Growing mint

On 2008-04-01 10:02, 54 house of bamboo wrote:
Moroccan mint is my favourite. What's that called in the US I wonder? :wink:

Mentha spicata 'Nana' or 'Moroccan'

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The Stevenson Wedding Mug by Cheekytiki, 2006

[ Edited by: 54 house of bamboo 2008-04-01 10:15 ]

I grow my mint indoors and on my balcony during the summer because of our harsh climate (sweden) and it grows like crazy in a large wide low pot and supplies enough mint for my drinks and food. And even though i`m in new orleans during five weeks every summer the mint still just grows with occasional watering from my room companion.

When the fall comes it starts to decline and then i throw it away and re-start with fresh cuttings from the store next spring. I buy Moroccan mint and plant a bunch of cuttings that i first root in a glass of water ( they root very quickly)Then i top them regularly. Never had any problems with growing mint, gotta be the easiest plant on earth to grow.

I have tried a a few other varietes like the chocolate mint for example but in think the best one is the moroccan.

In the past 2-3 years, I've noticed that the mentha spicata plants that I buy every year from my local Lowe's, as they mature, quickly take on a very skunky odor, yes, they start to smell like another recreational green that some of you may have experience with. Mentha Spicata always has a strong odor, but I prefer my Mai Tais to smell like mint, not herb :D This year, I'm using more "spearmint" instead, (more triangular, smoother leaves) and it stays minty, but sweet smelling. All the front porch plants are loving this hot, wet summer.

Wow... are you planting them in containers or something? I've never heard of someone needing to re-purchase mint every year. I keep mine in an isolated bed that has no ability to reach the regular soil and I usually end up ripping out all but a few plants just to let it take over again.

I think I'm using spearmint as well instead of peppermint. They're all from Lowe's as well. I don't think I have the latin names handy, my plants are several years old. But I never get any sort of problems with a musty smell or taste. The only problem I have is that if I don't cut them enough they go to seed and become thinner/less bushy. They need to be cut periodically. Think I'm gonna have a small cocktail party at home tonight -- will go heavy on the garnishes to use some up and to encourage more growth.

Mint spreads quickly and is hard to control. Comments made by Wizzard are worth heeding.

Mint usually has very little smell until it starts getting damaged (such as when you slap it, pick it, etc) or the plant is stressed. That makes me suspect it might just be getting too much/to little (depending on the scenario) water.

Each October I go to my local Lowes or Wal-Mart and purchase 10 or 12 "Sweet Mint" plants and then re-plant thm in to my larger pots on my patio. I water them daily, give them full sunlight and feed weekly with Miracle Grow. I've been doing this for years and years. These plants have nice large leaves and last me until about mid May or June when it just gets too hot here in Florida and they burn up. I repeat the process.

Ah, watering. I have become very experienced with drip irrigation. Nothing is so nice as knowing that when you're away for a few days, or you're simply forgetful, that your plants are being watered for you with a $25 timer and some drip tubing.

The only problem with drip irrigation, at least in drier climates, is that it often isn't enough for larger plants. You really don't want it for fruit trees either since it isn't enough and causes the roots to stay close to the surface which can make the tree more likely to fall.

Wizzard, you are absolutely correct. For larger plants (and trees) you would use higher volume "bubblers" and other similar emitters to get the same effects - water savings, automation, etc. You can also use more than one emitter -- five 1-gallon/hour emitters left running for an hour will apply five gallons of water to a large fruit tree.

I was referring to watering mint plants for which we would use small drip emitters depending on the size and quantity of the plants. They make sprayers and other inline water volume controls for spray micro-irrigation to address all kinds of needs in all kinds of climates. Check out the drip irrigation section of a Lowe's store next time you're out there. And look around Palm Springs and other hot weather climates to see how they water their plants. Also, Disney integrates misters and drippers of various kinds into their topiaries and sometimes those are visible as well.

Drip irrigation is fun and effective. Now I can drink too much at my home bar (or any other bar) and still ensure that my garnishes get watered on schedule. To quote John in GE's Carousel of Progress, "Folks, now that's progress!"

Yeah, for stuff I rip out at the end of a season (most production crops) it is great. I actually have a networked controller for the system that also modifies the volume based on what is planted there and the weather.

