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Botanical name: Mentha

Plant type: Herb

Sun exposure: Full Sun

Soil type: Loamy

Mint is a perennial with very fragrant, toothed leaves and tiny purple, pink, or white flowers. It has a fruity, aromatic taste. The mint family has many varieties, but it will take over your garden, so be careful where you plant it.

Planting

  • For growing outdoors, plant one or two purchased plants (or one or two cuttings from a friend) about 2 feet apart in moist soil. One or two plants will easily cover the ground. Mint should grow to be 1 or 2 feet tall.
  • In the garden, plant mint near cabbage and tomatoes.
  • If you don't want an entire bed of mint, buy some plants or take some cuttings from a friend and plant them in containers filled with potting mix enriched with compost. Remember to keep the plants in a sunny spot.

Care

  • Minimal care is needed for mint. For outdoor plants, use a light mulch. This will help keep the soil moist and keep the leaves clean.
  • For indoor plants, be sure to water them regularly to keep the soil evenly moist.

Pests

Harvest/Storage

  • Right before flowering, cut the stems 1 inch from the ground. You can harvest one mint plant two or three times in one growing season.
  • You can also just pick the leaves as you need them.
  • You can grow the plants indoors for fresh leaves throughout the winter. If you want to dry them, it's best to cut the leaves right before flowering. Store the dried leaves in an airtight container.

Recommended Varieties

  • Spearmint, which is the type most commonly used in cooking
  • Peppermint, for a strong aroma

Recipes

Wit & Wisdom

  • Mice dislike the smell of peppermint. Spread it liberally where you suspect the critters.
  • To relieve a tension headache, apply a compress of mint leaves to your forehead.

Comments

By Anonymous on April 28

Every Spring, we get ants in our bathroom. Everyone tells me that ants don't like mint, but the funny part is, they have to make their way through a huge mint bed to get to the bathroom. Upon closer inspection, they not only made their way across the mint bed, but were living in it--it had several tiny ant hills throughout the patch. I used diatomaceous earth to get rid of the ants and have completely dug up the mint bed.

A warning to those who plant mint in pots and bury the pots to contain the roots: Make absolutely sure there is no drainage hole in the pot--root runners will find their way into the surrounding soil if there is. And, do not allow the plant to go to seed--mint seeds are very tiny and hard to catch, and will reseed in your garden the following year.

By Anonymous

You can try food grade diatomaceous earth. Insects do not like it because it dries them out. It is all natural, cheap, and even humans can ingest it for various purposes. This is often put in farm animal grains to kill intestinal worms AND to kill insects that may try to live in their foods. Works wonders, I hear from the local pet shelter, in controlling fleas if sprinkled on fur and in beddings (this shelter gives some orally to animals to rid them of parasites). Sprinkled on and around plants, helps control insects without harming humans or pets! Make sure it is food grade. Non-food grade is not the same and is deadly to people and animals!

By Anonymous

I'm new to growing mint and I've researched how to take care of it, but none really go into detail of what I want to know. I first put my mint plant inside and it seemed to attract spiders and I don't know if that's a good thing, or if they are gonna ruin my plant. What do I do with the bad leaves? How many sprigs should I take out to keep it from growing but not falling on top of each other?

By Almanac Staff

For spider mites: The trick is to catch the mites very early. Douse the plant in water daily. If you see the mites, spray with insecticidal soap as directed. If the mites are too prolific, there's not a lot you can do. Trim down the central stem to encourage bushy growth. You want the mint to say compact and fill the pot. Pinch off bad leaves. You can truly harvest the mint any time; it grows so aggressively that you won't slow it down. Pick leaves from the top to encourage bushiness. Do not pick more than a third of the plant at a time.

By Anonymous

how do I get rid of it without killing other plants in the same area?

By Almanac Staff

The short answer is carefully. In spring, start by uprooting the mint plants, while causing minimal disturbance to their neighbors. Do this as soon as you see the mint emerging, certainly before the mints produce flowers. Continue uprooting mint every time you see it. (If the plant's root can not produce leaves, it can not grow.) This might take a season or two, but eventually it should cease to appear.
If you want to keep a plant or two, contain the plant above ground or in a container below ground. It's worth having some around; it is a good ingredient in salads and other dishes.
We hope this helps!

By Anonymous

I heard that the mint plant itself will repel ants. is this true? I'm pretty new to gardening/small farming and ants almost destroyed my garden earlier this year. The small reddish ones

By Anonymous

I use alum (Pickering spice) just sprinkle around the house where you see or suspect them to be, thay take it back to the nest and it dehydrates them
It works well
Sandra

By Almanac Staff

Mint is known to prevent ants from entering your home if planted around the foundation. If you plant mint in your garden sink containers into the ground as mint is very invasive.

By Anonymous

I plant mint in containers and then set the containers in the ground. No need to remove them in the fall. They winter over just fine and the containers help keep them from spreading like wildfire.

By Anonymous

Have Lemon Mint- also- have grown pineapple mint

By Anonymous

I've had chocolate mint yum : )

By Anonymous

Since, I believe, Ground Hogs are of the rodent family, I wonder it will work to keep the Ground Hogs away?

By Almanac Staff

Here are our best suggestions on how to control Groundhogs (Woodchucks): http://www.almanac.com/content/woodchucks

By Anonymous

i remember reading years ago people putting chewing gum in the hole for moles ..maybe it was mint gum.. worth a try

By Anonymous on May 10

I've been told to use Juicy Fruit :)

By sandykay0601

I have chocolate mint that I got one summer while on vacation. The condo we were staying in was a friend's and he said to get some of the mint out of the yard to take home to plant. Only one plant made it the long trip home. I planted it next to my house close to where the air conditioner drains. Take heed to the advice to be careful where you plant it. It has taken over my front yard! It is very hardy and will come back stronger every summer.

By Anonymous

Mice may dislike but roaches associate the peppermint smell with a sweet treat

By Anonymous

Really? I read online mint oils are a natural roach repellent.

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