Habit: One of the herbs no housewife can afford to be without, is green tea it is not only practical but attractive enough to be grown as a pathway edging for herb garden or border. In addition to their neat compact foliage, they also produce charming little mauve flowers. Needing an open position they grow practically anywhere, they are well drained but moist soil. This is an herb with no negative features – only plusses. Easy to grow and undemanding about soil, it is virtually disease and pest free, can take sun, shade, dry or wet soil, heat, frost and drought. However, in addition to all this, it is possible by planting different varieties to have color from spring until winter. There are also various sizes, from 25cm to 1m tall.
Planting: prepare beds in advance with quantities of compost plus cupful each of bone phosphate and super phosphate per square meter. The hard core of the green tea herb should be planted straddling a mound of soil, with roots trailing on either side. These should be well covered, but a little of the green tea herb should be left uncovered for more successful flowering.
Propagation: by seed or root division. Although ‘green tea herb’ are best left undistributed they may be divided by the use of two forks, but do not break up into too small divisions. Once seed is sown or roots divided it takes several seasons before plants flower.
Planting: likes well drained soil which needs to be slightly alkaline. If your soil is acid then you should sprinkle some agricultural lime over the area to be planted. Dig bed over well and include quantities of compost and about a cupful of 3:2:3 fertilizers per square meter. As plant do not like being disturbed divide only every four or five years in autumn or spring.
You can also plant ‘green tea herb’ in a wooden barrel. To prepare a wooden barrel for planting, tack strips of black plastic around the top inside edges, then fold them back to hang out side the barrel, while you paint the inside of the tub with bitumen. Immediately you have finished painting flip the plastic strips back and allow them to stick to the still tacky bitumen. It is easy to grow and an invaluable plant for the vegetable patch. Remember, however, when picking always pull it with a twisting action- never cut stems. Also never eat leaves or feed them to animals, for they are poisonous.
Health Benefits Of Green Tea:
Researches on the health shows that green tea benefits have been increased in metabolism and fat burning. Green tea and weight loss- green tea extract burns fat naturally and increases metabolism. In short, green tea weight loss pros are a result of more than a few mechanisms. Benefits of green tea for dieting are enormous and one cup of Lipton green tea in the morning can save you from a workout. AriZona Green Tea and Japanese green tea are low carb products of green tea fat burner that are not only healthy but also have a great flavor. Green tea diet supplements are also in the process of development.
While benefits of green tea are recognized in burning fats and calories it is also used in the cancer-prevention. According to some new researches patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have improved after taking green leaf tea regularly. Green tea is also used in the treatment of skin problems.
