There’s something wholesome and satisfying about growing your own herbs at home and using them in the kitchen. One of the most versatile and most beginner-friendly herbs to grow is mint, which is also delicious and beneficial to your health.
Here are some tips for growing a mint plant and how to use the mint leaves you grow in recipes at home.
Planting Mint
Mint is a perennial plant that does well with good drainage in light soil. You can plant mint in containers or directly in the ground. Mint plants do well with sunshine but benefit from a little shade from the direct sun, especially during the hottest hours of the afternoon. If you live in an apartment or don’t have a yard, you can even plant mint indoors and enjoy fresh mint leaves during all four seasons.
Caring for Mint
The great thing about mint is that it’s low-maintenance and requires only minimal care. It’s important to keep the soil moist by watering regularly. Mint spreads quickly and can easily overtake other areas of your garden. Prune dead mint leaves when you notice them to help the other leaves get more nutrients.
Harvesting Mint Leaves
Newer mint leaves are more flavorful than older leaves, so don’t be hesitant about harvesting mint leaves when you first see them growing. In fact, the more frequently that you harvest the leaves, the better the mint plant will grow overall. Plan to pick the leaves just before you want to use them for optimal freshness.
Varieties of Mint
It’s also interesting to learn about the different varieties of mint because not all mint is the same. For example, there is citrus mint, spearmint, peppermint, pennyroyal mint, and Corsican mint. In general, mint is known as a calming herb, so try a few different types of mint to see which one tastes the best to you or eases your tension.
Easy Mint Ideas for Summer
Mint is an herb that is used for culinary and medicinal purposes, and they are wonderfully hard to kill even for novice gardeners. Easy ways to add more mint into your life is to add fresh sprigs of it into water, cocktails, or salads. Mint is a refreshing ingredient in summertime soups, in couscous mixtures with vegetables, and in homemade mint gelato recipes. Fresh mint can also be added to lemonade, sprinkled on fruit salads with a medley of berries, or used to make mint chocolate popsicles for a summertime treat.
What is your favorite way to use fresh mint in the kitchen? Please share your favorite mint recipes with us in the comment section below.