Mint is a tasty versatile herb that can  spice up any dish.

Either plant it in containers or find a method of restricting the growth of its roots below ground.

Mint is a perennial herb that regrows every year. It is a very hardy plant, will live practically anywhere. It is undemanding in terms of watering and soil, and will grow in partial shade.

• 1- Take a cutting from a pre-existing mint plant. Mint is difficult to grow from seed, and it is virtually impossible for some varieties, like peppermint.
• Cut a 4″ sprig about ½” above a junction to allow new branches to grow in its place. The sprig does not need to have many leaves, and almost any sprig will do.
• Place the sprig in a glass of water, remove any leaves that fall below the water line. Within a week, small white roots should appear under water. Wait another week to allow the roots to develop into a decent length.
• If stem is rotting, remove all leaves below water, change water, clean the container, give it a clean start.
• Add water to glass as necessary. Make sure to change the water every 4-5 days to prevent rot.
• Faster way: Dig out some roots of the plant (preferably with some leaves for photosynthesis), plant. They will soon form a new plant.
• 2- Purchase a seedling or small mint plant. There are many varieties- sweet mint, chocolate mint, spearmint, lemon mint, apple mint, and peppermint. Spearmint is most commonly used for cooking.
• Spearmint is more aggressive & vigorous, flourishes sooner & taller than peppermint.
• Mint is a fast-growing, fast spreading plant, perfect for first attempts at growing plants.
• 3- Find a runner from a current plant. Runners are long stems that grow away from the current plant and set their own roots in the ground. These can be carefully dug up and transplanted.
• 4- Choose the best time for planting. Ideally, in spring, or fall. Though mint is a resilient plant, it’s best to start growing it under optimal conditions.
• 5- Transplant the seedling or rooted sprig into a container.  Potting is the most popular way to grow it because you can easily keep it in check, as well as keep it close to kitchen so can use it frequently. Mint spreads rapidly, and its roots have a tendency to choke out the roots of other plants.
• Use 12-16″ wide pot for 1 plant.
• You should add a water-retaining polymer or pearlite or vermiculite to the potting soil so that it stays moist and doesn’t dry up.
• 6- Plant the rooted seedling or sprig with the roots just below the soil. If planting multiple seedlings, plant them 6″ apart so each has enough room to grow.
• 7- Choose a location with adequate sunlight. Damp area, with morning sun and partial afternoon shade are ideal. Plant should get some light without drying it out completely.
• Mint grows best in deep, moist soil, so keep it that way.
• Requires a fertile soil with 6-7 pH.
• Though can grow on its own without a problem, a little bit of fertilizer every few weeks won’t hurt it. Make sure that the soil is moist by placing some mulch.
• 8- Submerge the container if planting in a flower bed.  Submerge mint in a container, such as a pot or a mesh bag that is at least 5″ deep. Leave the rim of the container above ground level so that the plant’s root system will be contained.
• Or plant in its own raised bed container, on a bare spot in garden that you would like to fill in, or section off part of garden with bricks or timbers to create a barrier for the mint.
• 9-Water often during the 1st year.  Keep the soil damp, but don’t soak.
• Do not water on top of leaves, water droplets can act like magnifying glasses. The sunlight will then burn the leaves, which can cause browning.
• 10- Trim the top of the plant. This will help to contain the plant’s height and keep the leaves nice and full around the sides of the plant. This also creates a better harvest.
• 11- Trim the mint’s flower buds to keep the plant compact. small flowers will typically bloom from June to September. You should trim the buds before they have a chance to open so the plant doesn’t grow out of control. Pinching off the plant’s flower buds as they appear will also extend your plant’s harvesting season.
• 12- Split your plant every 2 or 3 years. Do only if growing in a pot. After a few years, mint will match the size of the container, causing its roots to become cramped. De-pot it and carefully split apart the mint into several plants.
• Lifting and replanting every few years will help keep the scent & flavor nice and strong.
• 13- Treat with a fungicide spray if gets infected by rust. Rust, a fungus that creates orange-brown patches on the undersides of a plant’s leaves, is one of the few diseases that mint is susceptible to.
• 14- Watch out for diseases/pests. Not a likely occurrence since the strong odor of mint wards off most insects and pests.
• Just provide good air circulation and soil that is well-drained to keep plants healthy.
• If notice any insects, spray them off with a garden hose.
• You can wash leaves with insecticidal soap.
• Make sure to look for pests under the leaves, where they like to hide.
• 15- Harvest fresh leaves as desired from late spring through the early autumn. Never harvest more than 1/3 of the leaves at once, allow plant to regrow. Harvest as much as you need.
•  Air-dry stems till crispy and dry, pluck off the leaves, put into jars, Ziploc bags, or plastic containers with llids.
• Roots will survive the frost and regrow the following spring, but the above-ground plant matter will die off. Protect roots by covering the plants with a layer of mulch before winter.
• To harvest the leaves, pinch off the stems. If have a larger harvest, then wait until right before the plant blooms and cut the whole plant just above the first or the second set of leaves.
• Technically can grow mint in water, but you wouldn’t get a very healthy or long-lasting plant.
• Different mints grow at different rates, can crowd each other out. So don’t grow together.
• If need seeds, wait for some of the flowers to wither, collect the seed pods, leave them to dry, crush them, then you have your seeds. Put them in an envelope, store in a dry place.
• Mint will attract mice. Rodents love herbs.
• As unlikely as it sounds, keeping mint around your home is a great idea to get rid of bugs, spiders.
• To keep insects from eating leaves, plant in a clay or loam soil instead of sand; or loam-based potting mix