How to grow mint at home from seeds?

Mint is a unique perennial plant whose valuable properties are appreciated by many gardeners. It is used in cooking, to brew delicious aromatic teas and to treat some colds. That is why many are trying to cultivate it not only in the country, but also at home. This can be done with cuttings and seeds.

general information

Mint is widespread in different regions of our country.

Mint is a fragrant, gentle and refreshing herb that belongs to the Lamiaceae family. It is not demanding on the climate and the growing region, therefore it is grown by many gardeners in the country. But its widespread use in cooking leads to the need for many housewives to grow it at home.

Mint is widespread in different regions of our country, while it has more than 300 different species, but only 20-25 varieties are most widespread. Among them it is worth highlighting:

• long-leaved;
• spikelet;
• field;
• apple;
• water;
• green;
• curly.

Unlike other horticultural crops, this plant has a menthol refreshing scent that is slightly weaker in pepper than in other varieties. Depending on the variety, it can have a green or reddish-purple color of leaves and stems. In this case, cultivation can be carried out in different ways.

You can plant it both with the help of a cuttings and with seeds. At the same time, for growing at home, novice gardeners generally choose the first option, since it is easy to implement. The second method is more complicated, since the use of seeds to obtain seedlings is a laborious and time-consuming process.

Depending on the variety, it can have a green or reddish-purple color of leaves and stems.

But if all the requirements and recommendations are followed, any housewife, even a very busy one, will be able to grow viable seedlings at home. Mint is a fairly undemanding plant, so it does not need regular watering, feeding and replanting.

Landing - step by step instructions

Hybrid varieties, when propagated and grown by seeds, can produce a plant that is different from the mother.

Growing mint using seeds is a long, laborious and complex process, since it requires increased attention, without which the seedlings can die. Also, the seeds do not guarantee full germination, therefore, even when using a whole bag of them, only a few seedlings can sprout.

Another factor that is important to consider when using this method is the fact that hybrid varieties, when propagated and grown by seed, can produce a plant that is different from the mother. Such varieties-hybrids include pepper, Dutch and others.

This method is preferable to use if planting is carried out in winter, and the seeds cannot be collected from the mother. In this case, a bag of planting material of a certain type (curly, peppery, lemon, long-leaved, and others) can be bought at a regular gardening store.

It is advisable to immediately take several, since when using them it is difficult to get good germination. Despite the fact that planting mint seeds is quite difficult, if you follow all the recommendations, rules and requirements of gardeners, you can get a good result.

So, how to grow mint at home. To do this, it is important to follow the steps:

1. Since the size of the seeds is very small, the process of sowing them must be taken very carefully. If a seed hits the ground deeply, it will not be able to break through to the surface. That is why it is important to maintain the optimum planting depth, which is no more than 5 mm. The best time for this is early spring.
2. For home sowing, it is better to choose a small, clean enamel dish. The best option is an ordinary plastic pallet, since it is quite easy to use, it is clearly visible even without the need to open the lid, and after transplanting the seedlings, you can simply throw it away.
3. Mint of all varieties prefers fertile soil, which must be prepared in advance. For this, the land should be combined with humus, compost and wood ash. It is also possible to use a regular commercial one, which is suitable for vegetables or herbs. Moreover, if the earth contains a large amount of lime, then the aroma of mint will not be so strong. This opportunity can be used by housewives with severe allergies.
4. It is best to plant the seeds in a plastic container with a lid, as this will create an airtight environment and maintain an optimal temperature. When using plastic or iron enameled dishes, you will need to open the lid every day and view the state of the seedlings, moisture or dryness of the soil, and the transparent walls and lid of the container make it possible to do this without harming the seedlings.
5. Favorable conditions for germination are a temperature of 21-24 degrees and optimal humidity conditions. Therefore, in winter, next to the seedlings, you can put a bowl of water, which will evaporate and humidify the surrounding air.
6. Ventilation can be provided in plastic containers if required. To do this, small holes must be made on the walls and lid.

Mint of all varieties prefers fertile soil, which must be prepared in advance.

