Mint has a reputation for being an herb that will take over your garden like a weed. Judging by how quickly my plant has grown in the past year I have to say it's living up to it's reputation! Mint is a wonderful, flavorful herb that's easy to grow and has a ton of uses in the home and kitchen. Here are some tips for successfully growing mint without having it completely take over.
* Many herbs require direct sunlight. Mint grows well in partially shady damp areas. Take advantage of this and plant your mint in the shady parts of your garden so you can reserve the sunny spots for the herbs that need more light
* Plant your mint in a container. I keep mine in one of my inside- out tire planters. If you want to plant it directly in the ground make sure you bury the entire pot in the soil to prevent the roots from taking over
* Harvest the mint before it flowers. After it flowers it can end up tasting bitter
* Pinch off the flower buds to extend the growing season.
* Instead of buying several mint plants from the nursery just buy one and divide it as it grows. You can literally cut the plant in half and get two plants out of one.
* Apply mulch around the plant to keep it from spreading and cut it back regularly.
What are your favorite tips for planting mint?
Certain varieties of Mint will grow very tall instead of branching out. However, I have found that cutting off the top half of the plant will cause it to grow new branches lower down on the plant. I found this to be quite useful for growing mint indoors with limited space.
ReplyDeletegreat tip thanks for sharing!
DeleteMint is one of the main ingredients for mojitos - I just may have to give this a try!
ReplyDeleteOh I love Mojito! I also use mint in bean soup. Thank you for the valuable tips Adrienne!
DeleteSo timely! My friend just returned form Cuba with a never-ending thirst for them, so we'll be having an all-girl mojito party/photo shoot this weekend!
DeleteAll this talk of mojitos is making me thirsty!
DeleteInteresting! I get the feeling I can apply these same tricks to some of my other container plants... I will start pinching my plants right away! ;)
ReplyDeleteYes, you can do this with other herbs and veggies as well!
DeleteWe started growing Apple Mint last year and it is a wonderful variety- lush, succulent, 2'-3' tall and smells delightful. Fantastic in summertime mojitos as well! Yes and the more you pinch back all herbs- the more they branch and bush.
ReplyDelete