Once you learn how to glean mint , you’re able to effortlessly forgather , dry , and put in it for yummy recipes , teas , and spices .
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Peppermint , spearmint , and other mint are notorious for their aggressive growth charge per unit and they can take over culinary garden if you ’re not measured . Butgrowing mintin pots and know how to harvest mint the right way can keep this fast - growing herbaceous plant from spreading too speedily . Whether you plan to growfresh mint for saladsor desire to dry out mint for teas and spice blend , you ’ll see all you need to know about harvesting and stash away mint leaves here .
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When to Harvest Mint
Thanks to tidy sum ’s rapid maturation pace , you wo n’t need to expect long to glean your sight plants . Mint is a sheer - and - come - again herbaceous plant that can be harvested throughout the season , although individual plants should be at least 4 inches tall before you start gathering leave of absence . vernal and tender spate leaves are fuck to have the best flavor , so start pick plenty plants in spring as soon as new growth emerges , and continue reap through fall to keep your passel plants more realizable .
While mint farewell and stems can be picked throughout the growing season , you ’ll get the best flavor if you reap the majority of your plenty in summertime , mightily before the industrial plant efflorescence . Mint leaves and stems will also taste a bit well if you break up them early in the solar day , before the morning dew has evaporated . peck leaves contain the high concentration of fickle oils at this clock time and their spirit will be at its peak !
How to Harvest Mint
Mint can be harvested little by little as ask for recipes , or you could harvest a larger harvest of mint all at once for dry and freeze . When you’redrying herbsand heyday , keep in idea that even vigorous mint plants can become stressed by overharvesting , so never harvest more than 1/3 to ½ of your flora in one go . If you do take a larger harvest of great deal , water your plant profoundly after harvesting and give them a few workweek to recover before harvest home again .
Pulling leave off mint industrial plant is not the best way to harvest mint as it can allow for these eatable plant more vulnerable to disease and reduce ramify . or else , plenty stems should be clipped off with sharp scissors hold or lopper below a leaf lymph gland to promote the plant to grow more folio . Once the stem are cut , the farewell can be divide from the stems or left on the stems for hang drying .
If you only need a small amount of slew leaves for cooking , snip off the stalk you ask about 1 to 2 inches above the soil occupation . If you desire to glean a lot of mint at once , gather a handful of raft in one hand and clip the stems off a few column inch above the soil line with scissors or pruning hook .
Because plenty grows promptly , you could unremarkably amass a few large harvest of great deal every year . harvest home flock in mid - time of year before the plant heyday and again in fall before frost arrives can provide your kitchen with lots of brisk mountain for eating and preserving .
How to Store Fresh Mint
Fresh mint candy can be put in in the fridge for a week or two by loosely wrapping cut stems in a dampish paper towel and stowing them inside a zipper depot bag in thecrisper draftsman . Alternatively , you’re able to identify cut mint stems in a glass filled with 1 in of urine , breed the leaves and glass with a credit card baggie , and stack away the container in the electric refrigerator . Just call up to substitute the water daily to keep your mint fresh .
For longer term storage , heap can also be winkle stock-still and then stored in airtight containers in the Deepfreeze . Or leaves can be chopped and frozen in chicken feed cube trays with water or Olea europaea oil . Frozen mint should last for about 3 to 6 month , but you could preserve mint leave even longer with dehydration .
How to Dry Mint Leaves
mass can be dried using several dissimilar methods and the technique you opt will look on your tastes and the equipment in your home . For a low tech solution , slackly bundle mint stems with a natural rubber dance orchestra and hang them upside down in a dry , dark stead with good air travel stream . countenance the leave-taking to dry out for a week or two until they can be well crumbled between your fingers . Then separate the deal leaves and stems andcompost the stems .
If you have a nutrient dehydrator , dispatch the mint leave from the theme and fan out the leaves out in a individual level on a dehydrator tray . grant the leaves to dry out for 2 to 4 hours at 100 ° F to 115 ° F until theleaves are crispy , but not brown . If you do n’t have a dehydrator , slew leaves can also be dried in an oven Seth on the scummy setting .
Once batch parting are good dry , store thedried leaveswhole in airtight container in a teetotal , sullen place . Adding moisture absorption packet to your depot container can keep dry out raft fresh for longer , but they ’re not need . When decently stored , dried mint should delay fresh for a yr or more , but it will try out well if you grind it up just before employment .
Frequently Asked Questions
Mint is aperennial herbthat can be harvested again and again if it ’s cared for the right way . Small quantities of tidy sum can be harvested throughout the season , but it ’s best to fix larger harvests to 2 to 4 meter per class .
That depends . Mint leaves try out a scrap unlike after flowering and flowering can allow certain lot works to produce seed and spread . However , passel flowers can draw pollinators andbeneficial insectsto herb gardens and avail to course concentrate garden pest problems .
If you have more mint that you’re able to use the right way away , you’re able to freeze or dry out your extra passel for later habit . Or you may use novel mint to relish piddle , red-hot andcold teas , desserts , and salads . Mint leaves can also be blended into various sauces , like mess pesto and mint chimichurri .
