Gardening Australia

CROPS IN POTS

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MINT

There are good reasons for growing mint in a container, even if you have plenty of spare ground. For one, most mints are quite invasive, with stems that travel far and wide, dropping roots wherever they go. Plant one in the garden and before you know it you have enough mint to supply the local greengroce­r on a regular basis.

Another reason is position. Mint prefers a bit of shade during the hotter months, but when the weather cools down it benefits from being in full sun, so you can move your pot around to capture optimal seasonal conditions.

A 30cm pot is just right for growing mint as it provides enough space for the roots to develop, and it’s not too big and heavy to move around. Mint loves compost so add some to your potting mix – a 50:50 blend is good – and toss in a couple of handfuls of coir peat to hold moisture.

Moisture management is a key to keeping potted mint productive. It hates drying out and normally needs watering daily in summer. A saucer under the pot to catch run-off is of great benefit in hot weather. The plant will soak up the excess moisture during the day, but don’t leave it sitting in water in cool weather or the roots may rot. Feeding with liquid fertiliser every 1–2 weeks will keep plants healthy and encourage lots of fresh growth.

The only real downside to all this rapid developmen­t is that the plants quickly fill their container, which means they’ll need re-potting. Simply take out the plant, cut the stems back hard, chop off the bottom half of the root ball and plant it back in the same pot with fresh mix. If it’s particular­ly crowded, divide it up into smaller chunks. It sounds brutal, but mint can handle it, and it bounces back beautifull­y. If you can’t live without your mint, it pays to have a second pot on the go to provide you with fresh leaves while the other recovers from its surgical procedure.

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