Growing Mint In Balcony - Pudina Planting Guide

Growing Mint in Balcony

Hello gardeners, we are back with a new and simple topic called growing mint in the balcony. Do you want to know how to grow mint in the balcony? Well, for this you will need to follow this complete article. In this article, we even discuss all the requirements for growing mint in the balcony.

Introduction to Growing Mint in Balcony

Mint is a very attractive, useful herb and the aroma is nothing but short of amazing. Unfortunately, it is not always well behaved. It belongs to the mints family. The following information may be useful in growing mint from cuttings in Grow bags, Raised beds, Containers, on the Terrace, Apartment Indoors, Polyhouse, and Greenhouse.

A Step By Step Guide for Growing Mint in Balcony

Mint is a hybrid herb plant; it is a cross between water mint and spearmint. Mint plants are the perfect starting point for a beautiful herb garden. Mints are commonly contained in a pot because they are extremely very invasive species, by sending out runner roots to take over the complete surrounding soil. You can choose one of the 600 varieties or types of mint, and give your mint plenty of water and the required amount of sun to keep your mint plant surviving.

Types/Varieties of Mint to Grow in Balcony

Peppermint

Choose a peppermint if you want a brighter and strong flavour for tea or general use.

Spearmint

Pick spearmint if your balcony gets a lot of light and heat throughout the year.

Pineapple mint

Plant a pineapple mint if you need to plant mint next to any other plants. It is one of the less invasive species of the mint plant.

Lemon mint

Opt for a lemon-mint if you like a refreshing citrus flavour in any lemonade or iced tea.

Apple mint

Try an apple mint for a more subtle flavour with very fresh apple hints. This variety is very popular in fresh salads and drinks.

Suitable Soil for Growing Mint in Balcony

Mint usually prefers a very rich soil with a slightly acidic pH between 6.5 and 7.0. If the soil is somewhat poor, then top-dress yearly with high organic matter and apply an organic fertilizer mid-season after shearing.

Suitable Container for Growing Mint in Balcony

Choose a pot that is at least 12 inches or 30.5 cm in diameter. A mint plant needs plenty of space or room to grow.

Choose a pot with the required number of drainage holes in the bottom. A mint plant survives in well-drained soil. Purchase a saucer or a tray to place below the pot to avoid staining your balcony.

Purchase an additional and much larger, pot if you want to plant mint and other herbs together. You can easily submerge the whole 12-inch pot in a larger pot, next to other herbs. Keep in mind that many different species of mint will easily find a way to take over the entire pot through the holes in the bottom of the mini mint pot.

Sunlight Requirement for Growing Mint in Balcony

Mint plants mostly prefer part shade, though you can grow them in full sun if you water them frequently. Mint is one of the few culinary herbs that grow very well in shady areas.

Propagating Mint from Cuttings for Growing in Balcony

You need to take a cutting from a mature mint plant. Better ask a friend if you can harvest from an existing mint plant or you can even find one in a local garden. Cut approximately 1⁄2 inch or 1.3 cm above a stem junction with the help of sharp scissors. Make sure the cutting is at least 4–6 inches or 10–15 cm long and remove most of the leaves from cuttings.

Better opt to use a mint that is purchased from the fresh food section in your supermarket. It is not very much guaranteed that you will be able to grow a mint plant from each cutting, but it is a very good way to use leftover mint if you are willing to attempt an experiment.

Fill a clean and neat glass with water. Place freshly cut sprigs of mint in the glass to grow new roots. Keep it in a warm and sunny place and wait for white roots to grow out of the cut stem. Then add water as needed to keep the glass full.

You need to wait until the white roots grow several inches long before planting them. They can even easily extend to the bottom of your pot depth.

Planting Procedure of Mint from Cuttings

Set your mint cutting in the selected pot. Better curl the roots if they are very long for the pot.

Fill in the area around the mint completely with potting soil. Pack the area just enough so that the mint plant stands on its way.

Line some of your outdoor garden with plastic if you would like to plant your pot within the soil, but want to discourage it from spreading. Then plant the whole pot into the garden soil, allowing the pot to increase five inches above the surface of the soil.

Insert several wooden dowels next to the plant to offer it support. These are often removed once the plant is surviving.

Water Requirement for Growing Mint in Balcony

One thing mint plant needs is constantly moist soil with very adequate drainage. Mint plants mostly like water, but they cannot withstand soggy soil and very wet feet. Upon touch, if the soil feels very dry, then add water. It is probably very best to water the mint plants in the morning so that they will have plenty of moisture by the time the hotter or warmer afternoon sun hits.

Suitable Fertilizers for Growing Mint in Balcony

Feed container mint a balanced and all-purpose liquid fertilizer in early spring when new growth emerges easily. Fertilize it every four to six weeks after that and complete the growing season. Nutrients easily leach away very quickly from potted plants that are frequently watered.

