How to grow peppermint at home on a windowsill

Mint is a herbaceous plant that can be brewed in the form of tea and eaten. Usually it is planted in the garden and fragrant leaves are collected throughout the season. If you want to please yourself with a fragrant plant right in the apartment, the best option is growing on a windowsill, mint can easily take root at home.

Mint varieties for growing on a windowsill or balcony

Mint is a picky plant, almost any species can be grown at home.

Mint in a pot

Often these varieties are planted in pots:

• Pearls are a medium-sized bush with wrinkled dark leaves. The smell differs from other varieties in spicy notes;
• Penniroval is a small-sized bush that grows rapidly. Small leaves grow densely and compactly, have an intense aroma;
• Fun. This variety is called vegetable mint, has the appearance of a small branchy bush. The aroma is cooling, has a pronounced smack of menthol;
• Strawberry mint is a garden variety that takes root well in a pot. Combines the aromas of mint and ripe strawberries, sometimes with chocolate notes;
• Ceremony. Leaves with a relief surface of dark green color. The central stem is well developed, if not pinched, the mint grows rapidly in height;
• Kuban is a type of peppermint that grows equally well in the garden and pot. It features a high content of essential oil in the leaves and a pungent odor;
• Lemon mint, another name is lemon balm. It takes root well in the apartment, has a complex smell of mint with a lemon tint. More than other varieties susceptible to fungal diseases, does not like excess moisture;
• Flea mint is a short, heat-loving plant whose leaves are used in cooking as a seasoning. Contains a large amount of essential oils. If in the summer it is placed on the balcony, it will repel insects;
• Plectranthus is called room mint, designed for growing at home. The evergreen has an aroma that repels moths. From the leaves make a decoction that helps to cope with diseases of the respiratory tract.

Planting Peppermint Seeds in Pots

Mint on the windowsill in the apartment is real, mint seeds take root quickly enough. The main disadvantage is that the seeds are small in size, which makes them inconvenient to use.

Small seeds

Varietal seeds can be purchased at the store, when buying, you need to pay attention to their shelf life. Seeds can be collected independently from an adult plant after flowering. Cultivated peppermint seeds have a higher germination capacity, in comparison with wild-growing.

What you need for landing

The best time for sowing is March or the first half of April, during which daylight hours increase. Already in early summer, it will be possible to harvest the first crop. Before you grow mint at home on the windowsill, you need to prepare everything. What is needed:

• Mint seeds of the desired variety. Not everyone has high germination, so when sowing, their number must be increased;
• Paper or cloth for soaking seeds;
• A wide container or a pot for germination, with a diameter of at least 20 cm. The roots of mint grow in width, so you need to choose wide containers, there should be holes at the bottom for draining the liquid;
• Cling film or glass. Clear plastic will do;
• Water;
• Drainage: small pebbles or expanded clay;
• Priming. For planting, any fertile and loose substrate is used. You can choose peaty soil with coarse sand or any purchased substrate for herbaceous plants.

The optimal window for growing seedlings

Despite the unpretentious nature of the plant, it is necessary to choose the right place for growing seedlings. It is enough to follow simple rules:

• Seedlings should receive enough heat and sunlight, a container with crops can be placed on the windowsill near the southeast or southwest window;
• It is allowed to place near the south window in the morning and evening, also if the plant is in the shade of other flowers, or on the street cloudy weather;
• Mint does not tolerate direct sunlight, from them the leaves can dry. At lunchtime, seedlings should not stand on the windowsill on the south side without shading, for this time you need to remove it in the middle of the room;
• It is undesirable to put the pot near the north window. In the shade, the stems of the plant will be thin, the leaves are small and with a faint aroma.

Pot on the windowsill

Step-by-step landing process

Seeds can be sown directly in the soil with which the pot is filled. After germination, the mint will not be transplanted to a new place, you must immediately select a suitable container. How to plant:

1. First, the seeds are poured onto a damp cloth, on top of it you need to cover with a piece of cling film, leave for 2-3 days;
2. In advance, it is necessary to prepare flowerpots or containers for sowing, a layer of drainage 2-3 cm high is poured onto the bottom. The containers must be filled with earth and moistened with warm water;
3. Seeds need to be laid out on top of the ground and slightly compacted by hand. You can not bury them, at great depths they may not germinate;
4. The soil is once again moistened with warm water from a spray bottle;
5. The pot needs to be tightened with a film or covered with glass. Every day, the soil is ventilated for 10-15 minutes. When the first shoots appear, the coating is removed and continue to care for mint.

Small sprouts

For large seedlings, seeds can be germinated before planting in a pot. To do this, they are seeded in a temporary container in a similar way, but without preliminary soaking. From above, the container is tightened with a film or covered with glass; it is ventilated every day for 15 minutes.

