Catnip is also known as catswort and catmint. It's a perennial from the Labiatae family or also known as the Mint family. Catnip is aptly named because this herb is loved by all cats. Not exactly all cats, but most cats are in love with Catnip and behave themselves very peculiar when they've come in contact with it. Also bees, butterflies and other benificial insects find Catnip attractive. Catnip is a very versatile herb that's used in the kitchen and in alternitive medicin. Catnip is used in alternitive medicin because of it's calming, fieverreducing, expectorant, blood cleansing and perspiration reducing qualities. It's also used against headache, jaundice and anemia.
You can also add Catnip to soups or salads. The flavour of Catnip is very mint- and lemon-like. You can make tea from Catnip leaves. This tea is very soothing and calming. Catnip is a very attractive perennial and a member of the mint family often used as ground cover for border and garden. You can use the dried leaves of Catnip to colour wool and cotton. It has lavender blue flowers. It needs a lot of sun and can be grown on every soil. It is very easy to grow from seed, but it has a long germination period. To encourage self seeding, prune the plant all the way back after flowering. Semi-hardy Perennial.
Outdoor sowing: April - May
Germination: 10 - 21 days
Germinationtemp.: 18 - 20 °C
Sowing depth.: ½ - 1 cm
Transplanting: after 14 days
Plant distance: 30 cm
Plant position: sunny - half-shaded
Harvest period: June - October
Sow the seeds outdoors from the beginning of April, when the soil can be worked. Make sure there's no longer any danger of frost. Sow sparingly and cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. Thin the seedlings or transplant the seedlings to 30 cm apart. Catnip is hardy in our climat. Like all members of the Labiatae familiy, Catnip can overgrow other weaker plants. Catnip needs a very sunny and sheltered plot. It hates wet feet, so make sure there's free draining soil on the plot. Catnip is loved by bees, butterflies and of course by cats.
