Herb / Warm season
Mint
Easy to grow and hard to stop, so give it a pot
Plant out byMay 4zone 6
- Family
- Mint (Lamiaceae)
- Sun
- Part sun (4+ h)
- Difficulty
- Very easy
- Days to harvest
- 45-65 days
- Spacing
- 18 in apart, rows 24 in
- Pot size
- 3 gal pot (great in pots)
- Frost
- Hardy
- Start
- Either
- Water
When to plant
Showing .
Averages for a typical garden in the region. Your local frost dates may differ by 2-3 weeks, check a local source.Wait until Feb 9
In zone 6, start seeds indoors Feb 9 to Feb 23; plant out Apr 20 to May 4. Average last frost Apr 20, first fall frost Oct 20.
Units
Mint does not need your help. It needs a fence. The plant spreads by runners just under the soil, and one unchecked plant can spread several feet in a season or two. Put it straight into a bed and within a season or two it will be coming up through the lettuce and under the edging. Almost everyone who has planted mint loose in the ground has a story about digging it back out.
So grow it in a pot. A 10 inch pot with drainage holes is enough for one plant. If you want it in the bed, sink the whole pot into the ground with the rim sticking up. Check now and then for runners sneaking over the rim. Mint handles sun or part shade and likes steady moisture. A pot that dries out in summer heat will look sad by evening, then perk up after a drink.
Harvest is simple. Cut stems back to about an inch above the soil just before the plant flowers, and it grows back for a second and often a third cut. Spearmint is the classic for tea and lemonade. My kids pick the leaves just to smell them. Most garden mints are winter hardy across much of the US, so the pot usually comes back every spring. After a few years the center of the pot gets woody and thin. Tip it out, keep a healthy piece from the edge and replant it in fresh mix.
Things to consider
- Runners escape fast. Keep mint in a container, even one sunk into the bed, and avoid planting it loose next to other crops. Lists that pair it with tomatoes or cabbage assume it stays in its pot.
- Rust, powdery mildew and leaf spot show up on crowded, damp plants. Cutting it back hard and giving it airflow helps, and orange specks under the leaves are the early sign of rust.
- From seed it is slow, about 8 to 10 weeks indoors before transplanting, so a nursery plant or a rooted cutting is the easier start. A stem from a friend's patch roots in a glass of water.
Good neighbours
Pests to watch for
Spider mitesAphids
Questions about growing mint
Should I let mint flower?
Leaves taste best when picked before the plant blooms, so most growers cut stems back as buds appear. If you leave a few stems to flower, bees and other pollinators will visit them. Cutting the plant back afterward brings on a fresh flush of leaves. One plant can usually be cut two or three times in a season this way.
How do I stop mint from spreading in a raised bed?
The safest way is to keep it in a pot, either above ground or sunk into the soil. If it is already loose in the bed, dig out the runners each spring and fall, and expect to keep at it for a couple of seasons. Any piece of root left behind can regrow.
Does mint keep mice or deer away?
Mice are said to dislike the smell of peppermint, and mint is considered fairly deer resistant. That is about as far as the evidence goes. It will not clear a garden of pests on its own, so treat any benefit as a small bonus. The plant itself can get spider mites in hot, dry spells, so mist or rinse the leaves now and then.
Save this crop
Pin it to a garden board so it is there when planting time comes round.
Similar crops
Sources
General guidance for home gardens. Frost dates are averages for a zone or region; check a local source (in the US your county extension office) for local timing.