Mint is not actually a single plant but instead around 25 known species of plant in the Lamiaceae family. While normally we break out of quick facts discussions into different sections based on species, for mint we decided to bundle everything together since most mints have very similar growing requirements. That being said, these are general guidelines and you should follow the specific notes for your species of mint including any details on the cultivar you’re growing for that species.
Mint Details
- Family: Lamiaceae
- Growing Season: Early Spring
- Growing Zones: 3 through 8, choose a variety that is fit to your specific zone
- Spacing: 18-24 inches (46-60 cm) apart
- Seed to Harvest time: 90 days
- Indoor Starting: 4-6 weeks before last frost
- Earliest Planting: After danger of last frost
- Watering: Water when soil is dry, keeping soil moist, but never wet. Do not over water.
- Sunlight Requirements: Full sun to partial shade
- Planting: plant starters in an area away form other plants with space to spread.
- Weeding: Mint is aggressive and few weeds can overtake it.
- Harvesting: Harvest mint when the plant is 1 to 2 feet tall by cutting it back to a little over an inch above the soil. The plant will fully regrow every 90 or so days. If winter is coming in less than 30 days stop harvesting and let the plant die back for winter. It will regrow in the spring.
- Known Pests: Aphids, leaf hoppers, spider mites, root boards, caterpillars, and thrips. All pest can be hand removed or treated with insecticidal soap. Predatory insects can help where applicable.
More About Mint
Mint is an aggressive plant that grows and spreads. If left unharvested for long enough it can take over a whole garden. Many new homeowners move in places and discover mint was planted somewhere and forgotten. It can grow in partial shade so it will spread around a house, under a deck, or really to anywhere it can get a start.
Mint spreads via rhizomes that extend from the plant and slowly grow new stalks. This is fine in confined space, but if you want to prevent it you need to either pot your mint or use ground cover around it to act as a physical barrier. If you actually want mint to spread, just ensure you’ve given it well fertilized soil and it will take off.
Another thing to mention about mint besides it’s aggressive nature is that some mint is edible while others are ornamental only. If you have mint in your garden that you didn’t plant it’s best not to eat it until you get it identified by a professional. Some people tell you that you can identify edible mint by its smell, but don’t do that. The chemicals that make mint smell like mint are the SAME in both edible and ornamental species.
If you are seeking to use edible mint in your garden make sure you are purchasing the right varieties from reputable seed purveyors or from your local greenhouse.
Mint Tasting and Food Notes
A long time ago I worked in a flavor chemistry lab for a large food conglomerate and one of my jobs at the time was preparing and testing flavor samples from various flavoring companies. My first real large assignment was taste testing mint flavors for weeks. Needless to say there can be a lot of variety in mint tastes, but it also is all roughly in the same ballpark.
Mints have a characteristic refreshing and cooling taste. This can be subtly changed by tweaking additional flavor compounds and adjusting ratios of the molecules in an extract, but where these differences come from is the species, cultivar, and health of a given mint plant.
The stereotypical “mint” flavor is spearmint. It’s cool and refreshing and used in all sorts of dishes and drinks. The flavor is in the leaves and is released by crushing action. If you don’t do anything with the leaves you’ll get a huge burst of mint when you bite into them!
Peppermint is a hybrid of spearmint and water mint. It is still minty but also has a little bit of a warmer peppery bite to it. This is your standard candy cane flavor and works better with sugary foods or sweets. The other half of the peppermint hybrid, water mint, is more peppery, but also way stronger! So be careful if you use water mint in anything.
There are also many other mint varieties that are more floral and fruity. Apple mint (also called pineapple mint) has fuzzy leaves which can make it a little unpleasant to eat raw, but it adds a bit more varied flavor to the mint family which can be welcome when you want to mix things up. People often list pineapple mint and apple mint as separate plants claiming they have different flavors, but they’re the same plant. Tasting stuff accurately is hard and a lot of people get primed to think something tastes a certain way because of its name.
Mint can be used to make a lot of foods, but it’s hardly used raw in large quantities. It can be turned into jellies, dried into teas, cooked with meats or vegetables, or even eaten raw in moderation. It’s a lovely plant to have available so long as you are growing the edible varieties of it.
Should I Grow Mint In My Garden?
Mint is not for inattentive gardeners. It’s ability to take over a garden bed within a few years seem low risk, but life happens, so if you are going to grow mint we recommend you keep it in a planter or grow it in pots. Additionally, while ornamental mints are available we always recommend planting the edible kind only to avoid any potential mix ups with other in your gardens. While it probably wont kill you, you’ll suffer plenty for mistaking your varieties of mint, so it’s best to only plant ones that are safe to eat.