Growing and replanting seedlings

Mint from seeds, like parsley in winter, hatch after a while - on average, 1-2 weeks. When sowing a significant amount of seeds, plastic containers can be placed on top of each other, which will significantly reduce the space they occupy on the windowsill.

Growing mint will be more successful if the containers with the growth are placed on the windowsill. The plant is light-loving enough, so it should receive ultraviolet rays for at least 4 hours a day. To do this, it is best to place containers on windows that face northeast or west.

Mint from seeds, like parsley in winter, hatch after a while - on average 1-2 weeks

With a lack of sunlight when planting at home, the plant may simply die, but it is not recommended to allow direct sunlight to fall on the seedlings during the day. This can lead to burns on the leaves and complications of care.

But if there is a lack of light during the day or in winter conditions, artificial light from table or special lamps can be used to create additional lighting.

To do this, they need to be placed at a certain height, which will prevent burns, which is 50 cm.

Video about growing aromatic mint in an apartment

After the seedlings are strong and strong, they can be planted in separate containers. To do this, you need to pick up plastic deep containers and bowls, and place them on a lighted windowsill. It is important to provide for good drainage in pots, which can be crushed stone or broken brick.

Fertile soil with an acid-base composition within 6-7 is suitable for transplantation, feeding is carried out with specialized fertilizers and preparations.

Care after landing

Mint, like lemon balm, is not a demanding plant, which is why its cultivation is so common at home. But to ensure good survival of seedlings and abundant growth, special care is required for it, which should include the main activities:

1. Removal of weeds during periodic weeding and loosening of the soil in a pot or container for planting seedlings.
2. Moderate watering, the frequency of which depends on temperature and humidity. For example, when grown in winter, the plant requires moderate watering, and in hot summer, abundant watering.
3. Application of mineral fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus, which help maintain vitality.
4. A plant transplant, which is necessarily carried out once every two or three years. This procedure rejuvenates the plant and ensures good growth and development.

Propagating mint by cuttings

Planting mint requires careful adherence to all these care requirements at first, until the mint gets stronger and stronger. Subsequently, she ceases to require such attentive care.

Growing mint seeds at home, like growing lettuce, is not difficult. But in order to obtain viable seedlings, it is important to comply with all the basic requirements for planting and care.

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Its aroma is one of the most recognizable and beloved, the leaves are present in the kitchen supplies of almost every housewife, and its natural properties help relieve nervous tension and restore a healthy sound sleep.

Mint is a herb that has earned the respect of culinary craftsmen and experts in traditional medicine. How to grow mint at home yourself?

Characterized by jagged leaves and tiny pink, purple, white flowers, the perennial is widespread in the wild and cultivated horticulture. At home, mint is a completely non-capricious and easily adaptable plant.

Vegetative growing method

How to grow mint at home? The most common method of propagation is vegetative, in which cuttings or rhizome cuttings with shoots can be used.

To obtain a cutting in the summer from an adult plant, you should cut off a twig with leaf nodules and place it in a glass of water or in the sand. After a week, you can see the appearance of small white roots. When they reach a decent length, the plant can be planted in a permanent place of growth. You can also get planting material by digging a mint bush in early autumn and dividing it into several parts. Each of them should have shoots with roots and several buds.

Propagation of mint by seeds

The seed method is less in demand and is quite lengthy. Typically, mint seeds are purchased in stores. They need to be planted in containers with barely damp soil to a depth of no more than 0.5 cm, create greenhouse conditions for them, covered with plastic wrap or glass. After 7-16 days, the mint seeds will sprout; the emerging and matured seedlings should be transplanted into pots and determined in cooler conditions for the purpose of gradual acclimatization. After 7-10 days, the young plant will be ready to be assigned to a permanent place of growth.

How to grow mint at home: useful tips

Mint can be grown both outdoors and as a pot plant. For indoor maintenance, in which the plant can be grown all year round, a drainage layer should be placed in the planting container, and a soil composition of 1 part humus and 2 parts of leafy soil should be used as a nutrient soil. Plant a new plant here.

