Growing Mint - tips wanted

ALIBOBSY

peasantboy wrote: »

I usually have mint with pasta dishes, works so well with peas. I'm looking forward to trying home made choc+mint ice cream. I've never tried fresh mint tea before, i'll give that a go for sure.

My other fav herbs are rosemary and basil. Rosemary + garlic on a good steak is unreal. And I love basil sauces especially in a sandwich.

I think i've neglected the power of herbs when it comes to eating more vegetables, they make such a huge contribution to the flavour of dishes that it can be the difference between yea I can stomach this to wow, this is great.

I love rosemary and it is pretty easy to take cutting from as well, gets quite big and has lovely flowers in summer.

I have several types of basil as well and this year trying some greek oragano to see what its like. Alot of herbs grow easily from seed and there are loads of varities. Plus the old standby parsley, I grow leafy and curly.

Trouble is you can end up a bit obsessed lol. Really makes a different in cooking, dill is yummy. Have trouble with coriander always seems to go to seed for me. They all seem to do well in pots which is handy.

ali x

ALIBOBSY

balloo wrote: »

The only other thing i have to say to you is Mint is very temperamental the slightest change can upset it and it will die.

I have found the opposite to this for me. Mint from seed in those early stages needs looking after, but once a small plant is established its almost indestructable.

If you get small plants from a nursery they grow easily and like wildfire.
The herbs sold to have on windowsills in the supermarkets will have been forced hard in greenhouse to get them big fast and struggle to grow on whatever you do with them. Mind you if you are determined enough you can get anything to grow and "come back from the dead"-Check out the bargain basement plant sales at B&Q and places like that, they often stick sickly looking plants on at really cheap prices, but a little TLC and you can sort most of them easily.

ali x

balloo_2

Ali I think I didn't make myself clear when babbling on to peasantboy what i was trying to say to him was umm eg: my father had a patch of mint in his Large garden which was spreadind like wildfire it was aproaching 8'x8' so he went to reduce it to something like 4'x4' so he dug some up and left himself a nice little 4ft patch and wedged some tin sheets around it to stop it spreading again but the mint didn't like that and it all died temperamental plant. :grouphug: