How To Grow Mint From Seed
Welcome to this post about how to grow mint from seed. Mint is one of the fastest growing herbs you can have at home in your garden. So it’s not really a big time investment getting some mint. But there are a few different things that can be good to know about, this includes timing the sowing, placement and how the soil should be.
If you want a complete and comprehensive guide to growing mint at home that covers almost every question you might have then you can check out that article here, How To Grow And Care For Mint.
How To Grow Mint From Seed
Growing mint from seed is like we said in the beginning not a very big time investment. It is such a fast growing culinary herb that even after 90 days you will be able to make the first real harvest. At this point the herb will stand tall at around 1 – 2 feet.
Unlike some other herbs where it can be beneficial to soak the seeds before sowing, we don’t really need to do that here. The best way to go about sowing mint is to prepare several small containers that all have small holes in the bottom. This will redirect the water and not make it pool at the bottom. Lightly water the soil before you sow the seed. Never go any deeper than about a fourth of an inch or 5 mm. Any deeper and the seed might not get the amount of air it needs to start germinating properly.
The biggest benefit to growing in small containers instead of planting directly where you want them afterwards is that you can pick and choose the ones that look the healthiest. After you have sown them the germination will take 10 – 15 days and at the end of this period you should see some signs of life above the surface.
You can let it be for over a month and maybe water three times a week at the maximum. It will grow quickly and after this point you can report it to a larger container of your choice. We don’t really recommend growing mint outside of a pot because it’s a fierce herb that can choke out neighboring plants.
A side point that is also very important when growing any herb is that you need to have them in the sun as much as possible. Otherwise they can get the amount of energy they need.
How To Grow Mint From Seed Indoors
Growing mint from seed indoors will follow a lot of the same rules that we talked about in the segment above. The best way is to grow it in a smaller container so you can pick and choose the best ones.
But when you are growing indoors it might be even more important for the seedlings to get sunlight during the day. Because you will most likely have a window in between the herb and the light. We recommend trying the herb to get at least 10 hours of light every day. Compared to growing outside where it only needs 6 – 8 hours. It won’t have a drastic effect on how fast the herb will grow. The most important factor for that is making sure the soil is well drained and never dries out.
Mint is a lovely herb that can be grown indoors all year round so there is really never a wrong time to plant this fantastic herb. But there are of course some times of the year that can be better than others. If you want to learn about these we have laid out a guide here on the site that you can find there, When To Plant Mint.
How To Plant Mint Seeds Outdoors
Mint is a pretty hardy herb to grow at home that you can liberally cut down at the end of the summer. It’s not unlikely that if you cut off everything and leave about an inch above the ground left that you will see it grow back to the same stature. So it fits very well growing this one outside.
We would recommend you going the same way as growing indoors with mint. It’s best to grow several ones, ideally a few more than you need in small containers with good drainage. Make sure the soil is healthy and lightly damp when you sow the seeds. The reason we want you to grow like this and then re pot is because you can pick and choose the most healthy looking plants.
Do you want to learn how you can collect the seeds from the mint plant? In this article right here we will discuss just that. Find it here, How Do You Collect Mint Seeds?
As for the sowing of the seeds, you should not really go any deeper than a fourth of an inch or 5 mm. Deeper and it might not grow at all. After 1 month they should be ready to be repotted. Here is where some similarities come up with growing indoors. You should not plant the mint on freeland next to other herbs. This is because its a very competitive herb that can choke and suffocate other herbs growing next to it. The best prevention to this is growing it in a pot. This will limit the space where it can grow and keep your other flowers and herbs safe.
We mentioned in the beginning of this article that the placement of the herb is very important. Outdoors the mint will not need the same amount of sunlight as if grown indoors. Here about 6 – 8 hours will be perfectly fine. A good thing could also be to keep it in the shade a bit during the day to let it rest a bit from the scorching summer sun. Another thing you can do about 4 times a year when you are growing mint outside is to fertilize the soil. I do this with an organic fertilizer that you can get at most gardening stores. It will help revive the soil a bit. If you have the possibility of getting your hands on some manure then that would be even better.
Is your mint seed not growing properly and you want some solutions? In this article right here we discuss that, Find it here, Why Wont My Mint Seed Grow?
