1. shrimpgirl

    shrimpgirl Member

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    Bowen Island, British Columbia
    hello,

    I am making plans at the moment to re-design my garden along permaculture lines. as well as have some yummy fruit and veggies to eat, i was hoping to have something like mint as a small market crop.
    I was thinking about mint because in my experience with friends' gardens mint always seems to do pretty well and spread easily.
    But I'm only a novice gardener, so I was hoping someone here could tell me some of the basics about mint
    e.g. shade or sun? heavy watering, well-drained, less watering? common pests and diseases?
    For some reason I had the impression that mint likes a lot of watering and partial sun, and does ok in colder temps, but since i cant remember where I go that information, it could be wrong!!

    Thanks for the tips!
    -robin
     
  2. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Location:
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    Mint - part shade is probably the best for nice, full, well-developed leaves. Well-drained soils and regular water will make it grow faster; it's a weedy plant, though, and will thrive in most conditions. Very little will eat it, since it's so aromatic; it's actually an ingredient in natural ant repellants and other naturally-sourced insecticides....

    Wherever you plant it, make sure that it's a contained bed. Otherwise it will attempt to take over your entire yard.... I've always had good luck with rock-lined beds, which also tend to hold water a bit, and the plants seem to like it.
     
  3. shrimpgirl

    shrimpgirl Member

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    hey lorax thanks for your reply!

    yea, i've seen mint get a bit weedy before in my friends herb and veggie gardens, but i'm hoping to make it into a market crop so i'd be harvesting a fair bit of it, which i think would help keep in under control (?)

    one idea i had in mind, since it is very rainy where i live in B.C. but we sometimes get fairly dry summers, would be to have the mint planting beds near the roof gutter pipe, so i wouldnt really need to worry about watering it during the winter/spring months. Also i read something recently about some plants being very thirsty and being able to prevent a sort of waterlogged 'bog' forming near gutter pipes and grey-water pipes
    e.g. good solution to poor drainage problems...
    but would mint be able to survive a poorly drained area?
     
  4. Olafhenny

    Olafhenny Active Member 10 Years

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    I can only second, what lorax said: Keep it contained! Mint is easy to grow and neigh impossible to get rid of. I occurs naturally near ponds lakes and creeks and loves moist environments. I used to collect it from semi swampy areas near ponds for drying and use as a tea when I was a kid. So I had a certain affinity for it and was pleased to see it in the yard (pond-side), when we bought our house. - No longer!

    If you want to get rid of it or keep it from spreading, a one inch piece of rhizome left in the ground, will start the mess all over again. I won the battle - eventually. Mint now has joined the list of plants I will not even let on my compost.
     
  5. Olafhenny

    Olafhenny Active Member 10 Years

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    Hi shrimpgirl:

    It appears, that we both posted our last comments almost simultaneously.
    The rhizomes of mint do not appear to run deeper than 4 to 6 inches. So if you encircle the planting area with a continuous plastic edging (overlap at joints) 8 inches deep, you should have no problem containing it. Mercifully it does not appear to spread by seeding out.

    As it occurs naturally in soggy, almost swampy, areas, poor drainage should not be a problem.
    Best,
    Olaf
     

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