Big, HUGE, mistake.

[donsgal]

Well, I wish someone would have told me that mint is right up there with kudzu as far as being invasive in the garden.

We planted it in one of the "holes" of he cement blocks that surround our raised bed garden, never dreaming that this spring there would be MINT sprouting up EVERYWHERE in the garden. :mad:

We're not sure if the new mint is growing from seed (the mature plants were upwind) or whether they are sprouting from UNDER the bed (through the plastic sheeting). I think it is the latter.

The dang stuff is also sprouting up ALL OVER THE ground near where the raised bed is. Gads, I wish I would have known. Lesson learned.

donsgal

[Mammabooh]

So, are you going to dry it and make tea? How about mint lip balm? Ummm...mint soap?

We have mint growing in our creek, but it never leaves that area. I just pinch some off every once in a while and chew on it. I may attempt to make mint jelly this year, though.

[bluelacedredhead]

Most mints are spead by the root system. To help control their spread, dig them up each year and vigorously prune the roots. You could use the root divisions to start more plants if you like?..Maybe your friends or neighbours would appreciate the gift of one? Just be sure to advise them that all mints are invasive...
I have Lemon Balm in my Kitchen Herb Garden, and it is a lovely addition. I don't find it nearly as invasive as say peppermint or spearmint. But from time to time I do find a small baby plant springing up elsewhere among the herbs.
But my herb garden is not near my main garden and is surrounded on 3 sides by concrete sidewalk or a paved driveway so unless it spreads to the front lawn it's not really going anywhere..

[wilderness1989]

Mint has been known to spread by GOING UNDER A CONCRETE SIDEWALK.

[Pharmerphil]

My very good friend told me he took a tractor, with a bucket, and back-dragged the huge plot of mint to get rid of it, I said Oh my...I am sure this year, he will have Much mint! :p

[Cliff Timmons]

I've heard that mint is good for keeping ants away from a house if planted around the foundation.

Has anyone tried this?

[SelfSufficientOne]

I haven't tried it but I hear that it was good to keep ants away too. I also heard it would keep mice away as well.
Give that lemon balm time, it will spread like crazy too, lol. The one I haven't that hasn't spread too too bad is my lime mint but the chocolate mint has completely taken over where I planted it and is creeping out everywhere. I just let mine spread. It love the smell of it.

[SunflowerMeg]

I also planted both chocolate mint and garden mint in cement blocks. Over time, I learned that I had to stay on top of it, or it would take over my already too little garden area. Yes, it spreads by runners. I don't use it for anything, but I still keep it around, just in case. I dry a fresh batch every once in a while. I like the idea of mint soap!!!

[bluelacedredhead]

My Lemon Balm has been here for 13 years, and since it hasn't made any big moves yet, I'm thinking it's not about to? But if the Lemon Balm does decide to try to spread, it could only make the lawn look better, LOL.

But do you know what has come up in the cracks in the asphalt driveway? Oregano.. Quite attractive really.

[Cliff Timmons]

I haven't tried it but I hear that it was good to keep ants away too. I also heard it would keep mice away as well.
Give that lemon balm time, it will spread like crazy too, lol. The one I haven't that hasn't spread too too bad is my lime mint but the chocolate mint has completely taken over where I planted it and is creeping out everywhere. I just let mine spread. It love the smell of it.

How about termites?

I have termites in my wellhouse and don't want to get rid of the ants until I get rid of the termites.

[onmyknees]

i am growing chocolate mint it is in its third year so i expect it to leap. I found several uses for it. I make a strong tea of it and spray the garden especially the corn to keep the critters from eating it before I do. It confuses the noses of most mamals who like to eat at our food plot. Most insects do not like it either. I understand that it will discourage caterpillars as well :eek:

[GreenCap]

Good, now I know what to do with all this chocolate mint, it does smell good though, like a peppermint patty!

[TastyofHasty]

The book Carrots Love Tomatoes says about mint:

Mint is a good companion to cabbage and tomatoes, improving their health and flavor. Both mint and tomatoes are strengthened in the vicinity of stinging nettle. . . .

