Saudi Mint Seeds

Saudi mint is loved across the Gulf and Egypt for its cool, sweet aroma and bright green, tender leaves that lift a glass of tea or a fresh salad in an instant. It is a hardy perennial herb that spreads vigorously once settled, rewarding you with a fragrant, fast-growing patch year after year. This makes it a favourite for fresh tea, garnishes, and a green, aromatic corner of any home garden. Young, soft shoot tips carry the most intense flavour, so this is a herb that keeps giving the more you pick it.

Planting

Start mint seed indoors in spring, about 6 to 8 weeks before your spring planting date, and move seedlings outside only after any danger of frost has passed. Surface-sow your seeds: press them gently onto the surface of the growing medium and do not cover them, because mint seed needs light to germinate. Keep the medium moist and well lit, and the seeds should sprout in about 10 to 14 days at 22 to 24 C (around two weeks at roughly 20 C). Once seedlings have several leaves, pot them up into a 7.5 cm pot. Space established plants about 45 cm apart, allowing 30 to 45 cm between plants in rows 45 cm apart; remember that mint spreads aggressively by underground runners and mature plants reach about 45 to 90 cm tall. Note that mint is more reliably propagated vegetatively, by dividing a mature clump or rooting stem and runner cuttings, than from seed.

Fertilizing

Mint thrives in rich soil that is high in organic matter, and in well-amended ground it may not need any added feed at all. Before planting, work compost or well-rotted manure into the bed to supply nutrients and improve drainage, aiming for a soil pH of 6.0 to 6.5. Where you do feed, apply nitrogen from spring through to early summer to match the plant's active growth. Avoid excess nitrogen, as it produces soft growth that attracts spider mites and aphids and can make disease worse.

Care

Give mint full sun to partial shade, with at least 4 to 6 hours of sun a day; it grows in sun or shade but is most productive in full sun while tolerating light shade. Keep the root zone consistently moist but never waterlogged, and never let the plants wilt between waterings. Water the soil directly rather than the leaves to reduce disease, water deeply instead of light frequent sprinklings, and favour drip irrigation over overhead sprinklers. Watch for mint rust, aphids, spider mites, blue mint beetle, mint moth, and leafhoppers, and the serious soil-borne verticillium wilt; dislodge aphids and mites with a strong jet of water or insecticidal soap, and always start with disease-free planting stock. Harvest leaves or shoot tips once plants are established, picking the young, soft tips for the strongest flavour, and remove flower spikes to keep the leaves tasting their best. For drying or the strongest oil, cut the whole plant just as flower buds begin to appear. Frequent cutting encourages bushier growth, and after flowering you can cut the plant back to about 5 cm from the base to bring on fresh new shoots. Divide established plants every 3 to 4 years to keep them vigorous.