Introduction to Mint Planting Methods: Teaching You How to Tell Real Mint from Fake

Mint is a plant of the Lamiaceae family and an aromatic crop with special economic value. It can be used both as medicine and as food, mainly its stems and leaves, which can be used as a seasoning, spice, in alcoholic drinks, for brewing tea, and so on. So, how do you grow mint? Below we introduce mint planting methods.

1. A brief introduction to mint!

1. What does mint look like?

Mint grows 30-60 cm tall. Its leaves are oblong-lanceolate, lanceolate, elliptical, or ovate-lanceolate, rarely oblong, and the leaves have soft hairs; the flowers are tubular-bell-shaped, and the flower color is light purple; the fruit is ovoid and yellow-brown in color.

2. Can mint repel mosquitoes?

Mint contains peppermint oil, menthone, and menthol, which are easily dispersed and can repel mosquitoes to a certain extent; mint also contains insect-repellent essential oil, which is quite effective for repelling insects; after being bitten by mosquitoes, grinding mint leaves into juice and applying it to the bite can relieve itching.

3. What is mint's flower language?

Mint's flower language: may we meet again, love me once more, a person of virtue.

2. How do you grow mint?

1. Soil: sandy loam and alluvial soil are best.

Mint is not very strict about soil requirements. Apart from soil that is too sandy, too clayey, too extreme in acidity or alkalinity, or low-lying and poorly drained, ordinary soil can generally be used for planting, with sandy loam and alluvial soil being best. You can choose scattered plots with irrigation and drainage conditions and ample sunlight, such as beside ponds, houses, and water channels. After the plot is selected, prepare the land and plow deeply, then apply decomposed compost, farmyard manure, superphosphate, bone meal, and so on as base fertilizer, work the fertilizer into the soil, then break up the soil and rake it level to make beds.

2. Propagation: rhizomes, division, and cuttings, three kinds.

Mint can be propagated by rhizomes, division, and cuttings. Rhizome propagation is generally carried out in late April or late August, and the parent plants for propagation are planted at a row spacing of 20×10cm; division propagation is generally carried out when the seedlings are about 15cm tall, using the thinned seedlings for division and transplanting; cutting propagation is generally carried out in May-June. On the prepared seedling bed, cuttings should be inserted at a row spacing of 7×3cm, and transplanted after rooting and sprouting.

3. Management: only scientific management will let it grow well.

(1) Light: mint likes sunlight. Long sunshine hours can promote mint flowering and are also beneficial to the accumulation of peppermint oil and menthol.

(2) Temperature: the most suitable growth temperature for mint is 25℃-30℃. Below 15℃ it grows slowly, above 20℃ it grows faster, and it tolerates a low temperature of -15℃.

(3) Watering: mint is generally watered about once every 15 days. After the rows close, it should be watered lightly and appropriately to avoid excessive growth of stems and leaves and lodging, and watering should be stopped 20-25 days before harvest.

(4) Fertilizing: when mint seedlings are 10-15cm tall, apply 10kg of urea per mu; after the rows close, spray twice per mu with 5ml of Pen Shi Bao + 150g of potassium dihydrogen phosphate + 150g of urea.

(5) Weeding: after the mint stand is complete, carry out intertillage and weeding. Before the rows close, carry out intertillage and weeding 2-3 times. Before harvest, pull out all the weeds in the field to avoid affecting the quality of the peppermint oil.

3. Is there fake mint too?

There is indeed fake mint, such as spearmint, peppermint, grapefruit mint, lemon mint, apple mint, curly-leaf spearmint, and so on. They look extremely similar to mint, but they are different from true mint, and people often confuse them.

1. Spearmint: it can grow to 90 cm tall and produces purple flowers. Compared with mint, it does not contain menthol, and its menthol content is also very low, and its taste is slightly sweeter.

2. Peppermint: unlike mint, it is a hybrid of spearmint and water mint, and when eaten it has a faint peppery taste.

3. Grapefruit mint, lemon mint, and apple mint: compared with mint, their aroma and cooling taste are completely different.

4. Curly-leaf spearmint: compared with mint, its leaves look more slender and long, and because there are not too many wrinkles, the leaves look more delicate.

Summary: the above is an introduction to mint planting methods. Just follow the methods above and you can grow it successfully. There is also fake mint, and this article lists several kinds of fake mint. Everyone should pay attention to distinguishing them and not confuse them.