Harvesting Mint

This is my second summer growing mint and once the mint started looking like an overgrown bush, I got a little serious about it! 

I use it Fresh in my detox morning water with lemon. Also, I use it in fresh salads and all kinds of recipes. I’m anxious to dry it and try it in teas. Mint also attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies, while detouring mice and other bugs that could eat your garden veggies. It’s a good companion plant to anything leafy, broccoli or cauliflower. 

Mint can be harvested more than once per season. It’s the middle of May, and I just completed my first harvest. It’s best to cut before the mint gets its flowers, because you’ll have a hardy, rich sweet mint flavor. 

I read to cut one to two inches from the soil, but I left about 6 inches for the bugs and in case I want to pluck more fresh leaves. 

I’m drying some with twins upside down. I read the mint will be stronger. I also laid a lot out on a window screen that had broken, so it become an upcycled drying rack. 

Once I take the mint from the stems, they can be stored in an air tight container, like a glass Mason jar-or even baby food containers, for 2 years. 

Sun or natural drying takes two weeks, or you can dry in the oven on the lowest warm setting for 30 minutes,  checking after 30 mins until brittle. 

I’m also collecting dandelions, pine cones and orange peels. Collaborate with me anytime! I love talking anything nature 💚