Mint (again)

milaneyjane 5/22/2010, 2:38 pm

Not trying to beat a dead horse BUT I wish I had a picture to go along with this post about how invasive mint can be. I have 36 inch long deck planters that are about 8 inches deep and wide. I always plant my herbs in those. Last year I had two mint plants in one container. My plan was to keep them in there again this year as a perennial, but I wanted to switch out to Mel's mix in the box. When I went to get the mint out on Thursday, the ENTIRE box came out as a solid root ball. Not one loose grain of soil-when I lifted the plants out the boxes were completely empty!!. The mint had spread solid all the way to every square inch of the box and very compacted. Mint (again) Icon_eek

I was shocked. I couldn't even imagine what mint would do in a garden. And this being in MN so it only had a few months to grow last year.

Just thought I would share Smile

Lavender Debs 5/22/2010, 3:10 pm

I have had the same thing happen with sage.

Icemaiden 5/22/2010, 3:21 pm

It must just be different here Mint (again) Icon_lol

I have had two types of mint, one in the veg garden and as long as I pulled up the outer bits each year it was fine. And one in my strawberry box which barely survived the winter never mind spread!

I found a great site which compares average and minimum temperatures and precipitation:
http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/vacationplanner/compare/results?from=vac_compare&clocid1=USMN0503&clocid2=ICXX0002
Perhaps mint likes it hot? I put in Minneapolis and Reykjavik to compare and they are so different! And then we have the short winter days so all told I think mint is on the verge of viability here. I know the mint we had at home in England seemed to push its way through concrete paths and everything!

Containment has to be the answer for you lot but my Icelandic stuff can be given its freedom Mint (again) Icon_lol

Megan 5/22/2010, 5:49 pm

And my $0.02 (again) is, just because it is in a container, don't believe for a second that mint is contained. Mine air-seeded rather vigorously before I finally tore it out completely. YEARS later we are still finding little "friends" in our yard and (ahem) our neighbors' yards. We tell anyone that asks that it's just an endemic plant.... :suspect:

Toastie 5/23/2010, 12:15 am

Thanks for the info
I got soem Chocolate Mint which is supposedly a seed sterile plant so I am hoping it does not spread. Right now I just transplanted it into some ice cream containers so I can place them around the garden
I am hoping Sage is not bad since I have it in one of my SFG's

Megan 5/23/2010, 4:48 am

If you leave sage in place it can get humongous. Mine is over 5' wide right now. Speaking as a SFG noob but fairly experienced with sage, I'd guess you'll probably be okay if you treat it as an annual.

Toastie 5/23/2010, 11:38 am

Thanks
I plan to pull it up eventually and make my fiance a better herb garden
She said she has been wanting one since she was a kid so I figure I would help her fulfill that dream

Megan 5/23/2010, 11:50 am

That is really sweet of you! Very Happy

"Woody" herbs (sage, thyme, rosemary, etc.) tend to do better in their own spot, because (zone depending) they can be perennial and keep on coming back. I personally have had trouble with basil, parsley and cilantro because something keeps chomping them. I am trying basil again this year, with a different tactic: Maybe with 12 plants, some will be left for me! Smile

Toastie 5/23/2010, 1:12 pm

Thanks, my girlfriend is a wiccan and I am trying to build her a sanctuary of sorts in my back yard

I am hoping that since I am in Zone 9 (south of I-10) that the woody plants will become permanent
Cilantro I have had no trouble. But basil is a beast on its own. Mine are very slow growing. I am getting ready to just got to Wallyworld and get the $2 plants they have and plant them in between the tomatoes

Chopper 5/23/2010, 3:43 pm

Just so you know, seed has nothing to do with mint spreading. It spreads by rooting where it touches the soil and I think it sends out underground shoots too. I am making that up and too lazy to look it up, but seeds are the least of its invasiveness powers. That said, I love mint and in the right place it can invade away as far as I am concerned.

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