Mint is a delicious herb that can be used in the kitchen, grown outdoors and indoors. Mint likes moist soil, but you can grow it indoors in a sunny spot. You can use mint to make a natural air freshener or to flavor your favorite dishes.
This article will share steps on how to grow mint indoors using three different methods.
Before you start to learn how to grow mint indoors, learn more about this herb!
Mint is a famous herb that can be used for both medicinal and culinary purposes. It has been utilized for thousands of years in traditional healing practices and is still widely used today. The leaves are traditionally flavored in many dishes and drinks, but mint also has other uses!
Here is other information about mint.
- Mint herb contains many antioxidants and vitamins that help keep your body healthy and strong.
- It has anti-inflammatory properties, which make it good for helping arthritis pain.
- Mint contains essential oils that can help to clear up your sinuses when you’re suffering from a cold or allergies.
- It’s used as a breath freshener and helps soothe sore throats when combined with honey or lemon.
- It’s believed to help treat indigestion and heartburn when taken in small amounts before meals.
Mint is a perennial plant with a wide variety of uses. It grows best in areas with moist soil and full sun. Mint can be grown indoors or outdoors and started from cuttings or seeds.
Things you need to grow mint indoors
If you want to grow healthy mint indoors, you must provide your herb with the following.
1. Water
Learning how to grow mint indoors also requires your knowledge about their water needs.
Fortunately, mint is one of those herbs that are not too demanding and sensitive regarding water. You can overwater or underwater it and still thrive. However, giving your mint indoors a balanced water supply would be better.
That means you just need to water them if the soil feels and looks dry. Make sure that the soil is always moist but never too wet. You can water it every other day rather than once a week.
Likewise, keep the potting mix slightly acidic. Add peat moss or composted cow manure to help balance the pH levels.
2. Sunlight
Make sure your mint has at least six hours of sunlight daily. If you don’t have direct sunlight in the room where your mint is growing, get an artificial light bulb that gives off full-spectrum light like those used for houseplants.
You can also try putting your mint near a window where there’s direct sunlight coming through. Just make sure that it doesn’t get too hot!
How to grow mint indoors in three methods?
In this section, we’ll discuss three methods to grow mint indoors. This includes the following.
- How to grow mint indoors in soil with mint cuttings?
- How to grow mint indoors in water?
- How to grow mint indoors using hydroponics?
1. How to grow mint indoors in soil with mint cuttings?
Growing mint in the soil is one of the widely used ways. Here’s how to do it.
- Select a pot with 8 inches diameter. Ensure that your pot has drainage holes.
- You can use plastics and decorative pots but avoid using clay pots.
- Choose a high-quality general potting soil where you’ll plant your mint.
- When putting your soil, leave at least half an inch of space between the soil and the top rim of the pot for irrigation water purposes.
- Plant your mint cuttings.
- Just remove the leaves on the bottom portion of your mint cuttings.
- Stick an inch of the stem in your potting soil.
- Water it.
- Cover your pot using a plastic baggie.
- Put your pot on your window sill where it gets sunlight for 3 weeks.
- After 3 weeks, remove the plastic baggie.
2. How to grow mint indoors in water?
You can also grow mint indoors using water. This method does not need potting soil, which means less mess, no watering needed, and your mint will never get fungus gnats. But you need to know that mint won’t live forever in water. That means this method is only applicable if you want an occasional harvest.
So, here’s how you can do it.
- Get some stem cuttings from a mother mint plant.
- Remove the leaves at the bottom of the stem.
- Place the stems in a glass full of water.
- You must replace the water every five to seven days, and don’t forget to clean the glass.
- Your mint will develop roots quickly within a month, depending on the sunlight it receives.
3. How to grow mint indoors using hydroponics?
Surprisingly, mint can thrive perfectly hydroponically regardless if you use a DIY or commercial hydroponic system. Just like in water, it requires no soil, which means less mess. However, you need to know that a hydroponics system is more expensive than planting mint in soil.
But if you want to explore this method, here’s what you need to know on how to grow mint indoors using hydroponics.
- You must ensure that your hydroponic setup will receive 14-16 hours of light daily.
- You can use grow lights, but ensure that you’ll use blue spectrum lights.
- Maintain the environment’s temperature between 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit during the daytime and 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit during the nighttime.
- The pH range of your water must be between 6-7.
- The root systems of your mint should be consistently moist.
- Do not use nutrient solutions. Instead, use a balanced formula.
Pests of mint indoors to watch out for
Mint is a great addition to the garden but can also be grown indoors. If you’re interested in doing so, keep in mind that pests can affect your mint plants.
Spider mites
These tiny bugs are hard to see and can quickly destroy your mint plants because they suck out their sap. Spider mites are also difficult to get rid of. They can survive even when no food or water is available.
Whitefly
This little bug sucks out the sap from your mint plant and leaves behind honeydew, which attracts ants and other insects that feed on it. You’ll know if you have whiteflies because they leave behind a sticky residue on your plants’ leaves, stems, and flowers.
Solution:
The best way to prevent these pests from infesting your mint plants is to keep them healthy by watering regularly and fertilizing once every two weeks with compost tea or liquid seaweed fertilizer (10-15-30). Make sure that you don’t overwater or underwater your plant and try not to overcrowd them!