The first sprouts appear already for 2-3 weeks, they are dug up and transplanted into separate pots. When the seedlings grow to 4-8 cm in height, they must be tied to pegs so that they do not fall over.

Caring for mint in a pot on the windowsill

Mint grows in a pot at home, it is easy to rearrange it in the right place. The plant loves warm weather and should be in the room at a temperature of 23-26 ° C. In summer, peppermint can stand on a balcony or loggia. During the heat, a container of water should be placed next to the plant, which will maintain normal humidity.

In winter, the plant must be removed from the window and put in a warm place, where the temperature will be maintained at 17-20 ° C. Mint does not tolerate cold, low temperature harms the plant.

Plant in the pot

Watering mode

At home, mint in a pot requires regular moistening of the soil, it must not be allowed to dry out. Excess moisture is also detrimental to the plant, from it the root system will rot. Watering Rules:

• The plant is watered when the topsoil completely dries out. In the summer, 2-3 moistening of the soil per week with a small amount of water is required. The fluid should not stagnate;
• In winter, watering is reduced to 1 time per week if the temperature does not exceed 17-22 ° C;
• In addition to watering, the plant is regularly sprayed with water as dust accumulates;
• Water the plant with soft water. Before use, it should stand in open bottles for at least 3-4 days.

Top dressing

At home, peppermint requires a small top dressing, it is enough to apply fertilizer in the summer 1 time. The plant is fed with liquid fertilizer, for this, 0.5 g of urea is diluted in 500 ml of water. At the time of formation of the first leaves, it is allowed to use a small amount of mineral fertilizers.

Mint does not require a large amount of fertilizer, the concentration indicated on the package must be reduced several times. In the cold season, you do not need to fertilize the plant.

Harvesting

Depending on the variety, in 2-3 months after sowing, the stems grow to the desired size. Shoots can be cut when they reach 14-18 cm in length. Mint in a pot grows rapidly, pruning is carried out regularly. How to do it right:

• It is recommended to tear mint leaves at a distance of 1.5-3 cm from the stem - this contributes to the growth of new side shoots;
• You can not pluck the shoots completely. The stems are cut no more than 1/3 of the length, otherwise further growth may stop;
• The most fragrant leaves with a large amount of menthol grow after the appearance of peduncles, but before flowering;
• During the flowering period, all nutrients are spent on the formation of inflorescences. It is necessary to trim the upper part of the bush 10-15 mm above the junction of the main and lateral stems;
• Cut peppermint is stored in a refrigerator in a ventilated container. Stalks that do not have time to use can be dried.

Scissors

Possible difficulties growing

Before you grow mint at home, you need to familiarize yourself with the possible difficulties. Problems can arise when transplanting mint from the garden, in this case, you can accidentally plant a plant infected with diseases and pests. Home varieties are susceptible to diseases and pests, as are garden plants.

Disease

The main problem is the appearance of rust on the leaves. A disease of a fungal nature, manifests itself in the form of dark red spots on the leaves. Reasons for the appearance:

• Excess and stagnation of water, increased humidity in the room;
• Low temperature and frequent drafts;
• Excess nitrogen in the soil.

Affected stems must be cut off, the remaining ones are treated with fungicides. Before use, the processed mint leaves are soaked for 30 minutes in cold water.

Often there are such fungal diseases:

• Powdery Mildew It has the appearance of a white coating on the shoots and leaves, formed in the hot season. Treatment of the plant with a solution of colloidal sulfur of 1% concentration will help to get rid of the problem;
• Anthracnose and septoriasis appear as brown and brown spots on the leaves. The affected plant is treated 3-4 times with a Bordeaux mixture with a concentration of 1%;
• Verticillosis - during the illness, the leaves fade, along the edges they begin to darken. Fungicides are used to eliminate the disease, but they do not give a 100% guarantee of solving the problem.

Pests

Despite the intense aroma, mint attracts insects. Some of them start in the ground and can affect a healthy plant. Such a problem can occur if mint is planted in garden soil, which had not been disinfected before.

Pests on the leaves

The main pest is a mint flea, which starts in warm, dry weather. An insect no larger than 1.5 mm gnaws round holes on the leaves. Leaf damage and green scale insects leave similar damage. Together with the soil, weevils and mint mites can enter the pot.

Mint leaves

The real storehouse of vitamins in the cold season is mint on the windowsill, the cultivation of which is possible even for a beginner grower. A fragrant and healthy plant is unpretentious in care, easily takes root and grows quickly.

Watch the video: The 3 Herbs Every Man Should Grow on His Windowsill (May 2024).