Tips for Growing Mint
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Helpful tips for growing mint in your own garden.
Mint can hold it’s own in the culinary world, deservedly so. Just imagine no mint juleps or mint chocolate chip ice cream. That would be very sad. Very sad, indeed.
Growing mint in your garden is easy to do, although mint can be quite the booger, sending out runners underground to resurface yards away. Of all herbs in the garden, mint (along with Lemon Balm) is one of the hardiest, most prolific, aggressive overachiever of the bunch. It can be quite the pain if not planted correctly. I’ve pulled up yards and yards of mint rooster the years.
Here are a few areas it’s popped up several feet away from where it was originally planted.
Don’t let this be a discouragement from growing some of your own. There are ways to grow this helpful, tasty herb and not have it take over your whole neighborhood, so you can have a supply of mint ready at hand for that next batch of mint jelly. Unfortunately, I learned these tips the hard way, after it was already planted, thriving, and way out of control. So, please, learn from my mistakes.
The easiest way is to plant mint to control the spreading is to plant it in a large container with drainage holes that are covered with mesh, so it can drain but keep the roots from sneaking through the hole and overtaking the county.
Another way to manage the mint is to dig a hole the size you want your mint patch to be, about a foot or so deep, then line it with landscaping fabric, refill with soil, then plant the mint. Be sure to watch for feelers as they could still creep over the top edge of the landscape fabric, escaping the set boundary. Mint is sneaky, y’all.
When deciding on the perfect patch for the mint, look for well drained soil, but not too dry. Mint likes moisture and is happiest in partial shade. Certain varieties can handle full sun better than others. Too much shade will result in leggy mint. Which will still taste wonderful, but may not produce as many leaves as you’d like.
Tips for growing mint:
- Mint prefers partial shade. Full sun will do, but part shade is best.
- Choose a spot with moist but well drained soil. Mint prefers fertile soil with a pH from 6.0 to 7.0.
- Plant mint seedlings after frost about 18-24 inches apart.
- Mint can be grown from seed, plants, or even one of the fastidious runners/roots.
- Harvest tips regularly to keep plants in check and encourage best growth.
- For the best flavored mint with a strong scent, transplant your mint every 3-4 years.
There are many varieties of mint to choose from as well. Check out these varieties (information gleaned from Clemson Extension):
- Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is one of the easiest varieties to grow, and is the variety usually used in mint juleps and teas.
- Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) is what you grow for that candy cane flavor.
- Ginger mint (Mentha x gentilis)
- Applemint (Mentha rotundifolia)
- Pineapple mint ( Mentha suaveolens ‘Variegata’)
- Corsican mint (Mentha corsica) is a dwarf variety.
Of course, I know where you can get some on the cheap – free even! I have this friend who is a mint farmer, and she…oh, who am I fooling. If you are ever in the area, I’d be happy to share some IF you promise to plant it in a container.
Originally posted June 7, 2011. Updated June 2, 2015.
growing mint reminds me of my childhood…when we had to go help out in the backyard instead of stay inside and watch Nick at Night we always had the treat of chewing on the mint leaves in the garden. such good memories!
This looks lovely! I really need to grow some of my own herbs at home…we have plenty of space in the yard! Ok, summer project! 😀
I’m growing mint for the first time this year, but I have them planted in hanging baskets on my back porch. I did not know they would run or be difficult in the garden until one of my plants shot out a runner from the bottom of the basket! LOL
Thank you for this post–it’s very helpful and informative.
–shelley
I discovered a super cheap and easy hole blocker: big $1 pack of scouring pads (from The Dollar Store, no less) that I cut in half for about 20 pots. No worry about rust, just toxic unknown chems from the plastic? They work great for my mints as long as I harvest the reaching runners!
Sadly, I forgot it for my potted Abutilon, which has rooted deeply through the hole.
Great idea! Thank you for sharing.
Every year I battle the mint. My mother told me to plant it only in pots, but did I listen? no. Instead I planted 6 varieties and watched it take over every other plant! It is impressive, and I spend my summers trying to figure out how to use it up!
Gorgeous Amy! is it too late for me to plant some?
So pretty!! I always love looking at the photographs from your garden. They keep me from having to actually plant my own 😉
And I LOOOOVE mint. One of my favorites.
Do you have any good recipes for mint you would like to share? I have mint growing in my garden mainly to have on hand for a mojito or two.
Your mint is beautiful. I wish I had a lot like you.
OVTIwE kzrmoqerjmog
I absolutely adore mint! One of my coworkers recently cut some mint from her bushes and I tried potting it. Some of the leaves have died but there are still quite a few green ones. Hope springs eternal! 🙂 Thanks for the tips.
We planted mint the first summer we moved in this house, four years ago. The directions said to buy a large pot, cut the bottom off, and then pop that in the hole you’re planting the mint it. So far, so good! The mint comes back every year, and it hasn’t invaded the garden yet.
Our oregano, on the other hand (which also comes back every year), has popped up a couple feet away from the original plant. Bugger.
My oregano has creeped a bit this year but it looks like instead of offshoots, that it has seeded and we now have what I like to ‘affectionately’ call…volunteers. I’m calling the neighbors this weekend to harvest it before I pull it out of the ground. I have enough herbs for my entire street!
I just bought some mint — had some before we moved. I ALWAYS keep it in a container… you can blink and it is all over! Do love having it though. Good posting on other ways to contain it!
My grandma has mint growing everywhere. I want to roll around in it every Summer. I wish mint preserved well…. so that I could have it all year round.
My mint is planted in a 5 gallon paint bucket that was then planted in a hole in the ground. All I have to watch out for are runners that might take off and take root. It’s been in that same bucket since I bought this house 20 years ago and I’m so glad the previous owners knew to do that. I have friends who have lovely mint gardens. Lots and lots of mint; everywhere!
I did basically the same thing – just used a planter about 12″ in diameter, planted it right in the ground. There are still some stray runners to pull up here and there, but it’s completely manageable. LOVE having mint right out the back door, so refreshing for summer drinks!
Yes, mint can be a challenge–but so worth it. I keep my in pots, more because I rent than I’m worried about it spreading too much, but it’s a great option. Plus I can keep 4 varieties without having to worry about them taking over my world. 🙂 Gorgeous photos!
yes, mint is very invasive as i learned the hard way; now i just plant it in a single pot . . . and yep, i have to water it more frequently but i don’t have to deal with the ‘invasion of the mint-snatchers!’
Love mint! I have been known to just pinch off a sprig and stick it in my hair so I can smell it all day.
If I grew anything, mint would be at the top of the list. Thanks for the pictures. Very serene 🙂
Ahhhhh, I just wanna roll around in all that cool yummy mint.
We just bought orange mint at the farmer’s market this weekend. I’m glad we just happened to plant it in a planter.. that was a total fluke, but thanks for the mint lesson.
You know what else is prolific in its own right? Lemon balm. Want some? I have more than I can ever use.