Grow Your Own: Mint
By: Amy Jeanroy
Published: June 6, 2016

From minty cocktails, to beautiful mint jelly, we use this herb more than any other. Growing mint means a fresh supply all year round, and that many more reasons to add the fresh, clean flavor to your recipes. If you want to try growing your own, mint is a great place to start. It's one of the easiest herbs to grow, and comes back quickly after you harvest it.
Mint is a wandering, invasive herb with a square stem and deep green leaves. This is a common and fast growing mint that makes a great tea. Easily recognizable, the taste of mint is cooling on a hot summer day. It is also soothing to an upset stomach, due to the menthol it contains.The menthol in mint soothes the lining of the digestive tract an stimulates the production of bile, which is an essential digestive fluid. A hot cup of herbal tea is an excellent way to settle your stomach after a big meal.
Mint can overtake a garden bed so grow it either in its own pot or bury a pot to the rim in the soil to keep the roots contained. Most mints, like moist, rich soil and full sun. It can grown in partial sun though, so consider it in an area that may not grow much else due to the lack of sunlight.  Stems can be cut and placed in water until they grow roots. These new cuttings will grow new, healthy plants. Often, what is marked as peppermint is just a variety of mint because mints are so easily cross pollinated. 
 
When you trim back your first harvest of fresh mint leaves, make some homemade mint ice cream with it! So tasty and refreshing. 
 
Fresh Mint Ice Cream

50 grams fresh mint leaves
250 milliliters fresh  cream
250 milliliters fresh milk
150 grams caster sugar
 
Preparation
 
1 Pour into a pot both the milk and cream; stir until boiling on medium fire;
2 Stir in even fresh mint leaves and allow to set for about 30 minutes until cool;
3 Strain the liquid into a bowl and cover with film; put in the fridge until very very cool.
 
For complete instructions, click here to jump to the recipe page.