to finish cutting lovage leaves 1.5-2 months before the onset of a steady cold snap.
The yield of greens with an annual crop reaches 2 kg per 1 sq. meters, and with a two-year, long-term crop - 4-5 kg per 1 sq. meter, roots up to 10 kg per 1 sq. meters, but provided that the leaves are not cut off. The harvested roots are cleaned, cut, dried, and ground into powder, the taste and aroma of which are more expressive than the fresh spice.
Lovage is somewhat reminiscent of celery in appearance. But it has larger, shiny leaves with wedge-shaped teeth along the edges. The stem is hollow, branching, reaches a height of 2 meters. Apparently, this is where the popular names of this plant come from - piper and zaborina, since it is planted near the fence so that it does not shade other plants in the garden.
In the first year after sowing, lovage forms a large rosette of leaves. On the second, it shoots and produces seeds. The flowers are small, light yellow, collected in umbrella inflorescences. Lovage blooms in Kuban in May-June, the seeds ripen in July. If they are not needed, the stems are regularly broken off so that they do not grow more than 8-10 cm.
Lovage is a cold-resistant, frost-resistant plant. Seed shoots appear at a temperature of 5-7 degrees. The optimal temperature for the growth and development of lovage is 20-22 degrees.
The awakening of buds and the growth of leaves in the spring with a perennial lovage crop begins at a temperature of 3 degrees, which makes it possible to obtain early greenery in April. And when covered with film in February-March, they get greens 7-10 days earlier.
You can get lovage greens in winter. To do this, 2-3 year old plants are dug up in the fall, stored, and covered with sand. The lovage root with the apical bud intact is planted in the soil of the greenhouse close to each other.
Distillation takes place at a temperature of 10-20 degrees. Therefore, lovage greens can be grown even in a film greenhouse without heating. The leaves grow in a month to 18-25 cm, they are cut off. For 2.5-3 months of forcing in a heated greenhouse, 6-8 kg of leaves are obtained from 1 sq. meters.
Where does lovage grow? Lovage can be grown on any soil, but it works better on rich humus chernozems, although it does not tolerate direct application of manure to it, since the quality of the roots decreases, the pulp becomes loose and darkens when cooked. For the same reason, high doses of nitrogen fertilizers should not be applied.
Lovage is demanding of light for the first 2-3 years, when there is an increased increase in root mass. It can then be grown in shaded areas.
Lovage is a moisture-loving plant. During dry periods, in the absence of watering, the above-ground part dies off, and may die completely in very hot and dry weather. Excess moisture is also destructive, as complete death of the roots occurs.
If the goal is to obtain more leaf mass, then after each cutting, fertilizing is carried out, and, if necessary, watering.
Lovage is propagated by sowing seeds in the ground, seedlings, dividing the bush, and shoots. When propagating by seeds, it is necessary to sow as early as possible, even during the “February windows”. This is due to the fact that the seeds contain a lot of essential oils, which prevent their germination. And when sowing early in moist soil, these inhibitors are washed out. The result is friendly shoots.
You can free the seeds from these inhibitors if they are soaked before sowing in water at a temperature of 40-45° for 1.5-2 days. In this case, you should often change the water - every 3-4 hours. A good effect is achieved by bubbling the seeds in water with air for 18-24 hours. Prepared seeds are sown with row spacing of 70 cm.
In the first year of life, the plants are first thinned out by 10 cm, then by 20 cm, and in the second year by 40 cm from each other. During the growing season, loosening, weeding, and fertilizing are carried out. In the 2-3rd year, it is necessary to add humus (2-3 kg per 1 square meter) between the rows of lovage and incorporate it into the soil. You can feed with fermented mullein or bird droppings, diluting 1:6 and 1:10, respectively. Add 15-20 g of superphosphate extract to a bucket of solution.
In order to get greens in the first year, seedlings are grown. To do this, seeds are sown in pots (2-3 pieces each) or seedling boxes according to the 5x5, 5x6 or 6x6 pattern.
Before emergence, the temperature is maintained at 20-25 degrees. And with the appearance of single shoots, it is reduced to 10-12 degrees for 7-10 days, which prevents the seedlings from stretching. Then the temperature is raised again to 15-20 degrees. Two weeks after the emergence of seedlings, the seedlings are fed with a solution of mineral fertilizers per 10 liters of water: ammonium sulfate - 15 g, superphosphate - 25 g. The solution consumption is 5 liters per 1 sq. m. meter. After two weeks, fertilizing is repeated. The age of the seedlings is 50-60 days.
