A green thumb is nothing more than hard work
and the desire to make things grow.
- Albert E. Tuttle
When it comes to gardening, I have a desire to make things grow, but I must not invest enough work into it. I want plants that tend to themselves. My lantana is fabulous because it thrives with little support from me. Until Hurrican Ophelia, my roses were exquisite....with hardly any attention from me. My beds have not looked their best this year, but I also have not invested much time and energy into them. The remedy for the black spot that has invaded has overwhelmed me. I know what I need to do, but just have not rolled up my sleeves to do what it takes to eradicate this illness from the bed. Wah. Wah. Wah. In the interest of getting to the point.....I have been buying mint at the grocery store for over a year in order to mix up one of my favorite summer drinks: the mojito (mint, sugar, lime juice, rum, and club soda - delightful). My fellow consumers of the mojito (avid gardeners by the way) have been telling me how easy mint is to grow and assured me that I would have to be really horrible to kill it. A few weeks ago Clementine ripped a clump of mint out of her own gorgeous plant. Oh how fabulously aromatic that mint is!!! I want to grow the mint to satisfy my olfactory senses as well as my drinking pleasure. Anyway, Clementine carefully wrapped the roots in wet papertowels and sent me home to nurture and care for this sprig of mint. I repotted my new ward and tended to it religiously. I also had a stem with leaves which I popped into a small glass jar in the hopes of sprouting roots so I would have two mint plants. I was rather devastated to watch the stems and leaves of the mint with the roots (and that I had so lovingly planted) turn brown and wither. I had succeeded in killing the hardy mint. I even whined to Clementine about my poor mint-growing skills...although the stem has produced miniscule roots. She assured me that I would be able to plant the one I had rooted. For some reason, I visited my pot of dead mint today and to my complete surprise and delight I found new stems and leaves bursting forth from the soil!!! Yay! I have NOT killed the mint! By this time next summer I envision a bushy, fragrant mint plant able to supply all of the mojito drinkers I know with more than enough mint to satisfy their drinking needs. Yes, lofty goals for someone with a brown thumb...but a girl can dream, can't she?
2 comments:
Hi, Clementine here. Here are some "mint tips" that I copied from GardenAction.com. Hope it helps with your new adventure in growing!! I told you it would live!!
Grow Mint in Containers
Harvesting Mint
Basically, cut the leaves when needed - a pair of scissors or nipping with the fingers both work well. It pays to cut the top leaves first, because this will encourage the plant to shoot out again further down the stem. Never strip the plant of all it's leaves. It is possible to store the leaves in a warm place to dry, but some of the flavour goes.
Container Growing
This herb is ideally suited to container culture and will grow happily in potting compost. Attention throughout the year is minimal. Water if the compost is drying out, and feed with liquid plant food monthly throughout the growing season. Container grown plants are more likely to affected by severe frosts, so move the containers close to the house walls in winter.
I was going to be highly disappointed in you if you had killed the mint! You just can't kill the stuff. Even roundup fails to kill it in unwanted areas. Here is the big question, is it Spearmint or peppermint?
Suzie
Ps. I want some too.
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