Key Points of Mint Cultivation Techniques and the Characteristics of Dutch Mint, Chocolate Mint, Apple Mint, and Julia Sweet Mint
How do you grow mint? Have you ever grown it? If you want to grow it, then let's find out together! Along the way, you can also learn about four mint varieties and what characteristics they have! Mint is a fairly easy plant to grow. If you want to get started growing herbs
How do you grow mint? Have you ever grown it? If you want to grow it, then let's find out together! Along the way, you can also learn about four mint varieties and what characteristics they have!
Mint is a fairly easy plant to grow. If you want to get started growing herbs but are afraid that poor care at the beginning will leave you discouraged, mint is definitely the first choice. Mint has fairly high water needs. In hot weather, it needs watering almost once to twice a day (in principle, just water again once the soil is dry!)
Mint is a fairly easy plant to grow. If you want to get started growing herbs but are afraid that poor care at the beginning will leave you discouraged, mint is definitely the first choice. Mint has fairly high water needs. In hot weather, it needs watering almost once to twice a day (in principle, just water again once the soil is dry!)
As for sunlight, mint likes relatively high light levels. If you notice that your mint's stems have become weak and spindly, the newly grown leaves have become smaller, and the distance between nodes has increased, that is most likely a sign of insufficient light.
As for fertilizer needs, during the vigorous growing season (mint grows vigorously almost all year round), applying organic fertilizer along with it can speed up mint's growth rate (without fertilizer, the growth rate will be slower). Mint is tolerant of fertilizer. When growing it in a five-inch pot, the amount of organic fertilizer applied is about one handful (a handful grabbed by hand... please forgive me for using a not very scientific unit...)
Mint needs frequent pruning to grow beautifully, so don't worry that pruning the mint that has grown will be a waste. The pruned mint can be used to make tea. In summer, brewing it into iced mint tea can reduce internal heat and is a wonderful beverage. The method is to bring water to a boil, then turn off the heat, add fresh mint leaves, cover and let steep until the water cools, then strain and put it in the refrigerator to chill. Friends who like a sweeter taste can add honey or rock sugar, or add stevia leaves and boil them together.
Mint belongs to the Lamiaceae family and has quite a large number of species. Due to human or natural hybridization, mint varieties have now reached more than 500. In Taipei, the varieties often seen for sale at flower markets number about 10. Their scent and appearance differ depending on the variety, and they are introduced one by one below.
Dutch mint: the most common type of mint at flower markets, with deeply veined leaves. It smells like spearmint gum, and its fragrance is naturally released during cultivation. It is very suitable for use in cooking and is also often used in dessert garnishes.
Chocolate mint: it does not carry a chocolate flavor, but it smells slightly fresh and sweet, and tastes cooler than Dutch mint. It is a wonderful mint for brewing tea. The leaf veins and stems often appear chocolate-colored, but when light is insufficient or too much fertilizer is applied, the chocolate color often fades.
Apple mint / pineapple mint: the names of these two varieties are confusing at flower markets. Basically, the only difference is whether they have spots. The spotted one is pineapple mint, and the unspotted one is apple mint. Whether apple mint or pineapple mint, the scent is a faint apple fragrance. When brewed as tea, it has only fragrance and no cooling sensation. The leaves bearing soft fuzz is an important characteristic of this variety.
Julia sweet mint: it is a mint with a fairly cooling scent. If the aroma of Dutch mint is the smell of spearmint gum, then Julia sweet mint can be described as "Extra gum." Although the scent is very cooling, it lacks mint aroma.