How to grow mint houses: advice on planting and care

Its aroma is one of the most recognizable and loved ones, the leaves are present in the kitchen stores of almost every mistress, and the natural properties help to relieve nervous tension and restore healthy, sound sleep.

Peppermint is a herbaceous plant, which has earned the respect of culinary craftsmen and connoisseurs of folk medicine. How to grow mint houses on your own?

Characterized by jagged leaves and tiny pink, purple, white flowers perennial is widespread in wildlife and cultural gardening. Peppermint in the home is not a whimsical and easily adaptable plant.

Vegetative method of cultivation

How to grow mint houses? The most common method of reproduction is vegetative, in which it is possible to use cuttings or rhizome segments with shoots.

To obtain a cut in summer in an adult plant, cut a twig with leafy nodules and place in a glass with water or in sand. A week later, you can see the appearance of small white roots. After they reach a decent length, the plant can be planted on a permanent growth site. You can also obtain planting material by digging a mint bush in early autumn and dividing it into several parts. On each of them must be shoots with roots and several kidneys.

Reproduction of mint with seeds

The seed method is less demanded and rather long-lasting. As a rule, mint seeds are purchased in stores. They need to be planted in a container with barely damp earth to a depth of no more than 0.5 cm, to create a greenhouse for them, covered with polyethylene film or glass. After 7-16 days, the seeds of peppermint germinate; Emerged and strengthened seedlings should be transplanted into pots and identified in cooler conditions with a view to gradual acclimatization. After 7-10 days, the young plant will be ready for determination on a permanent growth site.

How to grow mint houses: useful tips

Mint can be grown both in the open ground and as a pot culture. For indoor maintenance, where the plant can be grown all year round, a drainage layer should be placed in the planting tank, and the soil composition of 1 part humus and 2 parts of leaf land should be used as a nutrient soil. Here, and plant a new plant.

Mint on the windowsill will feel good in the west or east side of the room, without hitting the green leaves of direct sunlight. In summer the plant will be comfortable on the balcony, in the winter - on the illuminated window sill. In room conditions it is necessary to control that the soil is constantly wet, and in the pan of the pot there is always water. Mint on the windowsill needs regular watering with soft water at room temperature, and it is also periodically recommended to spray the leaves. A weekly shower in the warm season will only benefit the fragrant indoor culture. With regular tearing of leaves, the plant is recommended to be fed once a month.

Mint: growing conditions in the open ground

When growing outdoors, mint should be identified in a sunny place, in a fertile, well drained soil. The best precursors for mint are turnips, carrots and potatoes. The depth of the seedling is 10-12 cm, the recommended distance between plants is 15-30 cm. The bush is better rooted, if it is cut off at the distance of 5 cm from the surface of the soil, its aboveground part.

How to grow mint houses, so that its reserves are not depleted? Peppermint has a tendency to expand greatly. Limit it in active growth to the sides can be by planting the bush in a wide container, which is also immersed in the ground. A young plant will please the young leaves after a couple of weeks. The top of the fragrant herb should be kept trimmed: it inhibits growth in height, causes growth in the sides, thereby increasing the yield.

After planting, you can feed peppermint solution of urea at the rate of 2 grams of the drug per 1 liter of water. It is not recommended to fertilize the plant with nitrogen containing agents: they will cause an active buildup of the vegetative mass, which will negatively affect the accumulation of mint essential oils.

Harvesting and storage

Crop harvesting can begin for the second year after planting: for a season, about 3 slices are produced. It is best to collect mint leaves during flowering (June-September) - it is at this point in it the highest content of essential oils.

Dried leaves and petioles, which are a fragrant component of herbal tea and seasoning to dishes, should be stored in a dark place in a glass bowl. In one place, garden culture is recommended to grow no more than 4 years.

Diseases and pests

Peppermint can be affected by pests such as spider mites, slugs, whiteflies and weevils. To maintain the plant healthy it is required to ensure good air circulation in the soil and drainage. Insects that most often choose to live on the underside of leaves can be rinsed with water from a hose.

Varieties of peppermint in home-grown

On your own site you can plant several kinds of mint or stop at one of them.

Thus, apple mint , characterized by a pleasant aroma and gentle refreshing taste, does not give bitterness and delicious in compotes, kissels, jams. For culinary purposes, the entire aerial part of the plant is used. Green and variegated varieties, combining spicy taste with decorative, are characterized by wide ovate leaves with a well-marked thick pile. The height of the grassy bushes is about 70 cm.

Mint curly is optimally suitable for use in culinary purposes, because it does not have the cold menthol taste inherent in peppermint. The plant is characterized by powerful stems and bright green, jagged edges of the leaves. Very beautiful looks mint in the pot, giving a room-grown year-round crop.

Mint of the field fully reveals its qualities in toning beverages. The long-leaved species contains a large amount of vitamin C and, thanks to the high content of essential oils, is successfully used in cosmetology and home soap making. Therefore, it is necessary to acquire on your own site such a useful culture, which is both a medicinal product, spice and seasoning.

In cultural gardening peppermint is widely spread - a plant with creeping long roots, numerous branches with green egg-shaped leaves and miniature violet-pink inflorescences. Due to the high content of menthol, the aerial part of the grass produces a strong aroma and is characterized by a specific "cooling" taste.

Minty young greens are used for flavoring beverages, sauces, desserts, fruit and vegetable dishes. Peppermint, which has sedative and antiseptic properties, is a component of many medications, effective for the treatment of colds and improves digestion.