Lovage seedlings are planted in Kuban in the first or second ten days of April. Planting pattern: 70×30 or 60×40 cm. Subsequent care is the same as for seedless crops.
Differences between celery and lovage. Some plants look alike, like twin people. But botanists manage to find differences in them, classifying them as different genera of the same family, giving plants different names. There are two such “twins” in the Umbrella family. Let's try to understand their similarities and differences.
Lovage
The only kind- Lovage officinalisPeople have long noticed the love power of the plant, giving it different names that have the same essence. Names such as lyubets, lyub-grass, love potion do not require additional explanation. Interestingly, having many names, the genus Lovage has a single plant species called “Lovage officinalis”.
Attribute of Ukrainian huts
There was a time when lovage bushes were sure to grow near every Ukrainian hut. In the summer, the fragrant fresh leaves of the plant were added to salads, vegetable dishes, marinades, and used for pickling vegetables and preparing various flour dishes. The leaves were dried for future use to flavor the listed dishes in the winter.
Not only leaves were used, but also roots, from which they made jam and made oriental sweets - candied fruits.
The pungent smell and spicy, slightly bitter taste of lovage, even in small quantities, gives marinades and pickles a mushroom aroma.
Healing properties
Headaches are relieved by applying crushed leaves to painful points on the head. Decoctions, tinctures, and healing teas are prepared from the leaves. The leaves are ground into powder, which is used for healing in traditional medicine.
The main healer of lovage is its thick roots and rhizomes, which are dug up in the fall or early spring. It is believed that during the growing season, until the plant blooms, the roots are poisonous, so during this period only the leaves should be used.
Decoctions and infusions from the roots became famous as healing agents for diseases of the lungs, stomach, and heart. But for people with kidney problems and pregnant women, lovage is contraindicated even as a spicy seasoning.
Growing and care
Lovage is a rather unpretentious plant. It has no special requirements for soil or illumination of the planting site. It is very frost-resistant.
Caring for it is traditional, including weeding, loosening the soil after watering and rain, and periodic fertilizing with fertilizers.
Lovage is propagated by sowing seeds, shoots or dividing bushes. It grows quickly, reaching one and a half meters in height the very next year after planting, becoming taller, wider and more powerful every year.
Celery
Celery is a relative of lovage.
Today, lovage is second in popularity to celery, although it is its close relative. Celery is not just classified as a spicy plant, but is considered a spicy vegetable.
Are lovage and celery the same thing?
Differences between celery and lovage.Celery is very similar in appearance and taste to lovage. But celery leaves are lighter and softer, and their taste is less spicy and pungent than that of lovage, whose leaves are even bitter.
Celery is more demanding to care for.
There are three varieties of celery in cultivation: leaf, petiole and root.
Pantry of useful substances
Celery accumulates carotene, amino acids, and sugar in all its parts. The accumulated nutrients have a beneficial effect on the digestive system, stimulating appetite; tidy up your nerves, giving you a good night’s sleep; come to grips with obesity.
Growing and care
Lovage and celery have differences in how they are grown.
Celery has a long growing season, and therefore it is usually grown through seedlings. Seeds are sown 2.5-3 months before planting in open ground. Unlike the cold-resistant lovage, celery is afraid of frost, and therefore it is released into the free air with the arrival of stable warmth. Celery is often planted along the edges of ridges or as a sealant for cucumbers.Plant care is standard.
There are small peculiarities when growing petiole celery. To make the petioles grow tender, they resort to the “bleaching” technique. To do this, the lower part of the petioles is covered from light with burlap, paper or straw.
Miloduh. Love-grass.Lovage.
Lovage (Levisticum officinale) is a spicy medicinal plant from the Apiaceae family. Perennial. Russian names: zorya, lovage, lyubchik, milodukh, love-grass.
In Rus', lovage has been known since time immemorial. But it was especially popular in Ukraine and southern Russia. In Ukraine, poems and songs were written about lovage.
One of the most famous is the song "Lovage".
"I was looking for Edelweiss in the mountains,
And you know the lovage in the meadow.
