Hello everyone,

Your gonna think i'm crazy but I just bought some mint like a week
ago! And Since I want to use this mint for tea I dont have nearly
enough yet . I imagine that mint grows exponentially from what I
have read about mint being so invasive and growing quickly.

I have genius: Mentha scicata (Spearmint) i hope its the right kind
. And Is there any tips on making it grow faster in the beginning
like maybe taking a shovel and moving half the plant/roots to anothe
location and letting it grow a bit or grab a few stems leaving the
roots and placing the stems in wet dirt It is really that simple to
grow mint from cuttings. Right now I have a few stems sitting in
water. If I cut off a stem Do i directly shove it into dirt or should
I peel the skin of a side to promote root growth or would that just
make it more susceptable to diesease?????


On another note since i'm gonna try an make tea I have heard that
drying the leaves increases the flavor Since i have never done this
before would i just grab like window screen and staple it to a wooden
square frame and trow the min in the sun (after I rinse the mine of
course)


I am also experimenting with the stevia plant (I may not even like it)
but I would like to experiment mixing it in with mint leaves who know
i may never have ti use sugar for tea again . Would you propigate it
in much the same way as mint from a cutting or do you have to use root
hormone. Is root hormone necessary for certain plants or does it just
increase the chances of success.

writes:

Your gonna think i'm crazy but I just bought some mint like a week
ago! And Since I want to use this mint for tea I dont have nearly
enough yet . I imagine that mint grows exponentially from what I
have read about mint being so invasive and growing quickly.

Surely, folks here won't think you're crazy! Many of us drink tea from
our own mint.


I am also experimenting with the stevia plant (I may not even like it)
but I would like to experiment mixing it in with mint leaves who know
i may never have ti use sugar for tea again . Would you propigate it
in much the same way as mint from a cutting or do you have to use root
hormone. Is root hormone necessary for certain plants or does it just
increase the chances of success.

I've not propagated Stevia, just bought the plants and used the leaves in
various ways. BTW, a little Stevia goes a long way! :-)

If you want mint tea and don't want sugar (or Stevia), try chocolate
peppermint. It's great! I had been growing it for the leaves just for
munching. It's extremely refreshing to eat a couple (or more) of chocolate
peppermint leaves with a glass of ice water . . . not much could be better
on a hot day! (And *no* calories or sugar!)

The leaves taste surprisingly like a Peppermint Patty.

Though I (and my granddaughters) would eat two or three leaves as a snack,
I had not made tea with it. That is, not until someone here said he/she
didn't care for coffee or the tea and work and picked a sprig each morning
on the way to the car to make tea at work. Amazed that I hadn't thought
of it, I tried it . . . it's absolutely fabulous tea! Following the
suggestion of the poster (I think), I use the entire sprig and use it to
stir. A single sprig is worth at least two cups of tea if the water is
steeping hot. I normally add sugar to tea but not to the chocolate
peppermint tea; it doesn't need it.

My chocolate peppermint is in a huge planter pot and is very prolific,
from the first year! It also survived our colder-than-usual winter with
no extra protection though it is in a pot.

Enjoy your tea!

Glenna
BTW, whoever posted that, thank you very much. :-)

On 15 Apr 2004 16:41:10 -0700 in
,
(Jon) graced the world with this thought:

. Right now I have a few stems sitting in
water. If I cut off a stem Do i directly shove it into dirt or should
I peel the skin of a side to promote root growth or would that just
make it more susceptable to diesease?????

just keep them in water to root the slips. And for God's sake, keep it
in a container when you plant it, unless you're planning on selling
your house, or planting it in someone else's yard.

On 15 Apr 2004 16:41:10 -0700 in
,
(Jon) graced the world with this thought:

On another note since i'm gonna try an make tea I have heard that
drying the leaves increases the flavor Since i have never done this
before would i just grab like window screen and staple it to a wooden
square frame and trow the min in the sun (after I rinse the mine of
course)

sorry about the multiple post. All drying them does is concentrate the
flavor. If you use fresh, use more to get the same result. Of course,
it's also easier to store dried.... you can spread the leaves on sheet
pans, anything clean, and dry them in the sun on a warm day... you
don't need to go to all the trouble of the screen/frame thing, unless
you already have some laying around, or are going into large-scale
production.

drying them is excellent! I cut from the bottom and hang the entire branch upside down in a cool dry and dark area (don`t want to lose color from sun bleaching). it also makes it easier to drop the lot in a big bag and roll them on the floor to get the leaves off and leave the stems, I`m not one for mint tea, but a mint sauce!!! Yummy!

does anyone else here sink in large and deep containers into their ground to grow the mint in?
I learned the hard way when a year later it started killing my other herbs and was appearing in places that I didn`t even plant it!

You can also use a microwave to dry herbs like mint. It takes a little trial
and error - you place the mint or other herbs on absorbent paper towels and zap
it for 10 seconds at a time. I've only done this a few times when the weather
was wet for a long time, and once in the middle of winter. Normally, I take a
bunch of washed and cleaned mint, tightly tie the ends of the stems together
and hang them together in bunches from a hook in the kitchen or on the screen
porch, out of direct sunlight. In about a weekto 10 days, they will dry.
-=epm=-

In matters of truth and justice,
there is no difference between large and small problems,
for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.
- Albert Einstein

Hello
Wait a couple of months and you'll have plenty. If you really want to
encourage it, hold down a few of the side shoots and cover them with
soil. You may need to peg them down with a few small twigs. The bits
that you buried will take root and the plant will spread. (It's
usually not needed).

If you haven't got enough to start with, ask your neighbours if they
have any until yours get established.

I've been using Swiss Mint for tea. It's a really refreshing coolmint
taste.
I grow it in a small bed (10ft x 3ft), where it can't spread too far.
It's about 3 ft diameter and 1 ft high. You'll have plenty in a few
months time. I think I use approx 10 leaves per cup, then add a
teaspoon of malt-extract. I've cut down on refined sugar.

A bit ot, but I like fennel-seed tea as well.

Cheers
AJ