Home Gardeners

Mentha – How to Plant, Grow and Care for Mint Easily

Do you know how to grow a mint plant easily?

Well, growing a mint plant from seeds is very easy at home indoors. You just need to take care of mint plants by providing the water, sunlight, nutrients and many other factors that are responsible for the growth. Here in this article, we share the complete information about how to grow, care and harvest the mint plant.

Mint essential oil has major commercial application uses in toothpaste, games, candy, chocolates, beauty products and the fresh or dried leaves are used in tea, food, herbal and Ayurvedic medicines.

For more information about the mint plant, read the full-length article.

Mint Companions

Mint is one of the best herbs to grow easily at home and garden. Companion planting with mint will help to control the pest problem, pollination and improves the plant growth. It not only benefits the mint plant, but also the one which is placed near to it (i.e. Mutual benefits exist).

Mint plants love to grow with kale, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, beets, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, bell peppers, lettuce, squash, peas, eggplant, radish, cauliflower, and carrots. All these plants help to boost the mint plant with a high yield that spreads all around in your garden space.

Mint Varieties

Most of the mint species grow well in wet environments and moist soils. These mint varieties may grow to a height of 10-100cms tall and spreads over an indefinite area.  The table given below illustrates the list of some popular mint varieties to grow easily in your home and garden space.

How to Grow Mint From Seed?

• To grow mint herb, start purchasing mint seeds from store or online. If your neighbors grow mint plants collect few mint seeds from them and plant it in your home or garden.
• To speed up the germination process, soak the mint seeds in a bowl of warm water for a day. Now remove the seeds from it and allow it dry for some time. Plant the seeds in the early morning or evening times for easy accessing.
• Choose a pot or container that is more than 8 inches in diameter and 10-12 inches deep to grow mint plant starting from seeds. Avoid using shallow containers as the mint roots may spread out of the bottom drainage hole.
• Mostly mint plants will tolerate in shade and some other variegated species may require protection from the direct sunlight. Mint prefers mostly well-drain soil with a pH ranging from 7-8.
• For mint indoor plants, when it is dry, water regularly to keep the soil evenly moist. When the plant matures supply in huge amounts. The best temperature to grow mint plants is 60-80F.

Pests and Diseases

• The plant grows to a height of 2 feet tall when you provide the plant with sufficient nutrients to the plants. If not the plant growth diminishes and may die. It is due to the lack of nutrients supplied to the plants in the form of water, sunlight and from other growth factors.
• Feed the mint plant with a balanced liquid fertilizer in early spring season where new growth emerges. Fertilize the plant for every 4-6 weeks during its growing season to thrive quickly.
• When the mint plant bloom flowers, it makes the mint leaves less fragrant and flavorful. Initially, watch out for buds that are about to bloom flowers. Once the bud appears to pinch off the buds using cutters. If necessary, prune the dead or diseased leaves to ensure new and fast growth in every growing season (2-3 times).
• Transplant mint into the bigger pots every year if the roots grow to a certain height and emerge out of the pot Before the plant begins to flower, cut 1inch from the ground level. You can harvest the mint plant twice or thrice in its growing season and pick the leaves. Now grow the plants indoors for fresh leaves throughout the winter season.
• If you allow the plant to grow further than it will produce flowers and at this moment the mint leaves aren’t so tasty and cannot be used for cooking. Store the mint leaves in a cool, dark place such as a refrigerator to stay fresh for a week.

How to Propagate Mint Plant?

To propagate the mint plant from cuttings outdoors is easy and requires less care. Propagating mint plants from cuttings takes less time to reach the maturity stage than compared to the mint plant grown from seeds. It also saves your valuable time and money. Here is the simple procedure to grow mint herb from cuttings in both soil and water.

Soil

To grow a mint plant in soil, select a stem or say mint seedling or baby mint plant of height ranging from 8-12 inches. Out of all the varieties like lemon mint, sweet mint, spearmint, and peppermint, spearmint are most commonly used for cooking purposes. As mint is a fast-spreading plant it is well suited for growing outdoors or landscaping. Plant the baby mint plant in the spring season or fall when the climate is free from frost.

