So as I begun to dig up the perennial herb garden today, I started to question whether or not I wanted to move all of the mint and oregano to the “new” herb garden alongside the greenhouse.
A few years ago when I planted mint for the first time, I had no idea how invasive it was. I’m not exactly into the whole, free flowing, let plants just grow where they want to grow style of gardening {I mean c’mon people, I have major OCD}, so the fact that the mint has taken over almost an entire 4′ x 8′ raised garden bed seriously stresses my out every time I walk by it.
So what’s a girl to do? I need your help on the mint issue. Should I just dig up a little bit, replant the small amount in the new herb garden, and toss the rest over the back fence, or just move all of it to the new herb garden?
What do you think?
Black Fatty and I had no problem whatsoever moving the chives. I was able to dig up almost all of them and replant the perennial herb along the log border.
The mint and oregano will be going on the other side of the greenhouse, but on the left side, I want to have chives, purple sage {toward the front for color}, and some sort of other tall perennial herb. But what? Is there a perennial herb taller than chives, or should I move the chives to the back of the bed, alongside the greenhouse walls and plant something smaller in front of them?
But what would I plant there? Basil is not an option because I’ll be growing it somewhere else next year.
Help!
What should I do about the mint, and what would look nice with chives and purple sage?
~Mavis
melanie Jones says
I use the black border that goes 3 inches in the ground to help control my mint…. you will have to redo every few yrs… but hey… thats what I do. and behind your chives… have you grown “garlic chives” they are taller and more stout… how bout leeks? I greww tons and dehydrated them
Mavis says
Ahhhh I will take a look!
Preppy Pink Crocodile says
Don’t plant your mint in the ground. Gosh NO NO NO! That needs to go in a pot ASAP. Even when you dig it up, it comes back to haunt you. It’s such a pain. Plant some in a pot and then dig the rest up as it creeps back in over time. Mint seriously never goes away!
KK
Lucky L says
For the tall herb, not sure if it is a perennial, but how about fennel? I grew the florence variety which is just for the leafy green part, not a bulb, this year. Used it to flavor roast pork.
You could also do dill (but not if you do fennel – they don’t grow well together).
Mint – contain it. Pot up as much as you want and sink the pot in the dirt. DON”T put the rest in your compost or anywhere else. Can you sneak it into the trash?
Mavis says
I like the idea of growing fennel. Thanks Lucky L.
Heidi says
Have you thought about planting the mint in a pot towards the back of the greenhouse/bed? Maybe that would limit the spreading of the mint to places you don’t want it to grow????
Also, dill grows tall and you can use it for various canning recipes.
suzanne says
Pot the mint. It will be growing inside the greenhouse otherwise. feed the rest to the girls or compost. If you actually toss over the fence it could root and spread. For height, do you like dill or fennel (excellent in red tomato sauce, seriously.) Cumin or coriander/cilantro are tall and easy. Tarragon is semi evergreen and gets taller as the season progresses. Cat Nip is pretty and barterable . Stevia, parsley? Horseradish! lol.
Mavis says
Catnip is a no go. Practically every neighbor in the neighborhood has a cat. If they were to take 1 step in our backyard the HH would totally flip out. HA!
Aubre says
I was also going to suggest potting the mint then sinking the pot into the ground. I would keep a 1″ rim of the pot above the dirt to deter the mint runners from getting out into the surrounding garden.
As for a tall herb, will dill or rosemary grow as a perennial in your area? I know you dug up a rosemary bush recently and relocated it to your greenhouse, but they are really hardy plants that tolerate a lot of cold.
patti m says
for invasive plants of any kind that i cant seem to live without (crocosmia, mint, lily of the valley, bee balm) i plant them in a pot and then put the pot in the ground. i leave a bit of the pot showing, just to deter runners.
i think you will be stuck with the mint in your raised bed for a while, unless you really get out there and pick out all the roots. not impossible, but a chore for sure. just keep after the shoots as they start growing and after a year or four, it should be gone.
good luck!
Cyntha says
Will chickens eat any of the mint? I would suggest french tarragon, (don’t get Russian tarragon!) mine came back in Kansas and lavender.
Mavis says
Ha! There is one way to find out! 🙂
Erika says
Lavender is wonderful! We have a large bush of spanish lavender outside our front door and walking past it is heavenly most of the year. I haven’t ever tried drying this variety (it came with the house), but I know there are some other great varieties out there. Mint and basil have always grown like weeds for me – thanks for the handy tips on keeping them potted!
Tina from Eatonville says
Put the mint in a pot! I planted mint years ago, I pull it up every year and every year it comes back! As for the perennial, sorrel is a new favorite of mine. I use the sorrel as a replacement for bread by putting tuna fish or egg salad into the leaves…. Great for a light lunch.
