Good morning, from the mountains of Kentucky! I hope your Memorial weekend is off to a great start. We don’t have big plans for the weekend, other than getting a little work done, grilling out, and relaxing with family. I was recently asked about my favorite herbs as well as a few questions about how I grow them, use them, and how I store them. So, decided to post a blog to help others who may have some of the same questions.

I love all herbs, but decided to narrow my focus on the top ten that I use the most. I will give details about herbs used for teas, cooking, and add how I use them for my health. For the first post, I will focus on mints.

Let’s get started! So my number one go to herb for teas is peppermint. I should say mints, as mint comes in a variety of flavors. I love all mints, especially peppermint and spearmint. We grow strawberry and chocolate mint as well. Each have such a refreshing wonderful aroma and flavor.

Peppermint is a staple in our household. It’s easy to grow and very versatile. I use it primarily for teas. It also adds a surprisingly tasty bite to salads. The challenge of growing mint in a herb garden with other plants is that it can become invasive and overtake the other plants. Mints are perennials, which means they typically return each year, especially when planted in the ground. I grow peppermint and spearmint in large containers to prevent overgrowth and maintain control in my herb garden. Some years it returns and some years it doesn’t. The return of mint in the spring, depends a lot on the severity of the winter weather, if I place them in the basement for the winter, or cover them with bedding. If your mint does not return, and you have to replant it, it’s okay. Organic peppermint plants are very inexpensive. The cost of two plants is about the cost of one good box of organic peppermint tea. So, you are really getting your money worth from growing and harvesting your own peppermint. Peppermint tea is also my go to tea for an upset stomach or indigestion. It also makes a great addition to green tea and black tea.

We have a chocolate mint bed as well. It is one of my favorite herbs. It’s great a delicious addition, as is peppermint and spearmint, to add to a cool pitcher of water for a refreshing summer drink, or for hot tea. We also grow Strawberry mint. It has a unique taste that is light and a bit fruity. I find it a refreshing addition to spearmint tea. It’s a beautiful decorative mint that has a wonderful aroma. I like to rub my hand through the mint while I’m working in my herbs just to release the sweet aroma. It’s relaxing and oh so fragrant!

To harvest mint, I clip the tops of the mint a couple inches down the stem. Then I usually fix myself a cup of tea or coffee, get a comfortable seat on the porch and turn on a good podcast or some music. I usually place the gathering baskets of mint clippings on the table beside me, place a baking sheet on my lap with an unbleached paper towel or unbleached parchment paper to hold the cleaned mint leaves and begin the harvesting process.

I carefully pick through and select the healthiest sprigs. I remove any of the leaves that may have damage from insects. I then gather the healthiest stems or sprigs and bundle them together to wash and then gently them spin dry in the salad spinner. Sometimes I pat them dry with a clean cloth and hang the bundles up to dry. It’s totally up to you how you choose to dry the mint. I have found that air dried herbs are more potent than dehydrated or oven dried herbs. I find it more satisfying as well.

There are times if I am a bit overwhelmed with the amount of mint that I have, I will remove the leaves and just spread those out on unbleached paper towels, or paper plates and allow them to air dry. Either method of drying produces the same great taste. When the mint is completely dry, to the point of being crispy, I will remove the leaves from the stem for one jar. I will grind these leaves into a finer tea mix using a coffee grinder. Other leaves, I will simply grind with a mortar and pestle including the stems for a more potent tea. I use a stainless steel tea ball to steep the hardier teas.

I store my dried mint in glass jars and shelve them in a dark place in my herb or tea cabinet. The shelf life of dried tea or most herbs is typically one to two years. If I have tea leaves that’s lost their flavor, I will add them to a a gallon of water, cover it and let let absorb all the goodness of the dried tea leaves and then use it to water my herbs. It provides loads of antioxidants to the soil and it acts as a great fertilizer.

The key to healthy mint of all kinds is moderate watering, feeding them at least once a month with organic plant food or weakened cold peppermint tea. (That’s a post for another day.) Regular pruning is necessary for mint to become full and to encourage new growth.

Mint is a staple for our pantry for baking, teas, tummy trouble and crushed mint leaves helps soothe a bee sting as well! See my post Harvesting Mint for Teas to learn how I make a great cup of mint tea from the herbs of our garden. God bless for now from the mountains of Kentucky. Have a wonderful and blessed Memorial weekend. Drop a comment, like or follow.