Pointers to Grow and Care for Peppermint

[Kamisama420]

Good day all,

So, about 3 weeks ago, I decided it would be fun to grow some mint, because summer is coming and I want to drink Mojito's. Yes, that is the sole basis of my decision, but it's a great reason.

But because I like to make things more difficult than they need to be, I decided to grow my mint from seeds. I also think it gives me a greater sense of achievement if I can pull it off.

Here is some background regarding my baby:
- The mint is Peppermint.
- The pot I use is in plastic, 27cm in diameter, and 14cm deep.
- I sprinkled all the seeds I had, but I swear I didn't have as many as what popped out of the soil... Very mysterious...
- The pot is in my room, near the window. It receives 3~4 hours of direct afternoon sunlight, and multiple more hours of indirect sunlight.
- I water it once or twice a day, depending on how hot it was that day (and therefore how dry the soil is).
- The average temperature in my room is about 28C, can go up to 30C+ during the afternoon, unless I'm here with the AC on. It is also quite humid.
- The soil I use is just some random soil, I didn't really look at the details on the bag; it had pictures of vegetables and herbs on it, so I figured "close enough", but I don't know about the actual quality. I still have the bag if it becomes something important I should check.

Here is a picture of what the pot looks like as of today:

My first few questions are:
1) Is this how the mint should look like after 3 weeks since I planted the seeds?
2) Do I have to select only a few stems to keep and get rid of the rest to avoid roots getting tangled?
3) If so, how far apart should the remaining plants be, and when should I start pulling the rejects out?
4) I've been spraying water on the seeds and seedlings with a spraying bottle to avoid drowning the minuscule seeds or hurting the baby seedlings. When should I start pouring water instead?

Thank you so much for your future advice. I am completely new at this, but I am having a lot of fun.
Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

I will be looking forward to your reply.

Sincerely,
Kami

 

[Chuck]

Good day all,

So, about 3 weeks ago, I decided it would be fun to grow some mint, because summer is coming and I want to drink Mojito's. Yes, that is the sole basis of my decision, but it's a great reason.

But because I like to make things more difficult than they need to be, I decided to grow my mint from seeds. I also think it gives me a greater sense of achievement if I can pull it off.

Here is some background regarding my baby:
- The mint is Peppermint.
- The pot I use is in plastic, 27cm in diameter, and 14cm deep.
- I sprinkled all the seeds I had, but I swear I didn't have as many as what popped out of the soil... Very mysterious...
- The pot is in my room, near the window. It receives 3~4 hours of direct afternoon sunlight, and multiple more hours of indirect sunlight.
- I water it once or twice a day, depending on how hot it was that day (and therefore how dry the soil is).
- The average temperature in my room is about 28C, can go up to 30C+ during the afternoon, unless I'm here with the AC on. It is also quite humid.
- The soil I use is just some random soil, I didn't really look at the details on the bag; it had pictures of vegetables and herbs on it, so I figured "close enough", but I don't know about the actual quality. I still have the bag if it becomes something important I should check.

Here is a picture of what the pot looks like as of today:
View attachment 14258

My first few questions are:
1) Is this how the mint should look like after 3 weeks since I planted the seeds?
2) Do I have to select only a few stems to keep and get rid of the rest to avoid roots getting tangled?
3) If so, how far apart should the remaining plants be, and when should I start pulling the rejects out?
4) I've been spraying water on the seeds and seedlings with a spraying bottle to avoid drowning the minuscule seeds or hurting the baby seedlings. When should I start pouring water instead?

Thank you so much for your future advice. I am completely new at this, but I am having a lot of fun.
Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

I will be looking forward to your reply.

Sincerely,
Kami

#1 About right, could be a tad taller
#2 Yes
#3 2 or 3 inches but don't pull them out. Snip them off
#4 Never Water them from the bottom up when you stop misting them

 

[Kamisama420]

Hey Chuck,

Thank you for your reply.

Another person answered these to me, maybe it'll help others or you could let me know what you think about his answers.
He said:

1) Mint does take some time to grow, so yes, that is exactly how it should look like after 3 weeks. (So everyone seems to agree that the growth is timely)
2) Yes (same here)
3) If you want your mint to stay in that pot, I'd have 3 mint plants grow there. If you want more than 3, get a bigger planter/container. Definitely no more than 5 can fit in that container.
This is where opinions differ. By Chuck's suggestion, I will have 10~15 plants in the same pot. But according to this other person, I should only keep three unless I re-pot them. I should also wait until they are at least an inch before doing so.
4) Keep spraying the seedlings instead of watering them until they reach 1 inch, and then you may start pouring the water, if you wish to.
On this one, well, I really do appreciate Chuck's advice not to water the plants from the bottom up, but unfortunately that does not answer the question.

Any opinion on those compared to Chuck's?
All help is welcome.

Thank you!

 

[Chuck]

Hey Chuck,

Thank you for your reply.