Mint on the windowsill will feel good in the west or east side of the room, without direct sunlight on the green leaves. In summer, the plant will be comfortable on the balcony, in winter - on a lighted windowsill. In room conditions, it should be controlled that the soil is constantly moist, and there is always water in the pan of the pot. Mint on the windowsill needs regular watering with soft water at room temperature, it is also recommended to spray the leaves from time to time. A weekly shower during the warmer months will only benefit a fragrant room culture. With regular cutting off of leaves, it is recommended to feed the plant once a month.

Mint: outdoor growing conditions

When grown outdoors, mint should be placed in a sunny location in fertile, well-drained soil. The best precursors for mint are turnips, carrots, and potatoes. The planting depth of the seedling is 10-12 cm, the recommended distance between plants is 15-30 cm. The shrub will root better if, when planting at a distance of 5 cm from the soil surface, its aboveground part is cut off.

How to grow mint at home so that its reserves are not depleted? Mint tends to grow strongly. You can limit it in active growth to the sides by planting a bush in a wide container, which you can immerse in the ground. The planted plant will delight with young leaves in a couple of weeks. The top of the fragrant grass should be kept trimmed: this inhibits growth in height, causes overgrowth to the sides, thereby increasing the yield.

After planting, you can feed the mint with a urea solution at the rate of 2 grams of the drug per 1 liter of water. It is not recommended to fertilize the plant with nitrogen-containing agents: they will cause an active growth of the vegetative mass, which will negatively affect the accumulation of essential oils mint.

Harvesting and storage

Harvesting can begin in the second year after planting: about 3 cuts are made per season. It is best to harvest mint leaves during flowering (June-September) - it is at this moment that it has the highest content of essential oils.

Dried leaves and petioles, which are the aromatic component of herbal tea and seasoning for dishes, should be stored in a dark place in a glass container. It is recommended to grow a garden culture in one place for no more than 4 years.

Diseases and pests

Mint can be affected by pests such as spider mites, slugs, whiteflies, and weevils. Keeping a plant healthy requires good air circulation in the soil and drainage. Insects, which tend to reside on the underside of leaves, can be rinsed off with a hose.

Home-grown mint varieties

On your own plot, you can plant several types of mint, or stop at one of them.

So, apple mint, characterized by a pleasant aroma and delicate refreshing taste, does not give bitterness and is tasty in compotes, jelly, jams. For culinary purposes, the entire aerial part of the plant is used. Green and variegated varieties, combining spicy and tasteful qualities with decorativeness, are characterized by wide ovoid leaves with a clearly visible thick pile. The height of the herbaceous bushes is about 70 cm.

Curly mint is ideal for culinary purposes because it does not have the cold menthol flavor that peppermint has. The plant is characterized by strong stems and bright green, jagged leaves along the edges.Mint looks very nice in a pot, giving a year-round harvest when grown indoors.

Field mint fully reveals its qualities in tonic drinks. The long-leaved species contains a large amount of vitamin C and, due to the high content of essential oils, is successfully used in cosmetology and home soap making. Therefore, you should definitely acquire such a healthy culture on your own site, which is at the same time a medicine, a spice and a seasoning.

In cultural gardening, peppermint is widespread - a plant with creeping long roots, numerous branches with green egg-shaped leaves and miniature purple-pink inflorescences. Due to the high content of menthol, the aerial part of the grass emits a strong aroma and is characterized by a specific "cooling" taste.

Young mint greens are used to flavor drinks, sauces, desserts, fruit and vegetable dishes. Peppermint, which has sedative and antiseptic properties, is a constituent of many medicines, is effective in treating colds and improves digestion.

Mint and its closest related species, known as essential oil, spice and flavoring and medicinal crops, have long found their place in garden beds and gardens. But if during the summer the plants are regularly supplied with fresh greens, then with the arrival of autumn frosts, the gardener has to be content with frozen or dried mint in advance. And although these methods allow the plant to preserve most of the nutrients, such raw materials cannot be compared with green juicy leaves.

In order not to depend on the season and not to give up mint greens containing menthol, vitamins, valuable acids and trace elements, when it is frosty outside and a blizzard is raging, you can plant mint on the windowsill.

