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Post by patrice on Aug 10, 2017 22:46:15 GMT -5
I want to grow mint for mojito. The first time I bought seeds I didn't read carefully and got myself some peppermint. Not so good for mojito in my opinion. So I get it right this time, what name should I look for when I shop for seeds? I read about spearmint but I can,t find any seeds for sell under that name so I'm guessing it's named differently.
Thank you
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Post by davidjp on Aug 11, 2017 11:00:24 GMT -5
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Post by desertwoman on Aug 11, 2017 12:22:41 GMT -5
Or if you know someone growing a mint you like, just dig out a small piece to replant at your place. It will spread like crazy so be sure to contain it in some way. I grow mine in a half whiskey barrel. If you plant in-ground you can bury a divider to contain the growth. They make garden divider/edger but from my experience they don't go deep enough to contain the runners- they just slow the spread down.
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Post by patrice on Aug 11, 2017 18:58:17 GMT -5
Thank you for your advices,
Looks like my best option is to go to the grocery and buy mint from there. Last time I tried this I also brought an aphid infestation to my garden so that's why I wanted to start from seeds now. I'll quarantine the mint for a good month before to plant it in the garden this time.
Cheers!
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Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 11, 2017 23:19:36 GMT -5
Spearmint will be pointed, compared to the rounded leaves of the peppermint, so if you get that, and like it in your mojito best, simply root some of the cuttings you bought at the store. It is very easy to root. Or maybe you can try some other peppermints you get in the markets - maybe they'll be different than the ones you started from seed. I prefer the spearmint in tea, and many other things, but the peppermint is OK in the foods I use it in, so I just root some from the store in Sept., when I want to get it growing indoors.
I have a huge patch of spearmint (totally surrounded by concrete - the reason I planted it there!), and I never get aphids in it. Yet, when I tried to grow it indoors, both hydroponically and in soil, the aphids appeared out of nowhere, and it was loaded with them, but only on the stems, not the leaves. And I tried this several times. Yet peppermint never got aphids inside...really strange.
Spearmint is definitely stronger than peppermint, as it has choked out any peppermints I have placed in that patch through the years. I started a half dozen of each way back in the 80s, and have tried several more peppermints since, and they eventually disappear.
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Post by patrice on Aug 12, 2017 17:48:26 GMT -5
Interesting that aphid have only been a problem inside for you. I live on the 3rd floor of a building located in the canadian arctic so I feel confident that unless I import the aphids with the mint I buy from the store, then I should be safe. Chances are the species doesn't exist up here (62nd parallel).
I'll give it a try.
Thanks
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Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 12, 2017 19:53:37 GMT -5
patrice Aphids aren't the only things I get on plants only indoors - I also get scale and spider mites on many plants which never get them outside! The spider mites, especially, show up every time I tried growing several herbs - tarragon, sage, epazote, and rau ram - yet they never get them outside! And red epazote doesn't get spider mites, but the green does! And when I'd try these things again, the spider mites would infest plants next to them, with sort of spillover, but as soon as I'd remove the infested plant, the spillover spider mites on basil and other plants disappear! Yet, I know they are there - waiting for another suitable plant to show up. Insects and eggs can be tracked in from anywhere, and they can be in dust or any place, and appear "out of nowhere", even in a sterilized pot. Which is why, when something seems prone to them, I wait and grow them outside!
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Post by rjmaan on Mar 16, 2018 5:36:56 GMT -5
Mint is a good option to grown in your garden or lawn but i suggest you to go for that variety which is adoptive with your environment and earth conditions.
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Post by wheelgarden1 on Mar 16, 2018 20:06:23 GMT -5
Spearmint is best for dishes, it has a sweetness that other mints don't seem to. Make sure you pick before blooming, else it gets bitter quickly. A great tea with a little ginger added, for upset stomach. Ours is in an open uncontained area that spreads, but gets mowed and trimmed around. Love the scent when we do.
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