How to plant mint in the country - how to breed

Mint is a plant that has been known since ancient times. It was used by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks as a medicinal and gingerbread plant.

Culture Description

Mint is a herbaceous perennial plant that has simple stems and bright green leaves. Mint rhizome horizontal, with a large number of fibrous roots. In height, the culture reaches from 80 to 100 centimeters.

The flowers are usually small, collected in inflorescences on the tops of the stems. Flowering begins in late June and continues until early fall. Fruits consist of four nuts, and are formed in a small part of plants.

Mint photo

The plant is absolutely unpretentious - it does not require top dressing, frequent watering, it adapts perfectly to various conditions of detention.

Peppermint is a great addition to chicken, fish or another protein dish. Also, it can be used to season fruit salads. She will give them an unforgettable taste.

Useful properties of mint

Peppermint is actively used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetology and the perfume industry. Its useful properties are as follows:

• The plant has a calming, antiseptic and antispasmodic effect, eliminates bloating and has a beneficial effect on digestion in general.
• The menthol contained in the flower is an antiseptic and sedative. It helps with insomnia and nervous irritability.
• For medical purposes, dried leaves are used, from which various phytopreparations are produced.

Popular varieties for growing in the country

Before planting mint, you need to know that its varieties differ in the appearance of shoots and flowers, the content of essential oils and the timing of the growing season.

There are different varieties of mint

• Peppermint

Pepper plant species is the most popular. It was obtained due to the hybridization of two species - Water and Garden.

Perennial has compact dimensions and looks very attractive on the site. Peppermint is of two types - white and black. As for the place of planting, it is better to select areas that are well lit in the afternoon and shaded in the afternoon.

• Mint leaf

The variety is in second place after peppers. Despite the large amount of essential oil, which is a lot in the leaves, its aroma does not irritate, but rather calms.

It is important to remember the moment that this variety grows up to two meters in height, so it is important to ensure that it does not obscure the "neighbors" in the site.

• Curly grade

As a rule, it is grown as a spice, as it does not have a “chill” characteristic of other varieties. But its main advantage is resistance to cold.

• Apple variety

This variety is also a hybrid, formed from Allspice and Long Leaf Mint. Many owners like to grow this variety at home, because it has a delicate and pleasant aroma, for which it received the second name "confectionery".

• Garden mint

This plant is completely unpretentious, therefore, suitable for beginners in the field of gardening. Mint grows in a beautiful bush that coexists in any corner of the garden - both in the sun and in the shade.

The danger of peppermint in the garden

An inexperienced gardener, before wondering how to grow peppermint, should know about the danger this plant poses to a garden.

The fact is that perennial grows very quickly throughout the site. Its roots, like a web, draw space in such a way that getting rid of it is not so simple.

Therefore, you need to know how to prevent this phenomenon. There are two proven methods:

• Seedlings should be planted when the area intended for mint on all sides will be fenced with sheets of slate or metal.
• Fragrant grass can be planted in a bucket and, together with it, dug into the ground so that its rims rise above the ground.

The choice of quality planting material

Good planting material for mint planting can be purchased in a variety of ways. For example, order on the Internet, buy in a specialized store, or prepare it yourself if a person is engaged in growing plants. Each of the methods has both pros and cons.

How to choose seeds for planting a plant

Only an experienced gardener knows how to grow mint of a certain variety from seeds correctly. Therefore, it is better to pick up seeds in a well-reputed, well-known store in order to be sure that the variety will match the picture and give high similarity.

Rules for choosing mint seedlings

If we are talking about buying ready-made seedlings, then before planting mint in the country, you need to choose it correctly:

• Seedlings should have an elastic stem and a strong root, without a single smell.
• No rotten and dry areas should be.
• The optimal sprout length is not more than 8 cm. If the samples are longer, during transplantation they may not survive adaptation and die.

Conditions for successful mint growth

Before planting a plant, you need to remember that it grows best in sunny and fairly humid areas. In addition, the plant must be provided with the following conditions for growth:

• It is unacceptable to sow the culture near the bushes, because they, with their strong root system, will not allow mint bushes to develop.
• Wetlands are not suitable for grass.
• The plant loves loose and fertile soil. As for the acidity level of the substrate, it usually ranges from 6-7 pH.
• In the first half of the day the site should be well lit, and in the second half should be in the shade. How does mint grow in dark places? According to gardeners, they do not fit the culture at all, the plant does not take root well and dies over time.
• It is also worth noting that if the culture is located for several years on one site, it will become weak, not fragrant, and will dry out over time.

Optimal crop planting dates

Those who are interested in the question of when to plant mint seeds should know that it is best taken in early spring. In this case, with the advent of winter, the bushes will not disappear. If you plant mint in July or later, the roots will not have time to take root, which will lead to their death in severe frosts.

As for autumn, even experienced gardeners do not always risk planting mint on the site at this time. By winter, many cuttings will not be able to take root, especially in the northern regions of the country.