Mint deters the white cabbage moth by repelling the worm's butterflies. Spearmint may help to keep aphids off nearby plants, because the ants (which place the aphids on the plants) do not like mint.

Mint is a repellant against clothes moths when used indoors, and is useful against black flea beetles. The leaves strewn under rabbit cages will keep flies to a minimum, while dried leaves (or mint oils) will repel rats and mice.

Well ... you could plant cabbages and tomatoes in amongst your mint!!

[newbiedigger]

I have a quick question here, can you use an essential oil of mint or spearmint (as a mist) to deter insects or is it best to plant the mint plant itself?

[twohunnyz]

Yes, we had ours spread under the concrete sidewalk! It was planted right next to the foundation and we still had terrible problems with ants coming in the house. Maybe the ants were living in the walls, though. Who knows!!!

[runawayredhead]

Cliff I think ants like mint very well. I have never seen them on it but all around on the ground. My favorite spot for ant watching used to be (yes I have time to do this) is in the mint patch. This was in the high country of Arizona and the ants were the big red type. Lemon balm I started some in a pot 2 months ago and its just sitting there at about 1 inch tall trying to convince me to throw it in the garden where I am sure it will take off and take over. Sneaky plants these herbs!

[Cliff Timmons]

Herbs are a Communistic plot ehh???

Now it's all starting to make sense.

[Playoutside]

How about passing me that pitcher of Mojitos this way..

[GreenCap]

I have heard that peppermint oil will get rid of groundhogs, you are suppose to put it on cottonballs and put in thier holes, anybody ever hear of this? I have groundhogs LOTS of them so I am gonna try it and see, can't hurt, heck so far I have put mothballs and stinky cat litter down there but he doesn't seem to be getting the hint.

[Brook]

Newbiedigger, you can use the essential oils. But the cost factor is something else. EOs do not come cheap.

You'd be much better to put the actual plants out in the garden. Keep in mind, though, that mints are invasive. So it makes sense to keep the mints potted up, and then move them around as necessary.

I like using 5-gallon buckets for my invasives. That gives them enough room to grow big and healthy, but keep them confined.

[fawnmeadow]

Nothing better than a nice cold ice tea with fresh mint and lemon balm leaves :D

[mobi]

I havn't had any invasive problems with my mint patch.I have spearmint and peppermint growing around an ornamental maple and thereis a big old silver maple close by. I think the dry shade and competition for nutrients with the trees have kept it in check. I have to agree mint in some ice tea is quite nice :) Mobi

[bluelacedredhead]

Fawnmeadow, Do you have lemon balm at your place? Or an herb garden? I don't recall see any?

[jeffpirkey]

are there any of you who are blessed with to much mint in the cullman, blount, walker,jefferson, or shelby county alabama area? I would be happy to come and take some plants off your hands. for some reason I can't get any herbs to grow from seed. maybe you could tell me what I am doing wrong as well. I am jealous of all of you who have problems with to much herbs.

[HillsideDigger]

Many lawns and gardens here in McDowell County, NC are completely choked with some sort obnoxious, invasive mint that has appeared and spread terribly the last 20 years.

I reluctantly used 'roundup' yesterday on 3 small patches that have appeared at my place and am trying to kill the spots completely by covering with the remaining plastic bags from pine bark and Black Kow.

[chubbyduckie]

I have applemint in my garden and noticed it is rooting along the stems lying on the ground. This made me wonder; we have spent a small fortune trying to grow grass, and still have a lot of area where it won't take.

If I plant mint in some of these areas, might it spread and at least give us some GREEN, and a nice scent when mowed?? Keep in mind that where it grows now is in a raised bed; whereas the bare areas on the lawn are mostly hard clay. Hmmm.....

[johno]

My wife thinks I'm crazy for growing mint, but I harvest it as biomass for my compost pile. I just make sure to leave it on top until I'm no longer worried about it taking root there - it hasn't. Wherever it does get out of control, I'm not afraid to use roundup like a big landscaping paintbrush. I also spread it around as an aromatic mulch here and there when conditions are Not favorable to it accidentally taking root. I'm not real sure what kind of mint I have, It has purplish stems, long leaves, and tastes like peppermint to me...

