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Post by pepperhead212 on Jun 5, 2022 16:09:37 GMT -5
This mint patch has been growing since sometime in the 80s. It was a weed, when I first bought the house, but I got rid of that (not quickly!), and planted some in a bed surrounded by concrete! I've tried a number of mints, but spearmint is the only one that took over, and also my favorite. A few peppermints come up in the left section every year, but it's not as vigorous. Here it is on 4-17 when I made my first mint iced tea of the season! Something I wait for every season, almost like the first ripe tomato. Mint is growing fast! Some of it is 6 inches tall already, and it is filling out the area, as usual. April 17, 2022 by pepperhead212, on Flickr Here's that mint patch yesterday, showing how it totally filled in, and about the same time as last season. I have done nothing to it, except scratched a little kelp fertilizer into it, before anything came up. And there are only 2 weeds visible in the entire patch - maybe some clover underneath, but that's it! It chokes everything out. Mint patch 6-4 by pepperhead212, on Flickr One of two weeds visible in the mint patch. 6-4 by pepperhead212, on Flickr I am going to trim some of these soon, and spread around some areas - they help keep off some pests. It's a cinch I can't use all this for cooking, or tea!
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Mint
Jun 5, 2022 17:35:41 GMT -5
Post by breezygardener on Jun 5, 2022 17:35:41 GMT -5
I used to grow Peppermint, Chocolate Peppermint, & Spearmint, but these days have only been growing "Sweet mint", which I originally purchased from Lowe's/Bonnie's Plants. According to their website, it's a variety they grow from cuttings that they originally sourced from Israel.
It's very flavorful & a little sweeter & less overpowering than any of the others, which I like.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jun 5, 2022 20:43:34 GMT -5
I grew that chocolate mint many years ago, and it was good the first season, but each year it came back after that, it had less chocolate flavor, and finally, the fourth season had no chocolate - just plain peppermint.
In Indian groceries I see peppermint for sale, so in any Indian recipes calling for mint, that's what I use. In SE Asian markets, however, it's always spearmint that I see, so that's what I use, and it is definitely better in those. I can only grow the peppermint indoors in my hydroponics, as spearmint attracts aphids! Yet, they are never on any mint outside! And I tried several times, and they appear out of nowhere, and end up coating just the stems of the spearmint! Never see any on peppermint, however. It's not as good in tea, or SE Asian, but it's another one of those things that grows like crazy in hydroponics.
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Post by emmsmommy on Jun 6, 2022 15:20:12 GMT -5
I'm partial to spearmint as you couldn't take a walk through my great grandparent's field without tredding on it as it grew wild. I had it growing for several years but I think hubby and the week wacker finally killed it out. The only spearmint that made it through the winter before last were some cuttings I had potted and they didn't come back up this year. Peppermint was taking over but the limbs and debris from the tree cutting fiasco nearly killed it out. Sweet mint is going crazy and chocolate mint is confined in a chimney stone planter. I've added a few more this year and plan to have them growing in more than one area in case one dies out.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Jun 6, 2022 16:07:07 GMT -5
Same here, many others are too strong for my taste. A really good upset stomach remedy is spearmint tea with a few slices of ginger root tossed in.
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Post by emmsmommy on May 10, 2023 11:49:17 GMT -5
Sooo... I did a bad thing. I had pots of mint at the end of one of my raised beds and of course when I lost my steam and slacked off last summer, it took the opportunity to root from every stem that touched the ground. On the bright side, walking down the main path is now a fragrance buffet and I am planning to attend a plant exchange next weekend...
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Mint
May 10, 2023 13:02:05 GMT -5
Post by breezygardener on May 10, 2023 13:02:05 GMT -5
I used to grow both Peppermint & Spearmint until I came across a mint put out by "Bonnie's Plants" called "Sweet Mint". And I love it!! Not as pungent as the other two, it's perfect for any cooking task I use it for. I grow it in a large container, as I'm sure it's just as rampant as other mints.
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Mint
May 11, 2023 17:37:05 GMT -5
Post by alpacasock on May 11, 2023 17:37:05 GMT -5
I planted some mountain mint last year but it really didn't do well so I was surprised to see it come back and looking better than it did all last year. Apparently along with being native to North America it's one of the best mints to attract pollinators. I got my seeds from Strictly Medicinal. Anyone else find that they are a bit stingy with the amount of seeds included in an envelope?
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Mint
Mar 20, 2024 17:07:23 GMT -5
Post by pepperhead212 on Mar 20, 2024 17:07:23 GMT -5
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Mint
Mar 20, 2024 17:45:01 GMT -5
Post by gardendmpls on Mar 20, 2024 17:45:01 GMT -5
I have chocolate mint in one of my large beds. My daughter harvests it all summer so it's never a problem.
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Mint
Mar 20, 2024 18:48:10 GMT -5
Post by breezygardener on Mar 20, 2024 18:48:10 GMT -5
I continue to grow the "Sweet Mint". It doesn't have a profile that leans any specific way - spearmint/peppermint - so is way useful in recipes.
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Mint
Apr 15, 2024 20:16:51 GMT -5
Post by Latitude33 on Apr 15, 2024 20:16:51 GMT -5
Meant to bring some mint rhizomes from my old place to AZ. They were legacy plants from my great grand mother, but I have another source when I visit my sister in CA.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jun 17, 2024 11:44:41 GMT -5
As always, the mint has taken over the bed, with little attention from me - basically all I did was put that drip line in, like I always do, before it starts growing, and eventually, when it stopped raining around here, set it to water every 3 days. Something I'm going to try using the mint against this year is that spotted lanternfly - a pest that has become a serious problem around here. It is even attracted to basil, which is unusual, for insect pests. So I might blend some mint with some water, then strain it, and use this to water and/or spray with, to see if it repels it from the basil, okra, cucumbers, eggplants, and anything else I find them on. I never found a single lanternfly in that mint bed. As usual, the mint had taken over by early June, much of it 18" by now. by pepperhead212, on Flickr On the shady end the peppermint - the larger leaves - gets a few more growths every season, but the spearmint is still the strongest. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Mint
Jun 17, 2024 12:01:56 GMT -5
Post by desertwoman on Jun 17, 2024 12:01:56 GMT -5
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jun 17, 2024 17:08:40 GMT -5
It amazes me how that comes back every year, desertwoman, with almost no work! Other weeds are in there, at first, and it just chokes them out! It's too bad so much goes to waste.
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