It is really hard to kill this plant, ya'll!

Mint is a fabulous beginner plant to start off with.
No matter what you are growing, a veggie patch, herb or flower garden, you should plant some mint as well!
That way, when your rosemary shrivels up and dies, or your tomatoes get eaten up by hornworms, rest assured, that mint plant will be thriving as if to say, 'LOOK! I am so green and healthy! Don't worry, you CAN grow things, don't give up!

This is my Sweet Mint plant. I bought it at the store because I NEEDED to grow SOMETHING! Had the pre-spring itch, you know... It has taken off and even though I keep pinching off leaves to eat, it still looks great!

Why grow mint?!

Well, even if munching on leaves of minty freshness does not appeal to you, you should consider growing it due to its health benefits! You can eat the leaves straight off the plant, chop them into other foods, or make mint tea!
Mint can help with:

• OBVIOUSLY it is a fantastic breath-freshener!
• Aids in digestions! (This is one of the main ways we use it. My husband has digestive issues from time to time, and chewing a few leaves of mint helps him immensely!)
• Help with nausea and headaches! That glorious minty odor of freshly crushed leaves helps relieve them right away.
• Depression and Fatigue relief! The scent of the mint may be enough to rejuvenate your tired brain and give it the pick-me-up it needs.
• Skin care! The juice from mint is a great skin cleanser! It can sooth irritated skin and help with infections and itchiness! You can even apply it to pimples to help with acne. The cooling sensation of the juice is also helpful with bugbites, and the anti inflammatory properties of it can bring down swelling.
• It can help you lose weight! Mint is a stimulant, and when stimulating your digestive enzymes, it increases the amount of fats and nutrients being absorbed by your body, rather than storing the fat, contributing to weight gain.

Now you know you need mint in your life, right!?

Growing mint is easy!
Now, mint is an invasive plant, so honestly, putting it the in the middle of your flower bed will probably be a bad idea. Unless it is in a pot! They actually grow quite well in buckets with holes for drainage in the bottom.

• They like plenty of sunshine, but do fine in partial shade as well.
• The thing about mint is it loves water! You will want to water it often.
• If you are growing it in the ground, space your plants about 2ft apart.
• Keep pinching off the ends of the stems to encourage growth of tender leaves and to keep the plant bushier.

That's about it!
Mint is super easy. It is not particular. You can mess up quite a bit and it will keep on growing chipper as can be!
Of course, keep an eye out for pests like aphids and flea beetles, but mint is so sturdy, it doesn't tend to have much issue with these.
It will send off shoots and try to spread right out of your container. You can let it spread, or cut these off if you like. If you cut them off you can root them into new pots and BAM, you have created new plants!

There are MANY different kinds of mints to choose from!

• peppermint
• spearmint
• chocolate mint
• sweet mint
• lavender mint
• horse mint
• cat mint

The list goes on... There are literally hundreds!
Personally, I think you should try them all!

Word to the wise:
I have heard, (but have not proved this true myself), that if you keep multiple varieties of mint together in one patch, they will eventually take on the flavors of the others. If you want to keep your flavors pure, you may want to keep them in different areas!

Now get out there and grow some mint!!

Thanks for reading, Steemians, be blessed!

Badges courtesy of @daddykirbs