How to grow mint at home?

A perennial with a branched surface rhizome and many shoots extending from it can be easily grown at home. The main thing is to provide the plants with comfortable conditions, including adequate nutrition, lighting and watering.

Mint feels best on loose soils with an average organic content and low acidity, in the range of 5-7 pH.

Before planting mint for plants, a soil mixture is prepared from two parts of garden soil, one part of humus, the same volume of peat and washed sand. To prevent the mint roots from getting wet, and there is no danger of decay, drainage must be done in a container for growing mint at home.

Since mint is quite unpretentious, you can propagate the plant:

• sowing seeds;
• root layers;
• cuttings;
• dividing an adult bush.

How to grow mint from seeds on a windowsill?

Seed propagation is the most laborious and time consuming method, but it cannot be avoided if you want to get a plant of a certain variety or type.

In order for the seedlings to be strong and friendly, it is better to give preference to purchased seeds. Not all hybrid species inherit the parental characteristics when collecting seed from them. So, for example, only a third of curly mint seedlings have curly foliage, and the rest of the seedlings are a simple garden variety. So how to plant mint seeds?

It is better to sow mint in March or April, in moistened soil to a depth of 0.5 cm. Sprinkle the seeds on top with a small amount of humus or nutrient soil and cover with glass or film. At room temperature, seedlings appear 14-18 days after sowing. Until this moment, it is necessary to monitor the moisture content of the soil, to prevent it from drying out or waterlogging. If necessary, the surface of the soil is carefully sprayed, trying not to disturb the small seeds, and the glass is slightly opened for ventilation.

When the sprouts of mint on the windowsill give two true leaves, they are dived, seated in separate small containers or in a 5x5 pattern in a single wide container.

How to plant mint by root layers and dividing the bush?

Gardeners and gardeners know how the mint that has taken root on the site quickly takes up new spaces. Long rhizomes with dormant buds are to blame for the predatory activity of the plant. The expanding root system of one plant gives life to new shoots and bushes. How to plant mint with root cuttings?

If you take advantage of this feature of mint, and in August or September stock up on root cuttings, about 10-12 cm long and two or three buds, then there will be no difficulty in the question of how to grow mint at home. Root layers are planted in moistened soil to a depth of 5–7 cm. If there are already developed shoots on such a cuttings, the roots are carefully preserved, and the aboveground part, after sprinkling with soil, is cut off at a height of 4–5 cm. The same is done with the planting material obtained after dividing the whole bush.

After two weeks, with proper care, indoor mint, as in the photo, forms dense green shoots and the first odorous leaves above the soil.

The same breeding methods are suitable for planting on the windowsill such herbs as oregano and thyme, which belong together with mint to the same family and have common habits and characteristics.

All of these crops are grown at home as perennials and require light but constant care.

Growing mint at home using cuttings

Cuttings cut from the tip of the shoots of an adult bush are also suitable as planting material for growing mint on the windowsill. How to grow mint on the windowsill in this case? Twigs 6–8 cm long are dipped in a root solution and, after removing the two lower leaves, are placed in water. Roots sufficient for planting in the ground are formed after 7-15 days.

Two weeks after planting the rooted cuttings and the appearance of shoots on the planted root processes, the plants are fed with urea at the rate of 1 gram per liter of water.

Caring for mint grown on a windowsill

When wondering how to grow mint at home and get strong bushes with juicy bright foliage on the windowsill, it is important to remember that this is possible only if there is the correct temperature regime, watering and sufficient illumination.

The comfortable temperature for growth is 20–25 ° С. With this mode, long daylight hours and moist soil, the plants form foliage well.

Mint reacts sensitively to changes in illumination, in room conditions, without additional 6-hour illumination in autumn and winter, its shoots begin to stretch, the leaves become smaller, lose their rich color and aroma. If it is impossible to organize the necessary artificial lighting of pots with mint on the windowsill, you can lower the temperature to 15-17 ° C and limit watering. This measure will slow down the growth processes somewhat and will not allow the quality of greenery to decrease.

