BROWSE HOW TOs

How to Grow Peppermint

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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If you decide to grow peppermint, you will find that there are many uses for your plant. Peppermint makes an excellent tea, and adds flavor to many foods. It is also very good for digestive problems. The oil from the peppermint plant can be rubbed on your forehead and temples to relieve a headache. Your peppermint plants will make a nice addition to your herb garden. Read on to learn how to grow peppermint.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Peppermint seeds
Soil
Water
Garden shovel

Step1

Choose a location that is partly sunny and partly shady, and prep the soil.

Step2

Sow the peppermint seeds approximately 1/2-to 1/8-inch deep, anytime from May through July.

Step3

Keep the soil moist but not wet constantly.

Step4

Thin the plants when they are approximately 2 inches high.

Step5

Transplant the seedlings about 12 inches apart.

Step6

Harvest the peppermint when the plants are about 12 inches tall. Pick the larger outside leaves as the plant grows to encourage more leaf growth.

Tips & Warnings

If you want to plant peppermint that you have sprouted inside, then start peppermint seeds indoors in March or April. Make sure all chance of frost has passed before moving them outside to transplant.
Peppermint herbs have to be dried quickly or they may mold. To air dry peppermint, tie them by the stems into tight bunches and hang them upside down in a paper bag in a dark place. Ideally, the temperature should be 70 to 80 degrees F. The area should be dust free and well ventilated. In one to two weeks, the leaves will be dry and crumbly.
Peppermint has a cooling effect and will soothe the irritated feeling caused by poison oak, poison ivy and the hives when you apply it to the skin. It is best to use the tender young stems and leaves of the mint plant.