Mint

Hi All.
My wife is starting to take more of an active interest in growing veggie plants.I also am going to try this year to grow some veggies in containers just to see how it goes.I said to her to choose what she would like to grow and she said Mint.
She is not a computer person at all so I am doing the research.I have read how many of the members do not have luck with mint and also the growing condition needed etc. What I really struggling with is do I need to start the seeds off with a heated propagator and if so when do I do this.If heated propagator is not needed would a unheated one be suffice and again the time to plant seeds.
Thanks for any info
Peter

 

Not grown mint from seed, usually take cuttings. I know different varieties don't like being grown together, they try to kill each other, so containers are the way to go

 

Buy a pot of already growing mint from supermarket, try the leaves before you buy as "Mint" is a general term,

 

I'd go with the supermarket pot idea. Cheap, and it will spread to give you as muh mint as you need. Or beg a bit from someone who's trying to get rid of it. A lot less trouble than growing from seed.

Good tip about the flavour, it can vary a lot. Some of the perfumed mints are quite unpalatable.

 

I think the reason mint fails for some people is because of the popular misconception that it is rampant in any set of conditions, so people think of it as a 'fire and forget' type plant.

Mint has needs like any other plant, and different types of mint perform different in different conditions.

I found pepper mint to be nice and reliable, but in any case, mint needs moisture retaining soil, and although it likes the sun, it would prefer a bit of shade and moist soil to full sun and dry soil. I don't think it roots very deeply, hence the need for soil that doesn't easily dry out.

 

Even if you buy a bag of mint from your local supermarket and leave in water for 3 weeks will rooting with no problem at all ,.
Remember that mint can be really invasive , my suggestion is to grow in pots or roots bound .
also there are some really nice variety on the market .

some of my favorite are

corsican mint


pinapple mint

ginger mints



pennyroyal mint

 

Had Corsican mint but it died out. I have lots of pineapple mint which I love but it always grows straggly insted of bulking out into a lovely, furry, minty, spotty bushlet.
What do I do wrong?

 

corsican is not hardy , keep your pinapple mint in to a shady and moist place and you will see the difference .

 

Hi All.Thanks for all your help.I am staggered at the different types of mint.I must admit I thought "mint" was just the one kind,so much to learn.

 

We bought some mint from the supermarket I planted it outside in a bucket of compost, not sure if it's the correct way to do it, probably not which is why it seems to be wilting does anyone have any suggestions on how I should plant it ?

 

Supermarket herbs have been force grown. Sown too densely and kept to warm and moist and not enough light, in order to produce rapid tender growth. Maximum output for minimum time = maximum profit. Its why supermarket herbs just don't even come close to the texture and flavour of ones raised properly.

You can save them though and if you put in the effort, you can be rewarded with good yields for very little expense.

My technique is as follows (only done this with basil, but I'd expect it to work with mint too, which has similar requirements).

* Chop off all top growth down to a couple of inches, ie so that only the bottom two or three leaves per stem remain on the plant.
* Water, very, very thoroughly and leave it for an hour or two. The plant is about to go through major trauma so you want it to be as hydrated as possible.
* Take the whole thing out of the pot, and carefully break the soil apart so you end up with 3 or 4 clumps of plant. Root damage is inevitable here, try to minimise it but you can't fully avoid it.
* Plant up these clumps into a larger container, well spaced, or in individual larger pots.
* Water very, very thoroughly again. Break the rules here, the compost should be soggy, but it should be allowed to drain normally.
* Keep the plants somewhere sheltered for a few weeks. Keep them frost free, not too warm, keep well watered (but not soggy after the initial soak), and keep them somewhere light but out of full sun.

After a few weeks, you should start to see strong healthy growth. By then you can start easing off on the intensive care and just treat them normally.