Growing Mint

Fresh mint leaves on spreading stems. Image credit.

Mint is useful, vigorous, and best grown where its spread can be controlled.

Herbs make a garden more useful. They also make it more alive by adding flowers, scent, texture, and insect activity.

Planting

Choose a site that matches the herb's natural habit. Mediterranean herbs generally prefer sun and drainage. Leafy annual herbs often prefer richer soil and more regular moisture.

Harvest

Harvest herbs before they become woody, exhausted, or overly mature.

Frequent light harvests usually produce better plants than occasional severe cutting.

In the kitchen

Herbs are one of the strongest arguments for gardening. Fresh herbs are expensive to buy, easy to waste, and often better when harvested minutes before use.

Field notes

A small herb planting can change the whole feeling of a garden.