That's great! I've thought about going in that direction, but then too much automation might discourage me from looking at things. I'm still considering more automation, but I'm not convinced that anything I buy right now will be around in a couple more years. And that's important because I would start it and expand it in segments. Your post is encouraging.

With the irrigation controller, I use rain machine, it might be here a few years from now. But I am not sure how it will exist in the future. The product itself is better than anything else on the market since it is easier to set up (same use of wires and will work with old systems), program, and adjust. But the higher pricetag would scare away interest from companies like rainbird since many customers probably wouldn't care. Google might be interested since it would go with the Nest line.

On 2014-06-28 11:07, wizzard419 wrote:
With the irrigation controller, I use rain machine, ...

http://www.rainmachine.com/index.html

This looks awesome! It's wifi enabled and adjusts watering based on local forecasts, temperature, and rainfall data.
Thanks for the heads up. I want one.

Yep, if you set up port forwarding you can also then control it when you're not home as well. That and it has an app that allows you to not have to be near the controller to do things.

On 2014-06-28 12:03, Hakalugi wrote:

On 2014-06-28 11:07, wizzard419 wrote:
With the irrigation controller, I use rain machine, ...

http://www.rainmachine.com/index.html

This looks awesome! It's wifi enabled and adjusts watering based on local forecasts, temperature, and rainfall data.
Thanks for the heads up. I want one.

It won't be of much use in California, since we have none of those weather or rainfall issues.

It actually is quite useful here, not only does it reduce output in rain or on cool days, it also bumps it up when it is hot and dry out (based on your microclimate).

Wizzard, it looks like you've encouraged more folks than just me! Thanks for the hot tips. Everyone knows that wilted or dead mint plants suck. (Just had to throw that last thing in to relate back to the thread title, ha...)

On 2014-06-26 19:27, wizzard419 wrote:
Wow... are you planting them in containers or something? I've never heard of someone needing to re-purchase mint every year. I keep mine in an isolated bed that has no ability to reach the regular soil and I usually end up ripping out all but a few plants just to let it take over again.

Correct. I buy them every year, let them grow for a couple of weeks before I start cutting off bunches for mai tai garnish. I don't have a flower bed or place to plant, though I could make one in the back yard. How does one make an isolated bed, especially one that would keep mint from getting out? Just curious.

On 2014-06-28 14:48, Greg_D_R wrote:

On 2014-06-26 19:27, wizzard419 wrote:
Wow... are you planting them in containers or something? I've never heard of someone needing to re-purchase mint every year. I keep mine in an isolated bed that has no ability to reach the regular soil and I usually end up ripping out all but a few plants just to let it take over again.

Correct. I buy them every year, let them grow for a couple of weeks before I start cutting off bunches for mai tai garnish. I don't have a flower bed or place to plant, though I could make one in the back yard. How does one make an isolated bed, especially one that would keep mint from getting out? Just curious.

Think of it like Alcatraz. You would need a bed with a physical barrier at the bottom and on a hard/solid surface surrounding it. Because mint spreads prolifically through even the tiniest of remnant you need to handle it in the same way you would handle an ecological threat. When I pull the mint I usually end up pulling a decently thick carpet of their roots as well.

On 2014-06-28 15:26, wizzard419 wrote:

Think of it like Alcatraz. You would need a bed with a physical barrier at the bottom and on a hard/solid surface surrounding it. Because mint spreads prolifically through even the tiniest of remnant you need to handle it in the same way you would handle an ecological threat. When I pull the mint I usually end up pulling a decently thick carpet of their roots as well.

Aaaand that is why I re-buy potted plants every year :D Thanks guys, but I'm more of a craftsman than a farmer. I'd rather be cutting wood or wiring lights than digging rocks out of my backyard.

I don't imagine many other TCers have this exact problem: I woke up the other morning to find an elk (most likely) had nearly obliterated my mint plant.

But he didn't get the rum....

On 2019-08-18 17:23, Hamo wrote:
I don't imagine many other TCers have this exact problem: I woke up the other morning to find an elk (most likely) had nearly obliterated my mint plant.

But he didn't get the rum....

I've never had a elk eat my mint, but I did have deer and raccoon eat all of my tomatoes and oregano down to the stumps.

Also, we had a badger lumbering down around below our back deck one morning a few summers ago. My wife was out there eating breakfast when she called to me
to ask me what that weird animal was... I was like "Holy hells! Stay up here- do NOT go down into the yard!!!" LOL

You don't mess with badgers. Only time I've seen one here. Although we've got pretty much everything else that lives in the area.

