Mint, refreshments for the summer

Mint

Growing mint yourself is easy, and it’s recommended for every person who likes to flavor their desserts and meals with mint!

Summary of main Mint facts

NameMentha
FamilyLamiaceae
Type – herbs and spices

Height – 8 to 24 inches (20 to 60 cm)
Exposure – full sun, part sun
Soil – light, well-drained

Harvest – May to October

Forget about store-bought mint wrapped in plastic. That only keeps for a couple days. Best grow your own and pick a few leaves when you need it!

Rediscover what real mint tastes like!

Planting mint

Planting mint outdoors

You’ll often be purchasing your mint in pots: transplant it to the ground sometime in April.

You can also leave it in its original pot for a while for easy picking indoors or on a balcony.
What is best, though, for growing potted mint is to re-pot immediately after purchasing in a larger pot.

Planting mint indoors

This plant is perfectly suited to indoor growing, or on a balcony, in a pot or garden box.

Take care to water regularly so that the soil mix never dries up.

Collecting and harvesting mint

You can harvest mint leaves all spring and summer long right when you need it.

Select larger leaves, and snip the entire stem off, so that new shoots can appear.

It is preferable to pick the leaves early morning before the sun alters the flavor-bearing compounds in the leaves.

Planting mint in a pot

It is very easy to grow your mint inside your house, on a balcony or terrace. The powerful fragrance released also spreads an agreeable smell throughout the house or along the terrace.

What is the best season to plant it?

There isn’t any “better” season to grow mint indoors.

You can really grow it all year long, even in winter.
Usually it is added to summer meals.

It is mostly grown from April to September-October, both indoors and outdoors.

Choose a sunny, well-lit space like a windowsill, but avoid direct sun.

  • Water as soon as the soil is dry.
  • Fertilize the soil for better productivity.

All there is to know about mint

Mint flavor pairs well with many meals, fruit salads and sauces and it is also famous for flavoring certain drinks, especially tea and mojito.

Growing it is rather easy as long as basic rules are followed.

  • Favor full or part sun exposure but never scorching.
  • Consistently moist soil.
  • Fertilization from May to August.

There are 25 mint species. Simply remember that most of them are rather invasive and that growing them in pots or garden boxes will prevent them from spreading everywhere in the garden.

Mint and pests

Mint excels at repelling various pests. Place it in pots or containers around kale and lettuce to keep caterpillars of the white butterfly away.

Strawberry mint, a delicious variety

Discover strawberry mint, a deliciously flavorful variety that tastes like strawberry!

In this video on mint, you’ll have the tips that a producer will give you directly to grow it well, use it in the kitchen, and he’ll give you his smart tip, too!

Smart tip about mint

Mint is difficult to freeze and tends to turn black. It’s always best to use it fresh, or dried. Fresh mint is always more flavorful.

Read also on herbs and spices:


Credits for images shared to Nature & Garden (all edits by Gaspard Lorthiois):
Fresh pair of mint leaves by Rosalyn & Gaspard Lorthiois, own work