Growing Mint At Home

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Many people love mint, and this is not without reason - this amazingly fragrant herb is incredibly rich in valuable trace elements and acids, as well as menthol and vitamins vital for the human body. That is why it can often be found in a very impressive number of summer cottages. But you can grow mint not only in summer, but also in winter - why deprive yourself of the benefits of a wonderful plant in the cold season? Plus, it's not difficult to grow mint at home

What conditions does mint need?

In order for mint to feel comfortable and enjoy its magnificent growth, it must be provided with proper conditions, that is, sufficient lighting, quality nutrition and systematic watering. It is best to plant mint on rather loose soils, which are characterized by relatively low acidity (pH 5 - 7, no more) and an average percentage of organic matter. Before starting planting, ideally, you should prepare a soil mixture from garden soil (it is taken in two parts), humus (one part) and a similar amount of washed sand and peat. And so that the roots of the plants do not begin to get wet, which in turn can easily lead to decay, containers intended for growing mint should also be equipped with good drainage. This plant can be propagated in a variety of ways: both by seeds or cuttings, and by root cuttings or by dividing adult bushes.

Growing mint from seeds

This is perhaps the most time consuming and laborious method, however, some types of mint reproduce in this way. Purchased seeds are best suited for this purpose - in this case, it will be much easier to grow friendly and strong seedlings. Seeds are usually sown in March or April, burying them about half a centimeter into the pre-moistened soil. On top of the seed, sprinkle with humus (it is taken quite a bit) or nutrient soil, after which the container is covered with film or glass. As a rule, the first shoots at room temperature can be seen after fourteen to eighteen days. And throughout this time, it is extremely important to constantly monitor the condition of the soil - it should not be too waterlogged or too dry. If necessary, the soil surface is very carefully sprayed with water, being careful not to disturb the tiny seeds. In addition, from time to time you should open the glass for ventilation. And as soon as a pair of real leaves appear on the seedlings, they are immediately subjected to a pick and seated either in a common large container in compliance with the 5x5 scheme, or in small individual containers.

Growing mint by dividing bushes or from layering

Mint is endowed with rather long rhizomes, densely dotted with numerous dormant buds - the constantly growing root system of a single plant can easily give life to dozens of new bushes, and it is simply a sin not to take advantage of this feature! To do this, with the onset of August or September, it will not hurt to thoroughly stock up on root cuttings, while their length should be in the range of ten to twelve centimeters, and each cutting should have at least two or three buds. Such layers are planted to a depth of five to seven centimeters in well-moistened soil. And if shoots that have already begun to develop were noticed on the harvested cuttings, then their roots must be carefully preserved, and the above-ground parts, after the plant is sprinkled with soil, are cut off, stepping back four or five centimeters from the soil surface. Exactly the same actions are performed with the planting material that was obtained during the division of whole bushes. With proper care, in a couple of weeks, homemade mint will delight you with the first sprouts of a rich green color and extremely fragrant leaves!

Growing mint using cuttings

For these purposes, you can safely take even cuttings that were cut from adult specimens (from their apical parts). Having dipped twigs six to eight centimeters long in the Kornevin solution and having previously torn off two lower leaves from them, immediately place them in a container filled with water. After about a week or two, the plants will develop roots, which will be enough to transplant the mint into the ground. And somewhere in a couple of weeks after the rooted cuttings are planted and the first shoots appear on them, the mint should be fed with urea (one gram for every liter of water).

Care features

Indoor mint will grow best in temperatures ranging from twenty to twenty-five degrees. And if, in addition to this, the mint is provided with good soil moisture and long daylight hours, the foliage on the plant will grow by leaps and bounds! In the autumn and winter periods, the plant needs an additional six-hour illumination - if you deprive the mint of this "pleasure", then its shoots will begin to stretch, and the leaves will gradually lose their enchanting aroma and bright saturated color. If it is impossible to light up the mint in any way, then in order to avoid a decrease in the quality of the resulting greens, it makes sense to simply limit watering and reduce the temperature of its content to fifteen to seventeen degrees. But direct sunlight should be avoided! As for watering, they are carried out only after the top layer of the soil has dried out - in the case of mint, in no case should it be allowed to dry out or stagnate moisture!