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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Me vs. The Mint

Who, in their right mind, would actually SELL mint?  Come to think of it, who would actually BUY it?  Me, apparently.  Dumb as a stump comes to mind.  I put mint on one side of my herb bed and yarrow on the other.  Make that:  me = doesn't have the sense God gave a turnip.

Because of this lack of judgement, I have been battling mint-take-over from the left and yarrow-take-over from the right for at least two years.  This year, the gloves came off (oh, wait!  They went on!) and I have been ripping, digging, hoeing during odd bits of free time.  I am happy to say that I am making gains!

I can actually find my lovage and chives!

The 'trimmings', putting it nicely.  Which it ain't.
Now that we've finally gotten some rain, I will tackle the remaining half - Me vs. The Yarrow.   The rain, by the way, was part of a violent nor'easter that has, thankfully, just dumped rain and some blustery winds on us, and not the gale-force winds and heavy snows that some spots received.  Seems as though that is how our weather is now.  Every change is ushered in violently.  Sometimes it just makes you want to crawl back under your quilt and wait until Ma Nature comes back to her senses.

I am very thankful that I was able to pretty much finish my cold frame.  I still have to work out a better/easier cover than these three separate pieces of glass, but it does the job.  The arugula was from a seedling, and the radishes are coming up nicely.  The lettuce is coming as well, but it's still tiny and hard to see.  I always feel better when something is growing.

13 comments:

hoosier girl said...

The former owners of our place were kind enough to leave a patch of mint. I've been battling it for 12 years now. They also left a big stack of glass windows (no frames) so I am trying to think of how to make them into a cold frame. Can't wait to see how yours turns out!

Sylvia said...

I remember years ago digging up loosestrife and yarrow that was along the road and planting it in my garden as I thought it was so pretty.......mistake as you know!

Charade said...

I planted mint in a half-barrel, and I can only hope that it doesn't jump out of there.

Amy Dingmann said...

Mental note: Do not plant mint in the garden.

You taught me something today...and just in time!

Jenyfer Matthews said...

Mint is best planted in a container unless you want the best smelling ground cover / lawn in the area!

I once visited a hotel in Egypt that had a hedge of basil which released the best smell if you happened to brush up against it. The basil plants were literally shrubs with woody bases. Now that is a hedge I would love to have!

Carolyn said...

I'm still working on getting the foundation (i.e. REAL dirt) for my herb garden and I've been looking around for some HUGE plastic planters that I can bury for the mint for that exact reason. I just hope I don't get lazy and just throw the mint plants in the ground because I didn't want to dig the frekking big hole for the planters. Will let you know in two years if you can see my front yard from all the mints taking over :)

Sandy Livesay said...

Lemon Balm does the same thing. It took over last year. Everything I did to kill it didn't work. Sometimes, I think it thrived on the idea I was trying to kill it, lol.

Tombstone Livestock said...

I have spearmint, peppermint, apple mint, orange mint, chocolate mint and lemon balm, all in galvanized buckets, tubs or coal skuttles. Had pineapple mint but it died out one summer. Love the smell of all of it.

Susan said...

HG - How nice of them! And my former owners only left me trash...

Sylvia - I am definitely going to have to tame the mint - I love it, but not at the exclusion of all other herbs.

Charade - You better watch it! I do believe those little roots go everywhere.

Mama Tea - That was close!

Jenyfer - I love basil. That must have been wonderful to see and smell.

Susan said...

CR - DO NOT get lazy about mint. You will live to regret it. I will bushwhack my way in to see if you're okay...

Sandy - Oh, rats. I love lemon balm and was thinking of planting some. I will - in a tub.

TL - I had chocolate mint, but that got over-run by the rest of the mints. I will have to see what kinds of containers I have available and plant some of those varieties - they sound great!

Candy C. said...

I'm glad you are winning the battle against those pesky herbs! I plant anything that even thinks it might be from the mint family in containers for just that reason! LOL!!

Sue said...

Mint---love it for ice tea, but yup-that stuff LOVES to spread. I only grow it in pots. But I have yet to learn the lesson of the yarrow.........

Erin said...

I always laugh when I hear people say "I bought some mint"! Then again, I have Lemon Balm :)