Spearmint

An Intro to Spearmint

MY STATUS: Grown Successfully to Harvest from Plant Sections

Spearmint is one variety in the mint family of herbs, which also includes peppermint. It's a perennial and can grow as tall as 3 feet, though often it just stays low and spreads along the ground. The arrow-shaped leaves of the plant are used to flavor tea, sweets, and jelly, and can also add something to soups and salads.

PROPAGATION

People usually propagate mint from cuttings (at least 6" long) or by dividing clumps, but it is possible to grow it from seed if you're willing to wait. I gave seeds a try first without success.

RICH, LOAMY SOIL + FERTILIZER

Mint likes rich soil with lots of organic material, so this one will require some compost in the mix. You can put a little sand in there, too. You'll also want to fertilize regularly with something mild like fish emulsion. The plant, however, is quite hardy and will tolerate most conditions.

KEEP IT MOIST, NOT WET

Moist soil will keep mint happiest, but it won't thrive if water-logged. It should be protected from Pohnpei's heavy rains.

GIVE IT A LITTLE SHADE

Mint can handle full sun, but it prefers partial shade.

CONTAIN IT!

Mint is an aggressive plant. It spreads quickly as long as open ground is available and can over-run other plants. This makes it a perfect candidate for container-growing, which should keep it in check. Keep an eye on it, though--if the branches get long enough and hang far enough outside your pot to make contact with the soil in another pot or the ground, they can put down runners.

HARVESTING

You can start harvesting mint as soon as it has branches a few inches long. Cut branches 1/3 of the way from the ground. Pruning will encourage new growth of leaves and branches.

What I Did

DAY 1 - SOWING

I chose a fairly shallow rectangular container for my mint, threw some gravel in the bottom, and filled the rest with potting soil. Nothing fancy; mint is said to be one of the easiest plants to grow, no matter where you are, though it has a reputation for being very hard to start from seed.  I scattered my tiny seeds across the surface, then covered them with a thin layer of soil. I'll be misting the soil with a spray bottle until the seeds germinate.

DAY 9 - GERMINATION

Tiny seedlings have appeared all over the place.

DAY 31 - PLANTED SECTIONS OF A MATURE PLANT

Well, the mint has surprised me--and not in a good way. I really thought it would be a fast-growing plant, but these have acted kind of like the oregano and thyme I tried to grow from seed. Twenty-one days after germination, they still look essentially the same as on the first day--tiny. I've been keeping it in the shade, because I was afraid heat and direct sun would make things worse.

Today I was able to visit a friend, who has well-established mint, and get a few plants. I got some spearmint and one other variety that he wasn't sure about (probably peppermint). Rather than just taking a cutting, he pulled up sections of the plants that had roots, so I'm anticipating they will stabilize pretty quickly. I planted the spearmint in a long, shallow container.

DAY 84

I've kept my spearmint on our porch away from the other type of mint I have to avoid cross-pollination. It gets early morning sun and is in open shade the rest of the time. That seems to be a good combination, because the plant has spread quickly. It is also easy to clone. Every once in a while, I simply snipped off a nice branch, peeled the bottom part, and stuck it in an empty place in my container. In three of four days, the sprig would start putting out new leaves. The container hasn't entirely filled in yet, but it's getting there (see below).

DAY 107

Finally I can say that the spearmint has filled the container. It took just over two months from a small section of a mature plant that was ripped out of a friend's garden. Time for some mint tea. :)

DAY 129

Chugging along! I think it would be doing even better if I didn't forget to water it from time to time.

DAY 209 (12/20) - TRANSPLANTATION & NEW GROWTH

This plant was languishing a bit through early fall with the incredible temperatures we were having. The leaves had a yellowish look no matter how wet I kept it. Every part of the porch was getting a lot of direct sun. Finally I decided to transplant the whole thing into a larger container and put it up in the garden shelter, where the plastic sheeting on the roof tends to filter the sun a little. I put the transplanted plant under the shade of the tomato plants. It has exploded! The color has gone bright green again and it is quickly filling in all the extra room.