In the herb and scent garden, the seductive mint species are the icing on the cake. How boring to buy ready-made plants! Growing things yourself is much more exciting. We'll tell you here how to do it easily by sowing and cuttings.
How do you grow mint yourself?
Mint can be grown by seeds or cuttings. Water mint or spearmint are suitable for sowing: fill the seed tray with peat sand, moisten it and sow seeds. Mint cuttings can be cultivated in beds or pots, ideally in nutritious, humus-rich and permeable soil. A rhizome barrier prevents uncontrolled growth.
Sowing mint seeds cleverly – this is how you do it right
While most noble varieties fail to sow, you can grow magnificent plants from seeds of pure mint species. Suitable candidates include water mint or spearmint. Follow these steps:
- fill a seed tray with peat sand or lean seed soil in March
- moisten well with water from the spray bottle
- mix the fine seeds with bird sand and sow
All you have to do is press the light germinators, put a plastic bag over the container and place it in the partially shaded window seat. At a pleasant 20 degrees Celsius, germination begins within 2 weeks.
Grow cuttings in the bed - this is how rooting works
From mid-May, mint cuttings 15-20 centimeters long thrive directly in the bed. Choose a partially shaded, sheltered location in the garden. The soil should be nutritious, humus-rich and well-drained. How to do it right:
- loose up the bed soil thoroughly and weed it
- work in a 5 centimeter high layer of sifted compost
- Plant cuttings and support them with small wooden sticks
- A planting distance of 40 to 50 centimeters is considered ideal
- water with water from the spray bottle
All mints are characterized by an invasive character. To prevent the herb plant from spreading its roots throughout the garden, we recommend planting with a rhizome barrier. This is a stable geotextile (€73.00 on Amazon) that is placed vertically in the ground in a circle around the planting site, 50 centimeters deep. Alternatively, plant each cutting together with a large bottomless pot.
Tips & Tricks
Easily grow mint in a large pot on the balcony. To do this, cut 15 centimeter long cuttings that are defoliated in the lower half. Rooting progresses quickly in a glass of water. If the delicate root strands are nice and long, plant the young plant in nutrient-rich, loose substrate in a 30 centimeter pot.
