Mint is a perennial herbaceous plant that dies in late fall but comes back to life in spring. The vigorous nature of mint makes it a relatively easy plant to grow. However, it is also a very invasive plant that will spread almost anywhere if you give it too much freedom.
Mint sends out lateral twigs below the ground that allow it to re-emerge in another part of your garden while competing with your other plants for water, nutrients and light.
In this article, we’ll look at how to grow mint successfully without letting it take over your garden.
Garden preparation:
The ability to take over entire garden space is usually overcome by growing mint in containers or taking steps to prevent root spread.
Growing mint in containers
If you want to grow your mint directly in the soil instead of in a container on the patio or deck, use the following trick to limit mint growth. Use a large plastic pot (at least 30cm deep) with the bottom trimmed to allow the roots to grow downward, but not to the side.
Dig a hole in the garden where you want to place the mint and place the bottomless container in that hole. Leave about 2 cm of the container above the ground. The pot will act as an obstacle to the lateral spread of the mint roots and will therefore keep the whole in a well-defined part.
You can also use bricks/pots/stones to form small barrier walls below the soil between the mint and the rest of your vegetable garden. However, be careful that if there are cracks in such a wall, mint roots will quickly find space through the cracks!
Growing mint from seeds:
Mint can be grown from seeds, although growing from seeds is not always successful. Because mint is so easy to propagate from cuttings, it is often the number one choice of gardeners.
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