The girl hooked up with me
And I tenderly asked for lovage."
Lovage is also mentioned in A.S. Pushkin:
"Touchingly on a beam of dawn
They shed three tears."
It was believed that with the help of lovage one could bewitch a loved one, hence its name... In the old days, when getting married, many fancy girls sewed lovage into the hems of their wedding dresses. This method promised the love of her husband for life.
In Bohemia and Moravia, lovage is added to the bathing water of little girls, so that in the future they will have there was no end to suitors. And unmarried Tula guys tied lovage in a handkerchief knot so that the girls would love.
An old belief says: To ensure there is always happiness in the house, lovage must grow in the garden.
Asia is considered the homeland of lovage. However, it has long grown wild in the mountainous areas of Southern Europe, preferring low, moist places.
Initially, as a cultivated plant, it was grown in monasteries. It has been cultivated in Central Europe since the 9th century.
In taste and appearance, lovage resembles celery, and is sometimes called mountain celery. But lovage leaves have a darker color, they are tougher, and the taste of lovage is more spicy, pungent, even bitter.
The lovage root is massive, spindle-shaped. The stem is round with large wedge-shaped petiolate leaves that have a beautiful shine. Some leaves can grow up to 50 cm. And the plant itself sometimes reaches two or more meters. The flowers are light yellow, collected in fluffy umbrellas. The fruit is two-seeded.
In ancient times, when there were no chemical medicines, people looked closely at plants. And they noticed that lovage has many healing properties. For example, it stimulates digestion, helps with cardiovascular diseases, reduces shortness of breath, soothes, relieves pain, has an expectorant, anticonvulsant, diuretic and choleretic effect.
A decoction of the roots is used for diseases of the kidneys, heart, and nerves. It is also recommended for menopause.
Pour 15 g of dried lovage roots into 3 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Leave for 3-4 hours. Strain. Take 1 tbsp. l. 3 times a day half an hour before meals.
Lovage contains essential oil, ascorbic acid, starch, sugar, gum, carotene, mineral salts, rutin and organic acids - malic and folic.
Lovage is very convenient for growing in our climate. This is a cold-resistant and frost-resistant plant. Shoots appear at soil temperatures of +5 - +7C, although the best temperature for seed germination is considered to be +18 - +20 °C. Lovage grows on any soil, although it will be happy with fertile soil. Grows quickly in spring. One or two bushes are enough for the whole family.
Lovage can be widely used in cooking. And not only. For example, in Rus' there was sobering medicine from lovage- the middle root of the plant and 2-3 bay leaves were poured with a liter of vodka and kept in a dark place for 2 weeks. It’s not too late to stock up on this medicine for the new year...
You can prepare many different dishes from lovage. Its root is edible both fresh and boiled, stewed, baked and fried. It adds a piquant taste to soups, cutlets, stews, vegetables, purees, and casseroles. The same can be said about lovage leaves. Dried herbs and finely chopped dry roots are prepared for the winter as seasonings. For 1 kg of greens 200 g of salt. I myself freeze lovage leaves for the winter and take them out of the refrigerator as needed.
Can be prepared for breakfast lovage oil "Vivority".
Remove the butter from the refrigerator and let it soften a little. Finely chop the lovage leaves or grind them through a meat grinder, mix with butter, pepper and salt. And you can make sandwiches.
Lovage salad
1 medium lovage root;
2 carrots;
2 apples;
sour cream for dressing;
salt to taste.
Grate everything on a coarse grater, add salt and season with sour cream.
Beef stew with lovage
500 g boneless meat;
600 g lovage roots:
2 carrots;
2 onions:
50 g dill;
salt, pepper to taste.
Cut the beef into portions, place in a roasting pan and simmer in the oven until half cooked. Chop the lovage root, grate the carrots, and cut the onion into half rings. Place the vegetables on top of the meat, add salt and pepper and simmer until done.
Candied lovage
400 g lovage roots;
2 cups sugar;
2 glasses of water.
Wash the roots, scrape off the skin, cut into pieces and crosswise. Boil in a small amount of water, changing the water 3-4 times. Make a syrup from sugar and water, add boiled roots and cook until transparent. Remove, place on greased paper, sprinkle with powdered sugar and leave to dry in a cool place. It makes a wonderful treat for tea.