Now you can add a polymer or a mix of perlite and vermiculite to improve the soil fertility. Water regularly to maintain the soil moisture levels. When the plant matures, you can see the fresh young leaves, harvest them and use it in cooking recipes.

Water

Take a strong, healthy stem cutting off 4-6 inches height from the parent mint plant. Make sure the mint plant has enough leaves and small branches. If necessary, trim off the bottom leaves of the mint plant stem. Place the mint plant cutting in a jar or a glass of water to sprout. Provide bright indirect sunlight by placing it near a  window location. Change the water in the glass for 4-5 days or so as to prevent from root rot, absorb the nutrients from the water and to develop roots. Within a week new white roots will appear under the water to a certain length.  Now it is ready to transplant outdoors for better growth.

How to Care for Mint Plant

Following are some useful tips to grow and care for your homegrown mint plants.

• Frequent watering of mint plants may wash away the soil nutrients.
• For indoor mint plants, water regularly i.e. Twice a day (early morning and evening times).
• When you prefer to grow mint plant outdoors, add mulch at the base of the plant. This will help them to keep the leaves clean and maintain the soil moist but not soggy.
• Frequent harvesting of mint leaves is the key to keep the mint plant strong and healthy. They have young leaves that are more flavor than the older ones.
• Before the mint plant starts flowering, cut 1 inch above from the ground level. You can harvest mint plant 2-3 times in its best growing season.
• No need of using gardening tools such as shears or cutters to harvest young leaves or the stem. You can easily pick them with hands.
• If you want to have dry leaves, then cut before it starts flowering and stores them in an airtight container.

Is Mint a perennial or annual?

Mint is a herbaceous plant in the family of Lamiaceae. These plants are mostly considered as perennials and rarely as annuals because it can produce flowers and requires some growing conditions to bloom. The best temperature to grow the mint plant at home indoors is 60-80F.

Can you grow a mint plant in winter season?

To grow a mint plant in the winter season from seeds or cuttings at home indoors, make sure you use only the moist well-drain fertile soil. Although mint is a frost tolerant plant, it may die in the USDA zones of 5-8. So allow the plant to receive sunlight during the daytime and then you can bring back to the room at night times.

Why mint plant leaves turn Yellow color?

Mint plants like full sunlight, but when planted at low light conditions leaves may stretch, become weak and may fall over. Sometimes you may see the brown spots or black on mint leaves and also corresponds to the yellow splotch on the top of the leaves which is a fungal infection.

For more information refer: Why are my plants turning yellow?

Is mint plant safe for your pets?

Other than catnip (cat-friendly mint plant) mint variety, all other plant varieties can cause some side effects like stomach upset, liver damage, to your pets, especially cats and dogs when consumed the young mint leaves, stems and the beautiful flowers.

Mint Health Benefits

When comes to the health, fruits and vegetables serve the best that contains proteins, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to keep you strong and healthy. But there are some fresh herbs that are as equal as fruits and vegetables in providing nutrients to the body. Mint comes first in the order when we discuss the herbs.

One serving, 100 grams of mint leaves contain 70 calories, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of proteins and remaining fat and other essential nutrients. A Mint plant nutrition is a great source of calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron for maintaining your body. Here are some health benefits of mint plant leaves when consumed raw or used for cooking purposes.

• The fresh mint herb leaves add flavor to the cooking recipes and also helps to cut down the sodium level intake in the body.
• The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of mint like rosmarinic acid act like a natural treatment for allergies when applied to your skin with proper dosage.
• Menthol content as a natural aromatic decongestant helps to break down the cooling effect by relieving sore throat when taken with a tea (i.e. Popular as mint tea).
• Consuming mint leaves as an Ayurvedic medicine helps to treat indigestion, gastric ulcers, asthma and for bone health.
• It is also used to treat a headache, rashes, improves sterility and for weight loss.

Now you have got an idea about mint (Mentha) plant; start growing mint herb plant at home indoors that benefits your health by providing nutrients to the body. If you have amazing ideas about growing a mint plant, please share your experience with us in the comment section given below.

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