Another person answered these to me, maybe it'll help others or you could let me know what you think about his answers.
He said:

1) Mint does take some time to grow, so yes, that is exactly how it should look like after 3 weeks. (So everyone seems to agree that the growth is timely)
2) Yes (same here)
3) If you want your mint to stay in that pot, I'd have 3 mint plants grow there. If you want more than 3, get a bigger planter/container. Definitely no more than 5 can fit in that container.
This is where opinions differ. By Chuck's suggestion, I will have 10~15 plants in the same pot. But according to this other person, I should only keep three unless I re-pot them. I should also wait until they are at least an inch before doing so.
4) Keep spraying the seedlings instead of watering them until they reach 1 inch, and then you may start pouring the water, if you wish to.
On this one, well, I really do appreciate Chuck's advice not to water the plants from the bottom up, but unfortunately that does not answer the question.

Any opinion on those compared to Chuck's?
All help is welcome.

Thank you!

Let me clarify. I would have the plants no closer than 2 or 3 inches apart as seedlings. Some of these seedlings will not be as strong or as healthy as the others. You remove these as they grow larger. The more crowded they are the more difficult it is to maintain them. Watering will become an issue. As for watering I meant to say always water from the bottom up. I had a typo in my earlier post. There should have been a period after Never. When you water from the top down, especially on small seedlings you can and will wash the soil away from the roots. The roots on small seedlings are very close to the top of the soil and disturbing them or uncovering them could be fatal. I would keep misting them until the second set of true leaves. By the time they have 2 sets of true leaves the roots will be deep enough that they can withstand watering from the top but still you should water from the bottom up and here is why. When you water from the top down you cannot guarantee that all of the roots have been watered, especially if you have numerous plants in a large pot. The roots will tend to lump together and form a mass and water tends to flow around a mass leaving small dry areas within the clump of roots. When you water from the bottom up and have standing water on the surface of the soil you are guaranteed every bit of root has been watered. Also by watering from the bottom up you encourage deep root growth and you don't have to water as often. Plus, by watering from the bottom up you greatly reduce the chance of growing harmful soil born fungi on the leaves that could affect the health of you plants.

 

[Kamisama420]

Let me clarify. I would have the plants no closer than 2 or 3 inches apart as seedlings. Some of these seedlings will not be as strong or as healthy as the others. You remove these as they grow larger. The more crowded they are the more difficult it is to maintain them. Watering will become an issue. As for watering I meant to say always water from the bottom up. I had a typo in my earlier post. There should have been a period after Never. When you water from the top down, especially on small seedlings you can and will wash the soil away from the roots. The roots on small seedlings are very close to the top of the soil and disturbing them or uncovering them could be fatal. I would keep misting them until the second set of true leaves. By the time they have 2 sets of true leaves the roots will be deep enough that they can withstand watering from the top but still you should water from the bottom up and here is why. When you water from the top down you cannot guarantee that all of the roots have been watered, especially if you have numerous plants in a large pot. The roots will tend to lump together and form a mass and water tends to flow around a mass leaving small dry areas within the clump of roots. When you water from the bottom up and have standing water on the surface of the soil you are guaranteed every bit of root has been watered. Also by watering from the bottom up you encourage deep root growth and you don't have to water as often. Plus, by watering from the bottom up you greatly reduce the chance of growing harmful soil born fungi on the leaves that could affect the health of you plants.

Thanks a lot for that clarification.
To summarize, I should keep misting them until the second set of true leaves. This is a new term for me, but I'm guessing the first set of leaves is not true leaves; they are round instead of pointy, so I'm guessing they are some type of solar panels for the plant to gather sunlight. The second set are pointy leaves, so I'm assuming those are the first set of "true leaves". The next set has not appeared yet, so I just wait for that.

I currently plan on waiting until they are 1 inch tall to clip the ones that seem weaker, and keep seedlings 2 or 3 inches apart as per your suggestion. Would that be OK?

Lastly, that typo sure changed the whole meaning of the sentence, haha. So I should water them from the bottom up. I don't really know how to do that, so I guess it's time I make a little google search on that.

Thanks a lot for your input, please let me know shall you have any other advice.
I'll keep this thread updated every week or so.

Next picture tomorrow.

I feel the growth is a bit slow...

 

[Chuck]

Right, the little round leafs do act like solar panels. Their real name is cotyledon.
Watering from the bottom up is easy. I do it in a wheelbarrow but your bathtub or kitchen sink will work just as well. Just add water 2 or 3 inches deep and place the pot into it. The soil will suck up the water through the holes in the bottom. When the water reaches the top of the soil just empty the tub or sink and let the excess water drain off.

 

[Kamisama420]

I will be sure to give it a try. The thing is, this pot only has one hole in the center at the base. Will that still work?

And just for fun, this is what it looks like now.
It hasn't changed much since last week...
I do believe growth is a bit slow. Could it be due to the soil used? I don't know.

Any advice?

 

[Chuck]

I will be sure to give it a try. The thing is, this pot only has one hole in the center at the base. Will that still work?

