How to a Grow a Mint Garden

Mint is an aggressive and easy-to-grow herb.

A mint garden is an easy-to-grow, satisfying herb garden that needs some consideration as to location prior to planting. Mint is an herb with many culinary and medicinal applications, but it will spread rapidly and take over the rest of your garden if precautions aren't taken. There are many types of mint that combine well and can be grown from seed or purchased as seedlings.

Things You'll Need

• Compost
• Pots
• Food cans
• All-purpose fertilizer
• Potting soil

Instructions

1. Prepare a garden space. Mint grows well in full to partial sun. Because mint is very aggressive, a mint garden needs a defined area or it will overtake the rest of your garden. This can be accomplished by planting in containers or in an in-ground garden that is separate from any other garden area, such as a patch surrounded by brick or cement.

2. Provide your mint garden with light, well-drained soil that has been mixed with compost. Apply 2 to 4 inches of compost and an all-purpose fertilizer to the garden and dig into the soil. For container gardens, use a commercial potting mix.

3. Bury clean food cans in the soil for in-ground gardens. Remove both the top and the bottom of the cans, forming a collar for each plant. These collars will help contain the roots of the mint and contain its spreading. A mint plant will be planted, in the ground, inside each collar.

4. Choose a variety of mint plants. Some widely cultivated varieties are peppermint, spearmint, pennyroyal and Corsican mint. Mint also comes in many flavored varieties, such as orange, chocolate, lemon and apple. Mint is a very aromatic herb that will emit a pleasant scent as you walk through the garden.

5. Give your mint garden 1 to 2 inches of water per week during growing season. These herbs should not sit in standing water, as this may lead to disease.

References

• University of Illinois: List of Common Herbs: Mint
• University of Utah; Mint in the Garden; Kristie Buckland and Dan Drost
• West Virginia University: Growing Herbs in the Home Garden
• University of Florida: Gardening in a Minute: Mint
• Oregon State University: Hints for Growing and Taming Aggressive Mint