There is no other herb that refreshes like mint. Popping a few leaves into drinks and meals adds a fragrance and flavour that stimulates the senses and lifts your mood. A sprig of mint happily swimming in an icy glass of your favorite beverage makes you really feel like you are on holiday.

Mint is used as flavouring for everything from toothpaste and chewing gums to alcoholic beverages and herbal teas.

Mint belongs to the family Lamiaceae a very large family in the herb world including other common herbs such as rosemary, sage, thyme, basil and oregano.

The name mint comes from the Latin word menthe and Greek word minthe. In Greek mythology it is said that Persephone, jealous of the love her husband Pluto had for the beautiful nymph Minthe turned her into a low growing mint. Pluto unable to undo the spell gave mint its wonderful smell, so that when walked upon she would not be forgotten.

DESCRIPTION

Mint is an aromatic perennial herb, there are many different varieties, most having underground stolons that spread easily through the garden. They have branched square stems, with leaves arranged in opposite pairs. The oblong through to lance shaped leaves, range from smooth to crinkly and some downy, the margins can be smooth or serrate. Colours also vary from pale yellow green to deep dark green through to blue grey. The flowers are white to purple and produced in false whorls.

The substances that give the mints their characteristic aromas and flavors are menthol the main aroma of Peppermint and Japanese menthol mint and pulegone in pennyroyal and Corsican mint. The compound primarily responsible for the aroma and flavor of spearmint is R-carvone.

GROWTH

Mint is easy to grow, it likes a medium to rich soil, moist but not wet. While most information suggests growing in shade to part shade, I find the flavour and aroma is much more pronounced in plants that get more sun. If growing mint in full sun you do need to make sure you water regularly.

Mint can be invasive, the strong willed runners can extend far and wide through the garden, for this reason many people prefer to grow mint in pots. Add compost to the potting mix when planting your mint in pots to help the mix retain moisture.

You can also sink a large bottomless container or pot into the garden to plant your mint in, although you will still need to keep an eye on it to ensure it does not jump over the top.

Propagation of mint is best done by cuttings; this ensures that the mint will be the same as the plant you are cutting from. Mint seed can be variable, some mint seeds are sterile and some do not resemble the plant you thought you were getting and it can be very disappointing when the result is a mint with no flavour.

As mint is such a vigorous grower regular feeding with a liquid fertilizer will keep the plant healthy.

Towards the end of winter you can divide plants in pots and give them fresh mix, they do get tired, like a mother who constantly gives to others, but never receives the nourishment to keep up such a vigorous routine.

I find mint tends to grow really well where you don’t want it to, I have a patch under the chaste tree, the more I pull it out the better it grows. Pots of mint that look a little tired can be cut back and slash the roots to encourage better growth.

Plant mint along walkways, so it can be brushed against and release its refreshing aroma.

Mints are supposed to make good companion plants repelling pest insects and attracting beneficial ones.

CULINARY

The leaves have a pleasant warm, fresh, aromatic, sweet flavor with a cool aftertaste. Mint leaves are used in teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, candies, and ice creams.

Mint is commonly used with peas, carrots, potatoes, eggplant, beans, and corn to pep up the flavor.

To sweeten pineapple, add some fresh torn mint leaves. Try a Mint and watermelon salad with feta and black olives, mint leaves add a real freshness to salads.

Add chopped mint leaves to scrambled eggs, and omelets. Mint jelly is a traditional condiment served with lamb dishes. Mint can be frozen in ice cube trays.

Add a couple of dried mint leaves to the sugar bowl to add flavor to the sugar, for serving to guests with iced tea.” Or add a couple of fresh mint leaves in the filter with the freshly ground coffee as it brews in the morning for a very pleasant cup of coffee.

Offer bright green sprigs of fragrant, fresh mint to nibble on after a meal to freshen the breath and help digestion.

The Mojito, a traditional Cuban cocktail said to be a favorite of the writer Ernest Hemingway, is made with rum, powdered sugar, lime juice, club soda and a mint unique to Cuba.

MEDICNAL

Peppermint leaf tea is used to treat indigestion, nausea, diarrhea, colds, headache and cramps. Mint leaves are known for their ability to calm a nervous stomach. They soothe the digestive tract and can help relieve stomachaches as well.

Peppermint is part of a popular tea blend for colds and flu, Known as YEP tea it also contains yarrow and elder flower.

Studies have shown mint leaves may slow down some of the most harmful bacteria and fungi that are introduced into our bodies.