Caring Tips for Growing Mint in Balcony

The minimum amount of care is often needed for mint. For outdoor plants, use a light mulch. This may help to keep the soil moist and keep the leaves clean and neat.

At first, mints become well–behaved–looking, bushy, upright clumps, but they soon began to overcome new territory with horizontal runners and underground rhizomes. Unless you block the advance, a pert peppermint plant can become a sprawling 4-foot giant in only 1 year. It’s not the things of horror movies, however. Mints enjoy picking and pruning. they’re shallow-rooted and straightforward to tug out, so there’s no reason to stress, as long as you provide physical barriers like walls, walkways, or containers.

Common Pests and Diseases of Mint

Mint plants can sometimes get rust, which appears as very small orange spots on the undersides of their leaves. Better to use an organic fungicide and then try to allow plants to dry between waterings.

Stressed mint plants may also be bothered by whitefly, spider mites, aphids, and even mealy bugs.

When and How to Harvest Mint

You can easily start harvesting mint leaves once the mint plants have multiple stems that are nearly about 6 to 8 inches long. This will easily take about two months if you are growing mint plants from seed, or very little time if you are buying nursery plants. You should not harvest more than one-third of the plant at any time and prevent weakening the mint plants and sending them into decline.

Snip off sprigs and leaves as you needed. If you do not harvest your mint plant regularly, it will benefit very greatly from a shearing mid-season. At some point, you may probably notice the stems are getting longer and the leaves are getting shorter. That is the perfect time to cut the plants back by one-third to one-half. This may encourage them to send out very fresh new foliage again, with very good-sized leaves.

Commonly Asked Questions about Growing Mint in Balcony

in case if you miss this: Growing Organic Lettuce At Home.

Does mint grow very well in pots?

Set one plant in a pot that is nearly about 12 to 14 inches in diameter, preferably one plant that will withstand freezing winter temperatures. Choose a high-quality potting mix, and better consider adding a water-retaining polymer at the rate recommended on the label. Keep the pot watered when the surface of it is very dry, and enjoy cutting your mint plant.

How often should I water my mint?

Mint can easily grow successfully in a variety of soils and any light conditions, but one thing it needs is very constantly moist but not saturated and soil with adequate drainage. Mint plants usually need about 1 to 2 inches of water every week, depending on the climate conditions.

Why is my mint plant dying?

A dying mint plant is usually just because of under watering or as a result of mint that is planted in a pot that is very small and therefore has very limited moisture and nutrients. If your mint is wilting and turning brown this is just because of dry soil and under-watering.

How do I make my mint plant very bushy?

Water the mint plants very well. Finally, by positioning your fingers like mine in the photo at left, you need to pinch off the top two to four leaves on each mint plant. This will make the mint branch out and become very bushy.

How does an overwatered mint look like?

Signs of overwatering in mint

An overwatered mint plant has signs of yellowing leaves, weak stems, and appears very droopy. It is also more susceptible to different diseases such as mint rust, powdery mildew, black stem rot, verticillium wilt, leaf blight, and even white mould stem rot.

Does mint regrow even after cutting?

Cut the stem just below a node that means where a leaf grows on the plant. Remove all but remain the top leaves. Stick a few cuttings into a small pot with very moist soil. As the mint grows, then replant in a larger pot.

How long does mint take to regrow again?

It takes nearly about 90 days.

From planting to maturity, the mint takes nearly about 90 days. This means that it will achieve its complete height, generally of 1 to 2 feet, and then it will be ready to harvest. At this point, you can cut mint down to 1 inch above the soil, and it will easily regrow to harvest height again in a month and a half or so on.

Why my mint leaves are very small?

Your mint leaves are very small because of their roots. Some people will say that you need to use fertilizer, some others will tell you that you need to give it more water and some will say it needs more sun to survive. The mint’s roots will simply take over the complete space and won’t let the other plant growth.

Why are the leaves on my mint plant turning very brown?

Mint leaves turning brown due to very low humidity, improper watering, and diseases such as fungal infections. The less likely reasons may be nutrient deficiencies, heat scorching, limited roots, or even aging.

Why is my mint not growing well?

Underwatering is that the commonest reason for mint plants to seem as if they’re dying. Therefore mint grows best when it’s watered regularly and planted in soil or a potting mix that retains moisture. Mint doesn’t grow well in sandy or stony soils as they drain too quickly for the roots to draw up moisture.

What can I do with my wilting Mint?

Water the mint plant as frequently as required to maintain very consistently moist soil to prevent the mint from wilting or even drooping. Mint can also be temporarily wilted on hot days and they will recover in the evening with cooler temperatures.

Does mint have very shallow roots?

This means that mint has quite a shallow root system compared to many other plants. The root system of mint plants frequently spread out very easily and could even be considered very invasive. Although mint roots are not too deep, they do tend to spread out wide quickly.

Growing Mint In Balcony – Pudina Planting Guide

Table of Contents