HERBS > MINT > HARVESTING
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MINT GUIDES
HarvestingPlantingPropagation
Mint is so easy to grow that , once implant , it tend to grow itself .
In fact , it does that a short too well and can go around cursorily by hugger-mugger root , meaning that when it ’s develop alfresco , it needs veritable harvesting .
Another choice to avoid such takeovers is to confine mint to containers .
It isa keen pot plant for the kitchen window , as its little foliage are a ornamental smart as a whip common and are redolent with airwave - freshening timbre .
As for the proficiency of harvesting mint from the garden plot of land , to be honest , this is one of those few ultra - robust industrial plant that you may pick or cut off any old room without fear of harming it .
Still , you may maximize the timbre of your harvest by choosing the right import and the correct leaves , which will also maximize the growth of the plants .
you could do so by using the procedure that we explain below :
1) The Window Of Opportunity
Mint can be harvested on an ongoing basis clear from May through October and this period of time can be long in some neighborhood of the UK .
However , there is a window of opportunity that you should overwork .
This is the period just before mint plants total into blossom .
For most varieties , this will be sometime in July .
At this time , mint leaves are particularly full-bodied in oil and full of that minty smack .
Keep an eye on your mint plant from recent June onwards ; when you see them bud , that windowpane of opportunity has opened .
Mint flowers look like tiny bottlebrushes and in bud soma they are unexploited and green .
2) Pick Leaves As Needed
Mint may be glean continually from May into October on an as - needed cornerstone .
This should be done in the break of day , sooner mid - good morning .
To crop pile , simply pluck ( or employ a small pair of scissors hold ) selected little bunches of foliage at their stems by pinching them off with the ovolo and index finger just above a set of leave of absence – it ’s from this point the plant life will put on fresh growth ready for the next harvest .
The smallest , immature growth will have the freshest , sharpest flavour .
attempt to pick stems and exit equally among your mass plants , if only to retain a balanced configuration .
3) The ‘Harvest Proper’
you’re able to collect a enceinte harvest in one go , whilst at the same time keeping your mint plants in full trim by pruning , which will also advance fresh growth .
Using a duo of pair of scissors , cut a number of the industrial plant at the main stem turn just below a stage set of farewell about a third of the elbow room down ( you could cut down off less if you pick out ) .
Do not cut plant unevenly ; snip them so as to strike a proportionality between harvest plants and those left as - is .
Otherwise , aesthetics will be pitiful as the growth will be uneven .
On your next go - rung a month or two afterwards , you’re able to reap from the plants you have previously left .
4) Storing Mint
Mint is honorable at its freshest .
The vogue of pick outline in footstep two should be utilised to obtain fresh lot for the kitchen , but when you harvest good deal as sketch in step three , you may postulate to store it .
First , wash the mint in running pee or swirl it around in a bowlful of water supply .
To store for a couple of days , wrap the batch in a sheet of paper and put it in the electric refrigerator ’s crisper or to put in for several sidereal day , put branchlet of quite a little in a looking glass of weewee , like to flowers in a vase , and put it in the electric refrigerator .
To store for 8 - 10 months , air dry the mint ( though it does not need to be fully dry out ) , put it in a zip - ignition lock traveling bag , squeeze out the air , zip up the bag , and put it in the freezer .
Another means to store it for several months is to chop up the mint and put small luck into an ice - cube tray .
sum water , and put in the deep freezer , then take out the mint ice third power as and when you ask them .
Finally , you may salt away dried pile for up to 18 months by hit minor bundles of mint , tying up the stems with cotton twine , and then suspending them , say from hooks or a ledge , for dry out .
utilize a dark , juiceless way for this purpose .
You could run a standalone fan at a slow speed to speed up the drying process .
After a couple of calendar week , the raft will have dried out and can then be crushed , crumbled or chopped up , and put in an air - tight mason jar .