With all the love of mint for light, the plant does not tolerate being in the sun in direct sunlight. Exposed to the balcony, terrace, loggia or on the windowsill, mint must be shaded, protecting the planting from burns and drying out.

In rooms with a dry atmosphere, especially when heating devices are working, a container with water can be placed next to the mint so that the air humidity does not fall below 80%, which can adversely affect the condition of the bush. For the same purpose, for mint on summer days and in winter, in a warm room, irrigation is carried out with water at room temperature.

As well as excessive dryness of the air, mint on the windowsill also does not tolerate drying out of the soil. The soil is watered at the first signs of dryness of the upper layer, but at the same time they do not allow stagnation of moisture, which is detrimental to the roots.With a decrease in air temperature, the need for irrigation drops slightly.

To simplify the care, as in the photo, for room mint, a little hydrogel can be added to the soil for planting it. Several granules in the soil layer above the drain will allow the soil to retain moisture and fertilizer better.

It is necessary to feed mint grown for greens using nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus fertilizers, but very carefully, since with an excess of nitrogen, the plant can accumulate it in the green.

Timing of collecting mint at home

The first crop of home-grown mint is harvested within 15–20 days after the first leaves appear above the ground. By this time, mint bushes reach a height of 20-30 cm, while trimming the tops of the shoots leads to the awakening of the buds in the axils and the growth of the plant.

If mint is grown in order to obtain raw materials with the maximum content of useful essential oils, then the timing of mint harvesting falls on the moment of peduncle formation or the beginning of flowering. In this case, during the warm season, when growth is most active, you can get up to three full harvests.

Mint, melisa on the windowsill - video

Mint is a very healthy and tasty plant. It is added to tea to calm the nerves, improve mood and tune in to a sweet dream. And if you just touch the mint leaves, then the space will be filled with a wonderful aroma. Therefore, many want to know if it is possible to grow mint on a windowsill in winter. You can, for this you need to know the basic rules for planting a bush in the ground and basic plant care at home.

Features of growing on a windowsill

Growing mint at home on a windowsill is considered a bit exotic. She usually lives well in the open field. But some people really want to grow it in a pot and keep it not only for the beauty of the interior, but also for the health and wellness benefits.

To do this, you need to take into account some of the features of planting and caring for a young plant. There are several ways to grow homemade mint on the windowsill. If rooting is carried out by seeds, then you need to be prepared for the fact that the seedlings sprout poorly and slowly. Most importantly, in most cases, young seedlings have poor heredity and often get sick.

It is best to grow mint on the windowsill with cuttings, they take root faster and carry all the useful qualities taken from the mother shrub.

Important! You need to keep mint at room temperature not lower than + 250C, in winter you should adhere to +17 .. + 200C. Hypothermia for an indoor flower is destructive.

Watering is required in the summer to be of high quality. Over-irrigation should be avoided during the winter months, supplying nutrient moisture to the shrubs only when needed. But unlike summer, from January on, you need to spray the leaves daily with warm room water.

Thus, the features of growing mint on the windowsill are not too different from other rooted plants in indoor living conditions. The main point of keeping a shrub on the window is a comfortable temperature, a sufficient amount of light and watering provided.

Video: features of growing mint on a windowsill.

What varieties are suitable for growing on a windowsill

Mint is considered a spice that grows in the open field, so there are not so many varieties for growing on the windowsill. A small list is represented by the following species, suitable for planting on the windowsill in the room. Here are the varieties of mint that can be grown on the windowsill:

1. Pearl - small size. It is distinguished by wrinkled leaves, medium volume with a dark green tint. In order for the bush to start branching, it is required to pinch the top growth point. Then lateral dormant buds will grow. The smell of the species is distinguished by a spicy mint aroma.
2. Penniroyal - home bush of compact volume. Its advantage is the formation of a large number of long processes. Its foliage is insignificant in length, the leaves are close to each other. Inflorescences are small, give off a purple tone. The smell of foliage when touched is bright, clearly expressed.
3. Ceremony - an essential oily deciduous plant. The foliage vaguely resembles the Pearl variety, having the same wrinkled leaf plates and a rich dark shade. It is imperative to pinch the upper bud so that the shrub begins to actively branch. Without this, the flower will begin to stretch out in a single trunk. The taste of fresh leaves is mint, intense, and the aroma is bright, spreading over a large area.

