How to Grow Fresh Mint Indoors
Mint is one of the most popular herbs for growing indoors. This simple to grow plant does well even if you tend to neglect it for some time.
Mint will grow in any sunny window and doesn’t require very fertile soil once established. In fact, mint does best in rather lacking soil. The main concern for caring for your mint is to ensure that it never fully dries out.
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Can you Grow Mint Indoors?
Yes, mint is a prolific grower that tends to grow well and spread to take over even matter what you do to it or where you put it provided it gets some light and never dries out.
A single mint plant will send out runners to fill even the largest houseplant pots. When it comes to easy herbs to grow indoors mint always falls on the list because it is well suited to less than ideal conditions and can handle some degree of neglect.
How to Grow Mint Indoors
Growing mint indoors is easy. Mint is so easy to grow indoors it is often sold in kitchen herb garden kits. Sadly these kits come with pots too small for mint or any other herbs.
Pot Size
Mint should be grown in a pot that is at least 8 inches with a depth of 10 to 12 inches. This will give your mint room to form a strong root system and allow for some spreading.
Soil and fertilizer
When planting mix fertilizer or compost into your soil to ensure that your plants will have enough nutrition to grow. If you plan to harvest your mint constantly, avoid fertilizing it more than once every 6 months or so. If our mint grows too fast it will have less flavor when you harvest it for use.
Watering
Keep your mint plants well-watered but not soaked. Well-draining soil is important to prevent your mint from becoming waterlogged. Always use a pot that offers drainage holes. To help improve drainage you can add a layer of rocks under your soil.
Always water your mint from the base of the plant avoiding the leaves to prevent damage to your plants. Self-watering pots are a great way to keep your plants well-watered without having to give them too much time and attention. These handy pots are great for forgetful gardeners.
Temperature
Mint plants should be kept at least 55 to 75 degrees for the best growth making them a great option for starting inside most homes. If your mint gets cold it will die off. Mint is a perennial so the roots will live and produce again when the plant warms up in the spring. If kept from getting too cold, mint will not die back.
Mint may bolt if it gets too warm. Once mint flowers it will put its focus into the flowers and not into the leaves making the flavor of the leaves reduce over time. If your mint begins to flower, trim away the buds to keep your mint flavorful.
Light
Providing your mint with enough light is important to help your plants grow. Lack of sun can lead to stunted growth in your mint plants. In the summer mint will thrive in a sunny window where it can get at least 6 hours of sun per day.
Over winter if you live where there is a lot of rain that prevents your indoor plants from getting enough sun on a regular basis before the sun moves out of the window you should consider using an LED grow light to provide your indoor mint plants with enough light to grow well.
How to Start Mint from Seed Indoors
To start your mint seeds indoors add 2-3 seeds to your pot with well-draining soil. Spray with clean water and place in a warm area. Mint will take 10 to 15 days to sprout. After two sets of true leaves have formed thin to 1 plant per container.
If you wish to start your seeds in a container other than the pot they will grow in your home, you can start mint seeds using seed starters to help get them growing before transplanting them to your final pots.
How to Start Mint from Cuttings Indoors.
You can propagate mint indoors from a stem cutting that is about 3-5 inches long. This can be done fresh from your own garden or even from fresh mint from your local grocery store.
Remove lower leaves on your mint cutting. Place your cutting into a glass jar with about an inch of water. Place this jar in a sunny window. Make a point to replace the water daily to prevent bacterial growth.
After about a week your cutting should have a good start to a fresh new root system. After your cutting has formed roots you can gently move it to your planting pot filled with fresh loamy soil with added fertilizer or compost mixed in to help encourage new growth.
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