Growing Mint, A Love Story

My mint plant's current bushy state

The last time anyone saw the Cilantro alive

Hey Green Thumbs,

All kinds of window gardens have become popular lately whether its terrariums and succulents, herb gardens, or pots of wildflowers. My chosen path has been the useful, fragrant herb garden.

It was a rainy day in March when I couldn't take the gray anymore and ventured out to the greenhouse. I started with plants instead of seeds because I am a true garden beginner and I needed the green right away. I picked Spearmint and Cilantro to start slow and expand when spring actually came and the greenhouse had more of a selection.

Well, the cilantro died. Then I bought some basil. And the basil died.

But the mint persevered! Mint is a great starter plant if you're new to the gardening game because it is super hardy and tough to kill. Plus, it grows like crazy when it gets enough light and H2O. You'll get excited to see the quick growth and therefore quick usage. I know I did!

My cutting from the mother plan(e)t

Mint likes lots of light and it's soil needs to stay moist. I put my mint in the window that gets all the early morning to midday light and water it once to twice a day. Make sure you have a pot that has plenty of room for the roots to grow. And pinch the tops off of it as it shoots up. That keeps the plant short and full of leaves.

After my mint plant seemed like it was going to keep fighting the good fight, I made a few cuttings. A cutting is a small section of your plant that grows into it's own plant! Cuttings from your mint plant are great gifts because they're useful, pretty, and show you take the time to cultivate a cutting for a friend. The lil guy at the right started out an inch tall and is now four inches tall!

This Patrick de Pinguin site is a little random but it gives you a nice overview of what you can expect when growing mint and a jumping off point on specifics to search more about.

Stay tuned for my adventures in planting seeds..
BK