In addition to these varieties of mint, you can try to grow garden bushes in pots on the windowsill. For this purpose, a larger flowerpot and constant monitoring of active growth will be required. Perfect for planting on a windowsill are such varieties of mint as Garden Menthol, Garden Pepper and Anise Lofant.

How to plant and grow on a windowsill - features, conditions and step-by-step instructions

To grow mint on the windowsill at home, you need to know how to plant correctly, at what depth to place seedlings or mint seedlings.

Reference! A correctly selected planting substrate will provide the shrub with good germination and rapid growth. Therefore, you should adhere to the basic recommendations during planting.

What should be the place

To safely grow mint on a windowsill in an apartment or private house, you should choose the right place. Mint prefers sunny windowsills. But at the same time, the midday rays of the luminary can burn young tender leaves. Therefore, it is recommended to expose slides with shrubs to the western or eastern windows. If it is not possible to place flowerpots on these sides, then the southern window sill should be shaded at noon or the plant should be moved into the shade for a while.

Interesting! If the bush does not have enough light, the shoots begin to stretch excessively, and the leaves become light in color and small in size. Therefore, there should be an optimal amount of sun.

The shrub is very sensitive to moisture. Therefore, on hot summer days and at times when the battery located next to the window glows with heat in winter, it is imperative to adhere to high humidity. To do this, the leaves should be sprayed 1-2 times a day with boiled, settled water.

The temperature regime at which mint shoots grow rapidly is +23 .. + 250C. If the degrees fall below, then the shrub tends to slow down active growth. Therefore, in winter, the temperature in the room where the mint is located is reduced to +17 .. + 190 C. This is done so that the mint rests and gains strength for the spring release of young shoots.

What container to plant

It is necessary to organize the planting of mint for growing on the windowsill in pots of a small size in height, but with a sufficiently large width. Mint grows in breadth, rather than rooted in depth. A ceramic pot is ideal for planting. If you plant mint at home on a windowsill in a plastic flowerpot, the roots of the shrub can rot.

Attention! The plant takes root well in a ceramic pot. It has the ability to absorb excess moisture and allow the air required for the roots to pass through.

It is also important to choose a fairly large flowerpot. If the root system is cramped, then the shrub will slow down its growth and will not please with a rich color.

What soil to plant

Mint is not picky about the soil substrate, but its active growth is noted in loose, fertile soils. The acidity of the earth is not recommended to exceed pH 6. If the indicator is higher, then the plant will sit in one place, showing no signs of an increase in green shoots.

A fragrant bush will not refuse to take root in peat soil. Therefore, it is recommended to purchase soil mixtures based on peat and humus.It is they who have a beneficial effect on the transformation from a young cutting into a beautifully developed plant.

Attention! If possible, you can prepare the soil for planting yourself. To do this, you need to take in equal proportions the soil from the garden or vegetable garden, river sand, deciduous humus and crushed peat. Mix the contents thoroughly and leave the entire consistency for a month.

There is another option for preparing the land for planting mint at home on the windowsill. Land is taken from the garden and combined in a 2: 1 ratio with deciduous humus. Such a concentration is somewhat poorer than the first option, but in the presence of additional dressings, such a composition is perfect for growing.

Preparing seeds and cuttings for planting

Mint propagates in two ways: seeds and cuttings. Before planting begins, planting material should be prepared. Seedlings can be collected from the mother bush after the inflorescences have faded. The main point is to take into account the moments of seed ripening. If you collect them green, they will not rise.

Important! To grow mint on a windowsill from seeds, it is better to buy planting material in a specialized store. Additional processing of seedlings purchased in the store is not required. They are immediately buried in the ground.

To prepare the cuttings, they are cut from the mother bush. The seedling should be up to 10 cm tall. It can be put in water until the stalk sprouts. Or immediately root it into wet soil.

