Cultivation of Mint

The information that follows is excerpted from a longer post:  The Ultimate Guide to Mint.  For additional information about Mint, such as its description, medicinal and culinary uses, or its uses through history, please click HERE to access the complete original post.  Other individual sections are listed below:

Description

History, Lore and Magic

Culinary Uses

Medicinal Uses

Three Peppermint Plants

Due to their rampant growth habit, hybridization of mints is quite easy, and actually occurs naturally.  So, it is difficult to get a "pure" hybrid of mint.  Even the mints we so commonly identify (Peppermint and Spearmint) are actually due to ancient efforts at hybridization. Because of this, it is often difficult to tell exact which cultivar you have.

If you sniff it, it will grow!

Mints grow in a wide range of growing conditions and can be grown in full sun or partial shade.  They like moist spots, but will grow in more arid regions, as well.  Mint grows all year round, making an excellent plant for an indoor herb garden.  It thrives in a partly shady spot with plenty of moisture.  You should allow 1 or 1 1/2 feet between plants.  Don't dress your soil with manure or too much organic material as this will encourage rust.

Mint in the Ground in a Pot--Fill around pot and bury it so it is not visible

If mints are planted in the garden, you need to place some sort of barrier around the plant so that it doesn't escape and go wild.  To control them, plant the mints in deep bottomless containers sunk in the ground.  Their roots don't go very deep and they prefer to send their shoots running just below the surface or on top of the ground, so this method is usually effective.  As long as your barrier is 10 inches deep, it should keep the roots from spreading. 

Baby Mint Plants

I plant all my mint in pots or bury pots containing the mint plants to prevent them from leaving the spot where they were planted.  You can cut the bottoms off plastic pots, or break the bottoms off clay pots.  One year I did not do this and spent the next several years digging mint runners out of the entire raised bed where it had gone crazy.  

Mint Runners

Some mints can be propagated by seed, but growth from seed can be difficult as the seeds are highly variable--you may not end up with what you thought you were planting.  Other types of mint, such as peppermint, are sterile hybrids that don't produce seed.  These can only be propagated from plant cuttings or by planting the runners dug up from healthy mints.  I have a large old pot of mint that I regularly take pieces from and plant in other areas of my garden.  I have dug out large chunks and within a week or two, the original plant naturally fills in the area where the pieces I removed were growing.  So the pot is always full!

My Big Mint Plant

Mint Sprouts

Mints can also be easily propagated by taking a cutting and putting it in a small vase of water.  Within a couple of weeks, the cutting will send out roots into the water.  It will be ready for replanting in a couple of months.  I have propagated several types of herbs this way and always have good luck.  Due to their speedy growth habits, mints provide some of the quickest gratification for hydroponically growing plants.  Sometimes roots will form in a matter of days, depending on the species.

Mint Roots

Frequent cutting of mint, or mowing it, if it is used in a lawn setting, keeps the plants looking their prettiest.  Every time you cut mint, it encourages it to branch out at the cuts, so you will get lusher, healthier plants.  You can divide established plants in the fall.  Division is a good way to keep these plants in check, as after a few years they can become woody and weedy if not pruned back often. 

Harvesting Mint

Harvesting of mint leaves can be done at any time.  Simply snip off the tips of the plant, leaving a couple of inches of the stem.  Fresh leaves should be used immediately or stored for up to a few days in a plastic bag.  They can also be frozen in ice cube trays for later use. The young, tender leaves and stems have better flavor than the older ones.  Dried leaves retain their flavor well.

Dried and Fresh Mint

To dry mint leaves, bind together bunches of the mint and hang to dry in a dry, dark place.  It will dry completely in about three weeks.  Then remove the leaves from the stems and store them in an airtight container for use during the next year.  Be sure to label and date the container.  The leaves should maintain their optimum quality for about a year.

Hanging Mint for Drying--Really not the best spot for drying (in front of an open window).  You will get the best results if your drying room is very dry, still, and dark.

One more comment about growing mint:  Be careful!  Mint is virtually indestructible and continues to grow under ground, even if the tops appear dead.  The only way to completely get rid of it is to dig out every single root and runner that lies under the plant.  Whatever you miss will continue to grow and prosper until it takes over your entire garden or yard!

Mint Gone Wild!

Best of luck with your mint!  Please leave any comments or questions you may have about mint below.  Any stories you have about growing mint are welcomed, too!

Peace and Love Always,

Mint in Metal Basket

Sources:

Bremness, Leslie. RD Home Handbook: Herbs. Pleasantville: Reader's Digest Association, 1990. Print.

Brown, Deni. The Herb Society of America Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1995. Print.

Clevely, Andi, and Katherine Richmond. The Complete Book of Herbs. New York: Smithmark, 1994. Print.

Cunnningham, Scott. Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1992. Print.

Gips, Kathleen. Flora's Dictionary: The Victorian Language of Herbs and Flowers . Chagrin Falls: TM Publications, 1995. Print.

Kowalchik, Claire, and William H. Hylton, eds. Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs . Emmaus: Rodale, 1987. Print.

Kruger, Anna. An Illustrated Guide to Herbs. Stamford: Longmeadow, 1993. Print.

Shaudys, Phyllis. The Pleasure of Herbs. Pownal: Storey Communications, 1986. Print.

Shaudys, Phyllis V. Herbal Treasures. Pownal: Storey Communications, 1990. Print.

Ware, Megan. "Mint: Health Benefits, Uses and Risks." Medical News Today. Ed. Helen Webberly. Medical News Today, 16 Feb. 2016. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.

Photo Credits:  

Cultivation of Mint Header Image:  Photo Credit:  Small Herb Garden by William Berry

3 Peppermint Plants:  Photo Credit:  peppermint by Vaclav Mach

If you sniff it, it will grow!:  Photo Credit:  mint plant and cat, by Happy monkey

Mint in Ground in a Pot:  Photo Credit:  http://wildgreen.weebly.com/blog/overwintering-mint-in-a-container

Baby Mint Plants:  Photo Credit:  New Life by Veronika Bakos 

Mint Runners:  Photo credit: sarae via VisualHunt.com / CC BY-ND

My Big Mint Plant:  Photo Credit:  Angela Fox-Thompson

Mint Sprouts:   Photo credit: yoppy via Visualhunt / CC BY

Mint Roots:  Photo Credit:  https://domestocrat.net/2013/11/01/diy-planting-mint/

Harvesting Mint:  Photo Credit:  harvest mint at vegetable garden by lzf

Dried and Fresh Mint:  Photo Credit:  Tea & mint. by Machara

Hanging Mint to Dry:  Photo credit: wayneandwax via VisualHunt / CC BY-NC-SA

Mint Gone Wild:   Photo credit: swanksalot via VisualHunt / CC BY-NC-SA

Mint in Metal Basket:  Photo Credit:  Green fresh mint on wooden background by Daniel Vincek

Cultivation of Mint Header Image:  Photo Credit:  Small Herb Garden by William Berry