Christa says
for a tall plant i would suggest dill. LOVE dill! i grew it for the first time last year and it smell so good and my patch of dill turned into a nursey for lady bugs. they were everywhere. plus, i really think they are a pretty plant when in bloom. 🙂
Jessica says
I agree with the comments on putting the mint in a pot. We grow 3-4 different kinds in the same small-ish pot. Besides giving away a lot of mint (because it’s so abundent!) we freeze some, use it in smoothies (especially the orange mint), make this tart: http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/2010/05/fresh-mint-truffle-tart.html, make mint simple syrup to add to sparkling water, lots of mojitos and juleps, mint oil, tea.
Anne says
I agree with others’ comments here. You REALLY need to put a few mint plants in a container. Otherwise, the mint will send runners and begin to invade other raised beds. Don’t worry, the potted mint will be lush and full by early summer.
Be sure to harvest the rest and count it toward your 2000 lbs. You can use it to make delicious recipes—(see http://localfoods.about.com/od/mint/Mint.htm)— or brew mint tea to calm your nerves.
Donna says
Dill, dill is tall & useful! Lavendar is medium height (taller than chives),smells good & is beautiful, we use it to make insect repellant.
Chuck the mint, replant a small piece, not in the flower bed, in a tub beside the flower bed.
My advice to the void.
Random Person Named Melissa says
Mint is one of the rare plants I do have on a regular basis…. my advice .. pot it. It’ll take over your entire lawn if it can…
SARA says
Mavis DO NOT REPLANT THAT STUFF it will take over every place. FYI it is almost impossible to kill we had to put iron out rock salt on ours and in a place it sill came back killed the grass but not that stuff. put it in a container like another poster suggested. Ok I am calm now.
SARA says
Oh also your bed where you have it will send it up every year. You wont be able to plant that bed unless you kill that mint off.
Jenna says
For the mint, find an old hard plastic baby pool (during bulk pick up we have them on the side of the road – in the south we call it side ditch shopping). Dig that baby pool into the ground. If it doesn’t already have enough damage to drain, give it a few extra well placed holes on the bottom. Fill it back up with the soil you moved to get it into the ground. Add invasive mint or anything that hives by shallow underground runners.
Note: this work to an extent. If you don’t harvest the mint on a regular basis, it can lay down over the edge and replant it self. However, this is the best method I’ve run across.
Luck!
Sara says
A really pretty tall perennial herb is French Tarragon. Mine can get up to 3 feet tall and it stays green through much of the winter here in Kansas.
Zoe says
Yup, pot the mint in a large pot. Make sure to feed it (chicken poop!) as mint likes fed. Just be careful not to feed it too much at once or you may “burn” it.
Taller perennial herbs: Oregano gets about 18 inches high. Tarragon is maybe 24 inches. You could try chamomile (you love tea, right?). I think that gets about 3 feet high. It might be invasive, though. You should check into that.
Some people suggested dill. It gets about 4 feet high and is an annual. It does reseed itself, though. I always have it at one certain spot in my herb bed. I just pull up all the extra plants like they are weeds and let a few certain ones grow.
Penelope says
I have a bronze fennel and that thing gets 5 ft. I’ve got lots of baby fennel around, but mostly that is cause the kids play with it and the seeds germinate where they drop them. I was thinking dill has more use. I’d also suggest horseradish as that is rather upright, but much shorter.
And pot that mint!!!!! AND make sure that you either have no drainage holes, or that you dig the pot once a year and root prune the dang thing. You might also want to help it stay upright so it doesn’t tip layer itself beyond the pot.
Personally, I like lemon balm, although that can spread a bit, it has been behaving itself for the most part here.
And SARA is right. You’ll have to be aggressively kill off the mint before you plant that bed, or you will have mint growing with everything.
Diane says
I had to take out my bronze fennel (which WAS lovely and fragrant, for sure) because it reseeded so freely and I spent what seemed like half my life pulling up fennel seedlings from places I wanted something else to grow. It’s been two years since I took out the mothership, and I’m STILL getting many seedlings at just about every season of the year – so apparently the seeds stay viable for a long time. Just a warning.
Lauren says
I would plant fennel and rue with the chives and sage. You might also think about planting some winter savory there.
As for the mint, I suggest taking a tiny bit and replanting it, then having a mojito party with, oh say, 900 of your friends. And the best part? EVERYONE GETS TO TAKE HOME SOME MINT!! Seriously though, I would transplant a bit of the mint (ideally into a pot) and do a kill mulch over the rest. Because… it’s mint.
Michelle says
With my mint I got a large plastic planter, drilled holes in the bottom and partially buried it in the bed, filled it in with dirt and then planted the mint in the planter. Seems to contain it pretty well.
Thanks,
Michelle
PattyB says
I am with all above who suggest putting the mint in a pot. I have mine growing in a half barrel and it still want’s to escape out any little crack in the wood! I live in Denver and the mint comes back every year.