Coyote, wolves, deer, some sort of weasel-or-fisher, owls and bats of all sorts, and, occasionally, something that shrieks in the night that sounds
like fingernails down a blackboard- and DEFINITELY not cats. We're too wild to have very many feral cats (apart from the occasional mountain lion that
works it's way south).

Hmmm... I had a gopher eat my papaya tree, chewed it in half just below ground level

I must have a really black thumb (and/or heart); I've managed to kill mint twice.

Had an absolutely beautiful, full plant we received as a housewarming gift a few months ago. I kept it going and looking decent with frequent water and moving out of the full 100+ degree summer sun. I was feeling pretty good about it.

Then we went away for 2 weeks and just came back to a hard, brown, stringy mess. I'm not sure whether it was the lack of water or that the temperature dipped too low while we were away, but it appears resuscitation ain't gonna happen and there's no evidence of wild critters to blame it on. Hoping the baby lime tree hangs on.

Bamalamalu, the roots might still be alive. Sometimes the leaves dye but the plant is still alive. Try cutting all the dead leaves and water regularly and see if it comes back.

Thanks, I'll give it a shot. It looked bad a couple times this summer after not being watered for a few days and did come back. But this time it looks pretty dire.

Bam-in the ground or in a container? I’ve had success (almost too much) planting it in the lowest part of my yard with about 6-8 hours of sun daily. In a container (terra cotta) I place it under a leaky faucet.
good luck

I was gone for a week in October, and my nice bunch of mint shriveled and died without water. Then I put it outside unpruned and left it there through snow and 20 degree weather over the last month and a half. And just yesterday something came along and ate most of what was left. I hope it comes back in the spring....

Our recent batch was still in the container; haven't figured out the best place to plant it. I had to move it into the shade because it was getting completely fried. I thought it would want sun, but it seemed happier out of it (as long as still kept watering almost every day.) I moved it out into the rain for now; we'll see if it ever comes back!

Guess I should make some mai tai’s.

You want mint? Take some of mine....please! Whilst mint is a very necessary component or garnish of many drinks, (I do so enjoy a good Mint Julep), it can be so damned invasive if you live anywhere near the Tropics as I do. It spreads aggressively from very long underground runners and you won't even notice until it pops up some distances away. NEVER let it near any lawn. Mine invaded by just such method from a nearby garden bed. (Although it does smell great when you mow now.)

Plant it in a pot, with good soil and keep moist/wet even and in the sun. Pick as necessary. I like to keep two pots on the go. If you live in the colder climates it will suffer severely in winter and frost will probably kill it, so it will require some shelter during those colder months. Never be fobbed off with something commonly called "Vietnamese mint". It has a strangely metallic taste and will ruin any drink. It's really only for cooking.

PS: A sprig of slightly bruised mint is the ONLY garnish acceptable for a true Mai Tai. Nothing else.

[ Edited by TIKIGIKI on 2022-09-10 19:08:06 ]

If you can find Apple mint it is really great in Mai Tais/mint julips has a great smell.

I have just started growing a newie for me. It's called "Mohito Mint" and works well in other cocktails too!

I really like spearmint or English mint as opposed to peppermint. Mojito mint is marketed as a variety near me.

Pineapple mint is nice for the variegated leaves which look nice.

Orange mint varieties have a nice citrus aroma but I find them too spindly as a garnish unless part of a bouquet with other larger-leaf varieties.

Here in Australia the wildlife waits patiently for food to be served....

I was without a car for a while last year, and at the beginning of the summer, my sister was going down the mountain to do some shopping. I asked if she would buy me a spearmint plant--I specifically said spearmint, and may have even texted it--and she came back with sweet mint. Then she blamed me because I'd said she should be able to find the mint at Walmart, and since she saw sweet mint at Walmart, she assumed it was the same thing.

I couldn't get that mint to grow at all, and it wasn't out of spite....

"Sweet Mint"? Not familiar with that one here. Could it be also called "eau-de-cologne mint"? There is a "pineapple mint" which should make a nice garnish.

I like to keep at least two pots of plain mint going and regularly cut one down to ground level. If mint is allowed to get too old the leaves become very tough. It's the fresh young shoots that are best and mint is a voracious grower.