Mint conditions

It’s just the thing to flavour Christmas new potatoes and peas – better still, it’s wonderfully easy to grow. Mary Lovell-Smith shares her mint tips.

EDIBLES

• Dig potatoes just before cooking as early potatoes do not store well.

• Likewise, peas are best picked and shelled hours before cooking.

• Garlic is best harvested when the tops start to die off. Dig up by loosening the soil with a fork and pulling up the bulbs by their tops. Trim the fibrous roots off. To dry, hang in a dry place (in the sun if you like) for at least a fortnight.

• Plant winter greens ASAP. Lime the soil beforehand and avoid planting brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli etc) in the same spot two years running – else risk club root, a soil-borne fungi.

HOLIDAY

• If you’re planning to go away, give the garden a good soak, or get a neighbour or friend in to keep an eye on it while you’re away.

• Shift container plants to the south side of the house or under trees out of hot sun, where they will retain moisture longer.

• Mulching will also help retain soil moisture.

MINT

• If you are not growing mint to flavour your new potatoes and peas, beg or borrow some from friends and neighbours – and write yourself a note to plant it in autumn. Or even better, as mint grows very easily from a rooted cutting, get one from said friends or neighbours, and leave it in a glass of water till you have time to plant it out.

• As mint can be invasive, you may want to plant it in a buried pot – or let it roam free and enjoy its lush greenness.

• In colder spots it dies back in winter so do not fear it is dead, it will rise again.

• Mint needs lots of moisture on its roots, but dry leaves. It does best in light, free-draining soil, and morning sun.

• Dig in lots of well-rotted compost into the planting hole, and mulch in spring.

• Try other mints. Peppermint makes great tea, eau-de-cologne mint adds a piquancy to summer drinks, while the soft green applemint, with its upright conformity just looks good. Pineapple mint is a variegated version of applemint.

ORNAMENTALS

• Give the lawn a last-minute mow.

• Deadheading flowers is a pleasant yet productive

way to take time out from the rush of Christmas Eve. • Suss out flowers for Christmas. White, red and green are traditional, but others look great in this hemisphere of hot festive seasons. Bright colours, such as purple and orange, can look stunning on outdoor tables.

• Take hydrangea cuttings from non-flowering shoots. Keep only one pair of leaves and place in moist, sandy soil in the shade.