On 4/26/2008 8:13 PM, kitamun wrote:

I received from Nichols Seed Company yesterday the two mint plants I
ordered in January. One is a Black Simpson peppermint and the other a
spearmint. I am considering transplanting them both to a seven gallon
nursery pot. They will share an apartment for a while until I figure-
out how much of each I will use. If I need more of either for my
kitchen later I will take a cutting or a root to another location.

Are there cautions to this plan that my inexperience in gardening is
not allowing me to see?

Any comment is welcome.

Thank you.

Kitamun

Mint in a container will eventually fill the container. I have
peppermint in a 12-inch red-clay flowerpot.

About once every two years, I knock the mint and its root ball out of
the pot. That is, I turn the pot upside-down and rap it sharply (but
not sharply enough to break the pot) on the edge of a table or other
firm surface. I can then lift the pot off the plant.

With a sharp paring knife I cut the root ball vertically in half and
then in half again. I keep one of the quarters and trash the rest. (DO
NOT ATTEMPT TO COMPOST THE TRASHED PARTS. You may wind up with a very
invasive pest.) I cut about 2 inches off the bottom of the root ball of
the quarter I'm keeping. Using fresh potting mix per my do-it-yourself
recipe (see http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_potting_mix.html)
under and around the quarter I've saved, I repot it. I water the result
heavily, until the potting mix is quite soggy. (Mint is a thirsty
plant, requiring much more water than most herbs.)

I do the same with tarragon and oregano, again about once every two
years but without saturating the potting mix as these herbs don't need
as much water. In all cases, I put the pot in the shade against the
north side of my house for about a week or two. Then I move the pot
back into my garden, where it gets some morning sun.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/