Mint.

Conditions at a glance

• Light Partial shade to sun (4+ h)
• Warmth Cool to warm · roots are frost-hardy
• Humidity Likes it damp; tolerant
• Water Keep consistently moist — mint hates drying out
• Pot size ~2–5 L pot — always contained
• First harvest ~6–8 weeks; snip leaves once established

Grow it in your space

1. Put it in a pot (never open ground) — mint spreads by runners and takes over.
2. A partly sunny spot and a rich, moisture-holding potting mix.
3. Keep the soil reliably damp; mint wilts fast if it dries out.
4. Pinch the growing tips to keep it bushy rather than leggy.
5. Cut it back hard when it sprawls or flowers, and it regrows fresh.

How to tell it's ready

• Stems around 15 cm before the first cut — let it establish before you start taking much — after that it regrows faster than you can use it.
• Cut above a pair of leaves — the plant branches from that point, so cutting well is how you get a bushier plant instead of a balder one.
• Before the flower buds open — flavour is strongest just before flowering. Once it flowers the leaves get thinner and less aromatic — cut it back and it comes again.
• Take up to about a third at a time — leave enough leaf for the plant to keep feeding itself; it recovers in a couple of weeks.

Watch-outs

• Invasive runners — escapes into beds and crowds neighbours — keep it potted.
• Mint rust — orange pustules under the leaves — remove affected stems, improve airflow.
• Drying out — sudden wilting — mint is thirsty; don't let the pot go bone-dry.
• Leggy growth — long, bare stems — cut back hard to force fresh, dense regrowth.