OTHER

Mint was strewn across floors to cover the smell of the hard-packed soil. Stepping on the mint helped to spread its scent through the room. I love this idea and have strewn mint and scented geraniums on the ground when having a BBQ to keep the mosquitoes away and the smell of the crushed herbs when being walked on is delightful on a balmy summers night. I have also made mint vinegar for adding to my bucket of water when mopping the floors.

Place fresh mint in bowls when going away to help keep the air fresh.

There are so many different varieties of mint to choose from, some of the varieties we have had include – old fashioned mint/garden mint(this is my favourite), spearmint, peppermint, curly mint, ginger mint, apple mint, pineapple mint, eau de cologne mint, water mint, pennyroyal, Corsican mint, rust free mint, Japanese menthol mint, lemon mint, hung cay mint, native mint, chocolate mint, Egyptian mint, Moroccan mint, pennyroyal, basil mint, white peppermint, variegated ginger mint.

Then there are the impersonators, which are known as mint, but are not from the Genus ‘Mentha’ these include Vietnamese mint, stone mint, calamint and mountain mint.

When we were in London we visited the Urban Physic Garden, this garden was created by a collective of designers, urban growers and, over 150 volunteers, on a slice of unused land in Southwark London.

The urban block nestled between two buildings and backing onto the railway bridge was transformed into a garden themed like a conventional Hospital with ‘wards’ including cardiology, respiratory, psychiatry and dermatology, each filled with herbs relating to the ward. It was put together using recycled timbers, and other would be junk along with donated plants and plenty of volunteers.

The gardens are all in polystyrene containers and are supported in recycled timber frames. The range of medicinal herbs jammed into this block was amazing.

The Cardiology ward included herbs such as ginkgo, rosemary, globe artichoke, motherwort, foxglove, garlic, yarrow, chicory, ginger, chilli and flax.

The respiratory ward contained elecampane, horseradish, angelica, thyme, wild strawberries, caraway mullein and verbena.

The dermatology ward contained Echinacea flowering beautifully, parsley, tea tree, self heal, gotu kola, marigold and aloe.

The general medicine ward contained echinacea, calendula, borage, rue, yarrow, peppermint, lemon balm, angelica and feverfew.

The operating theatre was down one end against the brick wall built from recycled steel poles and timber. This was where talks and lectures were held.

The treatment room surrounded by white curtains where you could book in a massage on certain days.

The Herbarium and X-ray room

The Rambulance café supplied light refreshments from the back of its retired ambulance.

The fire pit was the focal point for evening gatherings and sing alongs.

The eating area was shaded with a sail that had pipes attached to collect the morning dew and rain, this went into holding tanks.

Alongside the water storage area beside the café there was a wall of herbal ‘weeds’ growing beautifully from the run off when tanks were full.

The toilet was certainly an environmental masterpiece. The actual toilet was made from the Queens horses poop. It is fitted with a urine diverting bowl that separates the urine and faeces. Urine contains phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium in the right ratio for growing plants. The faeces from the toilet goes into an anaerobic digester on site where it is converted into natural gas. This supplies the gas for the stoves of the Rambulance café.

The herb tea we had was made using water heated by poop!

The garden, a summer project has been pulled down and was auctioned off in mid August.

I have been busy this last weekend making tinctures to press off in the tincture class on the 8th of October.

I got a little carried away with Elderberries, making 3 tinctures each using different alcohol. One with brandy 37.1%, one with vodka 37.5%, and one with 92.7% Ethanol (neutral spirit). I used dried berries from Sambuccus nigra, I used these as the plant is very slow growing here in SEQld unlike its American cousin Sambuccus canadensis, which grows a little too well suckering up through the garden. It is flowering beautifully at the moment – I must make some elderflower champagne.

With calculations done to discover the amount of water to add to give me an alcohol percentage of 25%, I pounded the berries in my mortar and pestle before putting into glass amber jars with wide necks and filling with the alcohol/water mix, a good shake and off to the shelf in my laundry. These will need to be given a shake every day, before being pressed off in 2 weeks time.

I also made a tincture of elderberries with vinegar, it will be interesting to taste the different tinctures, I have a feeling I might like the brandy one the best.

Tinctures done, I still had 200g of elderberries left, these I made into sweet syrup.

I put these into a saucepan with 400ml of pure water, brought them to the boil and simmered for 20min. I then strained it through a sieve and ended up with around 250ml of liquid.

To this I added 1 cup of sugar and brought it up to the boil. I then took the mix of the heat and poured it into sterilised glass bottles.

