🌿 Mint

Mint is one of the easiest herbs, thriving in damp, partly shaded places where many others struggle. It spreads rapidly by underground runners, so always confine it in a pot or sunk container, or it will take over the bed.

There are dozens of flavours: spearmint for sauces and teas, peppermint for tea, apple mint with woolly leaves, and chocolate, ginger and pineapple mints. Mint is invaluable for bees and other pollinators when it flowers.

Varieties to try

Spearmint (classic cooking mint)Moroccan mint (tea and cooking)Peppermint (strong menthol, for tea)Apple mint (mild, fruity, hairy leaves)Chocolate mint (peppermint with cocoa note)Ginger mint (variegated, spicy)

Mint is best grown from a small plant or a root cutting, as seed is unreliable and doesn’t come true to flavour. Plant from March to October in a large pot (at least 30 cm), or a bucket sunk into the ground with drainage holes, with rich, moisture-retentive compost.

Take cuttings easily: lay a piece of runner with roots in soil, or place stem cuttings in a jar of water until roots form. Plant at the same depth as in the original pot, water in well, and place in partial shade.

Top tips

• Always contain the roots.
• Grow from plants or cuttings, not seed.
• Choose partial shade.
• Use a pot of at least 30 cm.

Water regularly, since mint likes moist soil and quickly wilts in drought. Cut the plants back by half in mid-summer to renew foliage and prevent mint rust. Pinch off flowers to prolong leaf production, although bees love them.

Every 2–3 years, tip the plant out, divide it, discard the woody centre and replant healthy portions in fresh compost, as mint becomes woody and weak. Mint rust (orange spots) is the main disease; destroy affected plants and start with healthy stock.

Top tips

• Cut back by half in midsummer.
• Divide every 2–3 years.
• Keep soil moist.
• Destroy plants with rust.

Watch out for

Mint rustMint beetleAphidsPowdery mildewSpreading by runners

Pick leaves and stem tips from spring, when the growth is a few inches tall, to autumn. Pinch out the tips above a pair of leaves for bushy growth. Regular harvesting keeps the plant productive, and flavour is best before flowering.

Cut the plant to a few inches above the ground a couple of times in the season for a big harvest to dry or freeze; it regrows quickly. Mint dies back in winter, though in a mild spell, new shoots may appear. Bring a pot indoors for winter leaves.

Top tips

• Pinch tips for bushy plants.
• Cut hard back for a big harvest.
• Pick before flowering.
• Bring a pot inside for winter.

Chop fresh mint into new potatoes, peas, lamb, salads, yoghurt raita and cold drinks, or make mint sauce, mojitos and fresh mint tea by steeping leaves in boiling water. It pairs with chocolate, lemon and watermelon. Peppermint is the best for tea.

Fresh mint keeps for a week with stems in water in the fridge. Freeze leaves in ice cubes for drinks, or dry bunches hung upside down in a warm, airy place and store in a jar. Mint jelly and mint sauce preserve the flavour in jars.

Top tips

• Freeze leaves in ice cubes for drinks.
• Add to peas and new potatoes.
• Hang-dry bunches for tea.
• Infuse in boiling water for tea.