Rules for planting peppermint in the open ground, subsequent care

Mint, planting and caring for it in the open ground requires effort, will then retain all the medicinal properties when all the recommendations are followed.

Peppermint seeds

Before planting fragrant mint in open ground, you need to familiarize yourself with the rules of planting:

• First, it is recommended to germinate the material. To do this, plant the seeds in the usual way and cover with a damp cloth from above, send to a warm place.
• When the first sprouts begin to emerge, observing the rules of transplants, they need to be planted in containers to a depth of approximately 6-7 mm. The room should be warm, in it, under a closed film, they will be around two weeks.
• After 14 days, move the containers to a cool place so that the sprouts grow stronger and are used to temperature extremes.
• How to plant mint in open ground after the sprouts have matured? Just like other cultures. Only in advance you need to make organic or mineral fertilizing in the soil. After this, dig the soil, make shallow dimples and plant mint. At the end of the planting, pour bushes with warm water.

This plant is completely unpretentious. In order to get a fragrant culture, you need to water it and get rid of weeds as necessary, tearing them and loosening the soil.

Also, for better growth should be fed peppermint. In addition, it is important to adhere to the following recommendations in order to learn how to properly care for mint:

• With the advent of spring, prune the plant so that it grows better and the bushes are more magnificent.
• In autumn you need to mulch the mint and sprinkle it abundantly with peat so that it does not freeze during severe frosts.
• Every 4 years, the bushes should be updated, as their roots are destroyed and the plant degenerates completely.

Breeding methods

It has been known for a long time that mint can be propagated by seed and vegetatively.

Seed propagation method

As described above, mint is not very easy to grow from seeds, you need to buy several bags in advance due to poor germination. In addition, hybrid varieties with seeds cannot be bred at all.

Who wants to try, you need to sow the plant in early spring, draw shallow grooves with sap, plant seeds, sprinkle with compost on top and leave it under the film for two weeks.

The optimum temperature for seedlings is considered to be from 20 to 25 degrees. During this time, you need to control the humidity and make airing so that the seeds do not rot and ripen. When two leaves grow, pecate and place in separate pots.

After a couple of weeks, seedlings can be planted in open ground.

Vegetative way

As you can see, mint is not so easy to propagate in a seed way. As for the vegetative method, it includes three propagation options - dividing the bush, root cuttings or stem.

When the stalk is a stalk, then you need to cut off the shoot about 10 cm and put it in water. The room should be warm and well lit. When the roots grow, you can transplant the sprout into the ground.

Cuttings can not be placed in water, but planted in wet sand. When they take root, plant in the ground.

To breed mint with root cuttings, they must be separated from the mother plant and dug in a cool and bright place. With moderate watering, the sprout will take root.

Those owners who want to plant mint by dividing the bush should dig a plant, clean it from the ground and divide it into equal parts. Each part must have buds and shoots with roots. After a couple of weeks, mint will take root. How to plant a plant, it is up to hostesses and owners to decide.

Mint Harvest

When 3 weeks pass after the appearance of the first shoots, the plant will look lush and fragrant. It will reach up to 30 cm in height and it will be possible to take the first crop, remembering that after trimming the crop will grow more intensively.

Peppermint picking

To dry the plant, it must be spread out on a flat surface for drying. Next, separate the stems from the leaves and, if desired, grind.

Problems in growing plants, pests and diseases

In order for the culture to remain flowering and fragrant, at the sight of pests or diseased sprouts, you need to immediately cut them, because they can in no way be added to food.

The main reason for the appearance of peppermint diseases is too frequent watering and poor air circulation. In this case, you need to carefully dig the soil and do not water it for some time.

Peppermint Pests

The main pests of young culture are:

• Peppermint flea is a common pest that damages the roots and leaves of a plant. Therefore, after collecting peppermint, you need to treat the area with a special concentrate.
• Leaf beetle is another dangerous pest that appears on waterlogged moist soils. Why is it especially hard to deal with it? Because special tools can not always cope with it. Therefore, it is necessary to create conditions in which the leaf beetle will be uncomfortable - less often water the site and better ventilate.
• Powdery mildew is a familiar white plaque that resembles a cobweb. It usually affects the leaves of the culture. To prevent its appearance, you should not plant mint too close to each other. In addition, you need to regularly weed, picking out weeds. Treat the affected leaves with colloidal sulfur, and then burn it, because it is in them that there is a serious focus of the disease.
• Mint is often amenable to a disease such as rust. This phenomenon is first visible on the roots, and then goes on to the inside of the leaf. At the sight of this serious disease, you need to immediately remove all the affected stems with leaves, as if there were no pity for the plant.

If you know about these subtleties, it will be possible to do preventive measures to the plant in order to avoid the appearance of infections. This is very important, since any poison makes mint completely unsuitable. It can not be added to food and tea, and it is also forbidden to dry.

In conclusion, it is worth adding that mint is a unique plant. As you can see, planting and care in the open ground require little effort, but if you can get a good harvest, the whole family will be delighted with fragrant spiced tea on a warm summer evening.