[zebraman]

Hey Johno;if you are looking for Biomass consider New Zealand Spinach which is a more controlable plant similar to Kudzu.I grow it only for compost.-

[johno]

Thanks Z, I've been trying to grow it for a couple of years and I can never get it to germinate. Maybe I just had a bad batch of seeds, but is there a trick to it?

[zebraman]

Hey Johno;Nick the seed coat with sharp knife and then soak seeds in hot tap water for 24-hours and then keep seed bed evenly moist until they germinate in warm soil not cool like real spinach.-(They are slow.)

[johno]

Thanks, I'll try that next time.

[louanne]

Take larg amounts of that mint and pack a teapot full of it....pour boiling water over it....and allow it to steep....strain it and..youcan drink it like this...or
pour it into a boiling pot and add alot of sugar....and boil to reduce to 1/3 of its original content....
pour it into containers after cooling...and use it as a flavor syrup..well for anything....

[Sandbar]

Are deer attracted to mints and other herbs?

We have a big problem with deer thinking my small garden at the house is their personal salad bowl.

Out at the farm I don't have many problems with them, since there are plenty other things for them to eat. However, I'm still tired of feeding the deer here at home, especially since I'm not allowed to plug them with buckshot ...

[johno]

Are you allowed to use arrows?

[Agrarian Journey]

Been there, done that :O. I planted mint in a flowerbed, which is now primarily a mint bed. We make lots of iced tea with the fresh leaves, dry some for winter, and I am trying to figure out how to sell some at the farmer's market. I figure if I can't get rid of it, I might as well capitalize on it!

[Lillian Osborne]

Hey Johno;if you are looking for Biomass consider New Zealand Spinach which is a more controlable plant similar to Kudzu.I grow it only for compost.-

Hey, cool. THAT I did not know. Wonder how well it would produce here in our relatively short, cool mean average temperature, zone 6b garden?

[Eric]

I've heard that mint is good for keeping ants away from a house if planted around the foundation.


What kind of ants? The home we've recently moved into had a mess of mint on the one side of the house, and on that very side of the house one of the window sills had a mess of carpenter ants infested, so it didn't seem to bother carpenter ants.

[johnsonjrbm]

I live in a part of the planet where blackberries grow like kudzu, and people want you to pick them on their property to slow down the spread.

I can proudly say I do my part to control this invasive species...:D

[Sandbar]

Are you allowed to use arrows?No. Limited hunting in our development of 6,600 lots (about 2,200 homes) surrounding a 3.5 mile long lake. During gun season, all the deer in the area migrate into our development to hide ... I am dead serious.

Lady that used to live behind us fed them cracked corn. "They're so cute! This momma that I've been feeding always seems to have twins!"

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry ... white-tailed deer NORMALLY have twins ...

Guess I'll be putting up some type of fencing.

[johno]

If you can't beat them... maybe you can put a corn feeder on the opposite end of the yard...

[ghostwriter]

Could someone please tell me where I can get my hands on some applemint and chocolate mint. I have looked through all of my catalogs and neither are listed. I would love to get my hands on a couple of each for tea.

Chris

[johnsonjrbm]

Could someone please tell me where I can get my hands on some applemint and chocolate mint. I have looked through all of my catalogs and neither are listed. I would love to get my hands on a couple of each for tea.

Chris

Mountain Valley has chocolate mint currently available:

http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/availability.htm

I've had good service from them. On only one occasion a plant I had ordered from them died, and they refunded my credit card charge immediately.

They also have a lot of other interesting and hard-to-find herbs, and are one of the very few that seasonally carries lemon savory.

[ghostwriter]

Thanks, great place. :)

[windsng225]

If your looking to get rid of ants or to discourage them from coming into the house, sprinkle ground cinnamin around the foundation of your house. We get them in the spring or when it's about to rain in the kitchen. I sprinkle it all around the kitchen on the floor and sweep it up, the residu that is left discourages them from coming in. They will not walk through it. It works for me.
joyce