Mint Plants: Using Mints to Cool Hot Days

Besides keeping you cool on hot days, mint is also used to flavor many items such as meats and vegetables. The oils extracted from some mints are used in perfumes, tooth paste, chewing gum and medicines. Although no one knows for certain where the first garden mints grew, it is believed that they were brought to North Africa from the Orient. From there they spread throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Spearmint was an important herb for the ancient Egyptians as well as for the Greeks and Romans.

As early as the 6th century mint was being used in teeth cleaning preparations. Among the most popular mints grown for flavoring foods are peppermint and spearmint. They are very easily grown, and can often be found growing wild, having escaped from cultivation. Although both these plants can often be grown under a wide range of conditions, they are at their best in fairly wet ground, and are often found growing in wet areas along streams or ponds.

Plenty of water is necessary for them to produce their most tender, aromatic growth. Garden mints are hardy perennials, propagated from roots or runners. Cuttings may be easily rooted, but they spread so rapidly that few gardeners find this method necessary. To start mint plants simply take a few runners with good roots from existing plants and reset them in moist soil where there is some shade. This is best done in early spring, but can be done throughout the growing season if adequate moisture is provided for their establishment.

Probably the greatest problem in growing mint in the garden or flower border is keeping it from spreading over other plants. Other than pulling it out occasionally, its spread can be reduced by surrounding the plants with metal strips dug into the soil. Very large cans or old buckets with the tops and bottoms cut out can be dug into the soil. If placed with the rim slightly above soil level, the mints planted within it can be confined. Mint plants will creep between bricks and blocks, so although their spread is slowed, this method is not totally effective.

Mints of most types can also be used indoors in pots. They require a bright window for best growth. Since they get leggy, they need to be cut back occasionally. Plants of spearmint and peppermint have some similarities and are sometimes confused. Spearmint has young stems that are green in color but eventually become reddish. It leaves have either no leaf stalk, or they have a very short stalk (petiole). Peppermint leaves, on the other hand, have a definite leaf stalk. The flower heads of spearmint are longer and looser than those of peppermint. Peppermint rarely produces seeds after flowering while it is common to find small brown seeds in the flower heads of spearmint.

Another popular garden mint is woolly mint, also known as apple mint or Bowles mint. It has large round leaves with a woolly texture. Mints may be used fresh or frozen. They are most often dried, however, for easy storage. Simply cut the plants about the time they are in flower. Spread them on screens in a dry, warm place. When they are thoroughly dry, strip the leaves from the stems, and store them in tightly covered containers.

The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, by Edward C. Smith.