Seeds 20 Seed Wild (Mentha arvensis) Irrigation

Wild Mint (Mentha arvensis), also known as corn mint or field mint, is the rugged, free-spreading cousin of the garden mints. It carries small, softly rounded green leaves on upright stems and gives off a clean, cool, distinctly minty aroma that leans crisp and refreshing rather than sweet. As a hardy perennial it forms a low, fragrant green carpet and spreads aggressively by underground rhizomes, making it both a generous kitchen herb for tea, salads and cooking and a lush ground-covering plant for the home garden. Brush past it and the whole patch releases its scent — one of the most rewarding aromatic herbs you can grow.

Planting

Mint is more commonly propagated from divisions or cuttings than from seed, but it grows well from seed too. Start the seed indoors in spring, roughly 6 to 8 weeks before your planting-out date, and move the young plants outside once the danger of frost has passed. Sow on the surface: press the seed gently onto the growing medium and do not cover it, because mint seed needs light to germinate. Keep the medium moist and well lit, and expect germination in about 10 to 14 days at 22–24 C (around two weeks at roughly 20 C). Once seedlings have several leaves, pot them on into a 7.5 cm pot. Choose a spot in full sun to partial shade with at least 4 to 6 hours of sun a day — mint is most productive in full sun but tolerates light shade. Space the plants about 45 cm apart (30–45 cm in rows 45 cm apart); they reach roughly 45 to 90 cm tall and spread vigorously by rhizomes.

Fertilizing

Wild Mint prefers a rich soil that is high in organic matter, with a target pH of 6.0–6.5. Before planting, work plenty of compost or well-rotted manure into the bed to feed the plants and improve drainage. In soil that is already well amended, mint may need no extra fertilizer at all. Where you do feed, apply nitrogen from spring into early summer to match the season of active growth. Go easy with it: excess nitrogen pushes out soft growth that attracts spider mites and aphids and can make disease worse, so a measured hand gives the healthiest, most flavourful plants.

Care

Keep the root zone consistently moist — the soil should stay damp but never waterlogged, and the plants should never be left to wilt between waterings. Water the soil directly rather than the leaves to cut down on leaf disease, and water deeply instead of giving frequent light sprinklings; drip irrigation is better than overhead sprinklers. Harvest individual leaves or shoot tips once the plants are established, picking the young, soft tips for the most intense flavour, and cut often to keep growth bushy. The harvest season runs from late spring into autumn. For drying or the strongest oil, cut the whole plant just as the flower buds begin to appear, and remove flower spikes to keep the leaves at their best; after flowering, cut the plant back to about 5 cm from the base to bring on fresh growth. Watch for mint rust, aphids, spider mites (worst in hot, dry conditions), blue mint beetle, mint moth and leafhoppers; dislodge aphids and mites with a strong spray of water or insecticidal soap. Verticillium wilt is a serious soil-borne disease of mint, so always start with healthy, disease-free planting stock. Divide established plants every 3 to 4 years to keep them vigorous.