mint
Mint roots easily in water and you can turn one plant into many plants!
Mint From Seed to Harvest
SEED
SPROUT
SEEDLING
MATURE
Overview
Mint is a perennial and hardy fast-growing, spreading plant that can be grown indoors or outdoors. Mint will take over your garden if you plant it directly in the ground. It is best to grow mint in individual containers. Best grown from cuttings of a mature plant.
Mint has leaves with slightly pointed edges that come together at the leave's peak. Mint has a fresh smell and flavor often used for salads, sauces, teas, and more. Mint can grow to be about 2 feet tall and their leaves can be harvested when they are about 1/2 to 2 inches long.
Level of Difficulty: Easy to Grow from Seed or Propagation
Plant Spacing: 12 - 18 inches
Days to Harvest: Harvest Continually
Plant Care Basics:
Sun - Partial Sun
Soil - Rich moist soil
Water - Water regularly, maintain moisture
Planting + Growing
Growing mint in the garden is easy when planted under the right conditions. Mint likes partial sun. Mint can grow crowded, but leaves will be smaller and crowded plants may tend to bolt and go to seed more quickly. To optimize growth and a bountiful harvest, follow the spacing guidelines below.
Starting from Seed. We recommend growing mint from a mint cutting - not from seed. Read the section below to learn how to grow mint from cuttings. See the information card above for details about planting from seed.
Starting from Seedling. If you picked up a mint seedling from Sweet Water's seedling pick up, plant the seedlings into a container, allowing 12 - 18 inches of spacing between each plant.
How to Root Mint in Water
When your plants are about 10-12 inches tall, cut them back to about 4 inches tall, leaving a few leaves.
Remove the leaves from the bottom of the cut stems for about 3-4 inches.
Place stems in jars, fill with water, and place on the windowsill.
After a few days or a week, the mint should start rooting.
If the water gets cloudy, pour it out and add fresh water.
When the roots are a few inches long, the stems are ready to be planted in the garden!!
Mint does well in a sunny part of the garden.
Harvesting
You can harvest your mint when your plant is around 6 - 8 inches high. For a small harvest, you can take individual leaves from different sections of the plant by pinching the leaf close to its base.
If your plant is big enough for a larger harvest, you can trim some side shoot stems with leaves. Cutting the top sections first and moving downward, never cut more than 1/3 of the plant. Find a side shoot stem with leaves that you want to harvest and cut about 1/4 inch above the second leaf node from the side shoot's base (nodes are points on the plant where side shoots grow).