For the rapid release of young roots, the plant must be warm, constantly irrigated with moisture. The main thing is to control the process of germination of the root system.

As soon as the first roots began to appear, the seedlings must be immediately planted in the ground.

The disadvantage of this method is the moment of rooting. After all, if the root system grows significantly, it is possible to damage or completely break the roots during placement in the ground.

Video: how to grow mint on a windowsill using cuttings.

Direct landing

Seeds are sown on the soil, and sprinkled on top with a small amount of earth, but so that the seedlings are at a depth of 0.5 cm from the top. In turn, the cuttings are buried to a depth not exceeding 7 cm.

When growing mint on a windowsill with seeds, it is recommended to plant them in March or April. After planting, they need to be covered with glass or film. This is necessary in order to reproduce the greenhouse conditions for rapid germination.

Attention! Cuttings, as opposed to seedlings, should be rooted in the fall. It is at this moment that the mother bush contains a large amount of nutrients that have a beneficial effect on the rapid release of young roots.

Further growth depends only on quality care, which includes watering, feeding and loosening young seedlings.

Video: how to grow mint at home on a windowsill.

How to care after planting and before harvest - tips

To successfully grow mint on a windowsill in an apartment, you need to properly care for it. And proper care must be carried out according to the established rules. You need to follow the advice and then the shrub will begin to grow rapidly and delight with a persistent aroma. There are the following recommendations:

1. The temperature should be at + 250C.
2. In winter, on a short daylight hours, plantings should be highlighted. If you do not light for an additional 6 hours, then the sprouts will begin to stretch.
3. If additional lighting is organized, then it is recommended to reduce the temperature to +17 .. + 180C and reduce watering.
4. A moisture content of 80% should be adhered to. Such a moment is relevant on winter days, when heating devices are turned on and sufficiently dry air is observed. It is required to put containers with water.
5. In addition to containers with water, it is required to spray delicate leaves. The moisture should be boiled, separated, at room temperature.
6. To simplify the care of mint on the windowsill, a small amount of hydrogel can be introduced into the soil. It accumulates moisture and evaporates it for a long period, which reduces the frequency of watering.
7. Top dressing is carried out with potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen. With the latter, you need to gently act on the shrub. When it is oversaturated, fertilizers begin to be deposited in the soil.

Thus, by caring for the mint and controlling its constant state, you can achieve a chic bush that will delight with its appearance, aromatic smell and additives to cooking.

Diseases and pests

Young mint sprouts, like the mother bush, are a tasty morsel for diseases and parasites. The most common attack is the mint flea. It spoils both the root system and the ground part. To combat it, they are exposed to chemical insecticides (Karbofos).

Important! Also likes to settle on foliage leaf beetle. He often attacks a bush with increased dampness and excessive watering. To combat, it is necessary to eliminate the beneficial conditions for the living of the pest - to ventilate more and reduce watering.

In addition, the plant can be affected by diseases - rust and powdery mildew. To fight rust, the bush is ruthlessly removed from the collection so that the disease does not have time to move to other specimens. And in the case of powdery mildew, it is sprayed with colloidal sulfur.

To prevent the appearance of parasites and disease, you need to constantly monitor his condition. If you notice the appearance of pests at the first stages of settlement, it is possible to get rid of them without significant losses.

Terms of germination and harvesting

When growing mint on a windowsill with the help of seeds, the first shoots appear after 21 days. After 14-17 days have passed, you can pick off the first leaves. By this time, the shrub will be 25-30 cm tall, after which the young leaves can be used in cooking.

When rooting by cuttings, you need to wait until the young leaves grow. They will appear 10-15 days after planting the cuttings. Only then can you pinch off the greens.

Attention! If the foliage is needed for drying and using in tea, then it is better to wait until more essential oils are collected in the leaf plate. This period begins simultaneously with the beginning of the formation of peduncles.

Thus, growing mint on a windowsill in winter (or any other season) at home is not difficult at all. The main thing is to fulfill all the requirements for planting, choose the correct soil composition and constantly take care of the plant, and then the mint on the windowsill will delight you all year round.