And just for fun, this is what it looks like now.
It hasn't changed much since last week...
I do believe growth is a bit slow. Could it be due to the soil used? I don't know.View attachment 14357

Any advice?

One hole will work fine. Just lower the pot into water about 1/2 as deep as the pot is tall. It might take a little longer than a pot with a bunch of holes but thats all. I think it needs more light

 

[Corzhens]

@Kamisama420, you gave me a laugh with that line - But because I like to make things more difficult than they need to be. And I agree with you that planting from the seed is more difficult than planting the cuttings or runners. By the way, I learned the term runners here in this site. We have peppermint that we bought from the province and it has since outgrown the small plastic pot. Now it is planted in the planter box in the front yard and we regularly cut the runners to plant in other areas. It's cute to use the cuttings for food decorations when we have house guests.

Sorry, I forgot about your question. But honestly, I haven't considered planting seeds, no experience.

 

[Kamisama420]

Thank you to you two for your replies.

One hole will work fine. Just lower the pot into water about 1/2 as deep as the pot is tall. It might take a little longer than a pot with a bunch of holes but thats all. I think it needs more light

I'm glad that the pot will work fine despite it having only one hole.
I'm not quite sure what I should do about the light. My apartment is in a corner. It's either a few hours of (possibly indirect, through tempered glass) morning light, outside, or a few hours of direct afternoon light, through a window, inside. If I put it outside, it will not have a shred of light after 11:30, if I leave it inside the light won't hit until 14:30.

What do you think would be best?

 

[Chuck]

Thank you to you two for your replies.



I'm glad that the pot will work fine despite it having only one hole.
I'm not quite sure what I should do about the light. My apartment is in a corner. It's either a few hours of (possibly indirect, through tempered glass) morning light, outside, or a few hours of direct afternoon light, through a window, inside. If I put it outside, it will not have a shred of light after 11:30, if I leave it inside the light won't hit until 14:30.

What do you think would be best?

Then I would keep it inside where it gets the most light. You might also inquire about artificial lighting. I am sure someone on this forum has the knowledge. Mints don't like a lot of hot direct afternoon sunlight but they do need light

 

[Kamisama420]

Hey all, long time no see in this thread.

I wanted to update you on how my mint is doing and ask about brown leaves.
It's been over a month and a half since my last post. I look back at it with nostalgia, as my plant grew quite a bit since then. The whole pot was also moved outside about a month ago. The sun burned the weak ones, naturally selecting about half the saplings. I removed the smaller ones around the larger ones as I thought their roots would get in the way of the growth of the more healthy. I know I still have a bunch to remove, but I do so sporadically so even if a big one dies, a medium one isn't too far away to take its place. Also, note that in the picture below, some smaller ones that seem pretty close to a bigger one are actually part of the same stem, so I can't remove them (nor do I want to).

So here are my toddlers:

The thing is, some of them (actually 3-4 of them) recently started to turn brown, as you can see here:

Looking online, I saw that this is usually caused by stress, or lack of water.
It's been raining a lot lately, and even though rainfall doesn't actually reach the plant, I thought that I didn't have to water them as much due to the humidity. Maybe I was wrong.

It can also be the roots being tangled or not getting enough water (not watering deep enough).

Any thoughts on how I can fix this?
Is this the time to start bottom watering? Are the other saplings around getting in the way of the bigger ones?

Any advice is very welcome.

Thank you.

 

[Kamisama420]

So, I see that no one answered me. Maybe no one actually knew what was going on with my mint.

Not an issue at all, as it was fixed. Due to a lack of options, I took the Internet's advice and evaluated that my mint was not getting enough water. I gave it about 3 times what I usually give it, and BAM!
Boy did it recover!

Here is what it looks like now:

Now this what relatively sudden. Only a week and a half went by since the previous picture.
Most of the saplings are now tall with big leaves. Some of those leaves have small white spots though, as you can probably see from the picture. I'm not sure if that's something I should be worried about.

I do feel though that it would be a good thing for me to start clipping the smaller saplings to make space for the bigger ones. What do you think?
Also, is this a better time to start bottom watering?

Please let me know, I appreciate your input.

Have a nice day!

 

[clair02]

I've learnt so much just reading through this thread. I also planted some peppermint from seeds and most of the advice that you got here is going to help me with my plants. Your plants look good, and I'm eager to hear whether you should start clipping the smaller saplings or not.

 

[MaryMary]

It's been almost three weeks, so you may have given up on a reply, but if you find this, and are still wondering... Yes, I would thin out the smaller, weaker sprouts. It's starting to look quite crowded!

I would say it is time to start bottom watering. I clicked the pic to enlarge the image, and I couldn't see any white spots, but they may be droplets from misting that dried on the leaf. Basically, the time to start bottom watering is when your plants are about an inch or two high. (Or you find yourself having to triple the misting to get them enough water! )

I know it's late, but I hope you get to enjoy your mojitos mint soon!