So all this Elderberry medicine, how shall I use it – Elderberry is extremely useful for fighting the flu. It contains compounds that keep the flu virus from attaching to the cell, so it can shorten the duration of your illness and possibly lesson the severity. Elderberries are also a good source of anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants which are responsible for giving many red and purple fruits their colour.

And it tastes pretty good as well!

Now is the time to plant Borage.

Borage normally self seeds prolifically in our garden, but the wet weather after last year’s crop set seed, really slowed down the self sown crop this year. It gave us the opportunity to plant some in a few different Read the rest of this entry »

Its pumpkin season, we are picking heaps of pumpkins, the pumpkin vine took over the whole bank beside our driveway this year. It has grown with wild abandon, scrambling over gardens and the bottom Read the rest of this entry »

Members of the Queensland Herb society are getting quite excited; it is almost time for our annual event Herb Awareness. The preparations are well under way and the day promises to be packed with lots of ‘herby’ things.

You can wander through the variety of stalls with a huge range of herb plants, fruit trees as well as herbal products including preserves, coffee, teas, spices, skincare, bush foods and wineries, you will also get to sample all sorts of yummy delights.

FreeTalks and demonstrations throughout the day provide plenty of information and entertainment.

This year we have Jerry Coleby-Williams speaking at 10.45am. Jerry is one of the presenters on Gardening Australia which screens on ABC TV on Saturday nights at 6.30pm. Jerry practices what he preaches and has been gardening for most of his life. His talks are always filled with plenty of useful gardening ideas. His house and garden ‘Bellis’ is productive and sustainable, you can see the energy and water saving systems and pictures of his garden at http://www.bellis.info/Site_3/jerry_bio.html

The Queensland Herb Society has some very knowledgeable members who will share their passion with you on the day.

Leonie Shanahan from Edible School Gardens is coming along to tell us about School Kitchen Gardens using Permaculture for Kids. I love what Leonie is doing, there is not much that is more important than teaching kids how to grow their own food, healthy food, which gives them the energy to be creative, inquisitive & active.

Carmel Harris a horticulture teacher from TAFE will show us how to make a no dig garden.

Debbie Aitcheson from the Chilli Patch will talk about how to dry herbs by various methods and how to grow and use culinary herbs.

Valerie a true spice girl will show you how to cook a fabulous curry.

I will show you how to take cuttings, sow seeds and divide herbs so you can expand your herb garden for free, as well as how to make natural house cleaning products. www.herbcottage.com.au

Hap Happy will be there to show you how to create your own worm farm. Now with a name like that you wouldn’t want to miss it, I feel better just typing the words Hap Happy, it makes me smile!

Wow! after all that, you will need to visit Café sage where you can revive with delicious, home baked, herb inspired food and beverages, the QHS boasts many great cooks who love using herbs in their cooking.

Come along, bring a friend and experience Learning by Sharing.

The Herb Awareness is being held on Sunday the 29th May from 9am to 4pm at the Albion Peace Hall 102 McDonald Road, Windsor.

Visit www.qldherbsociety.org.au for details

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Comfrey is such a great healing herb, the roots and leaves contain Allantoin, a substance that promotes wound healing and tissue regeneration. A poultice of the leaves and or root can be used to heal wounds, burns, bruises, ulcers, dry irritated skin conditions and Read the rest of this entry »

We have been picking heaps of cucumbers from our garden lately; we have a variety called crystal salad. They are a round shape with firm creamy-yellow skin and white flesh. The crop was slow to start, I think the rain scared all the bees away, but eventually we were picking bucket loads of tasty cucumbers. The sweet basil and mint that are growing so well at the moment are calling to be partnered with these refreshing round fruits. The last of our pomegranates are picked and the seeds that are like little jewels will add a sparkle of red to top off a tasty salad.

Salad

4 round shaped cucumbers

1 shallot finely chopped

¼ cup mint

¼ cup basil

¼ cup of Lebanese cress

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

I pomegranate

Dressing

1 tbsp Pomegranate molasses

1 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp fresh grated ginger

1 tsp sesame oil

salt to taste

Method

First prepare the dressing, place all of the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well, taste and add salt. Set aside.

Cut the cucumbers in half and scoop out the flesh; be careful to keep the skin intact. (Discard the seeds)

Dice the cucumber flesh and put into a bowl. Add the shallots.

Roughly tear the herbs – mint, basil and Lebanese cress and add to the bowl, stir through the toasted sesame seeds.

Just before serving stir through the dressing, then spoon the salad into the cucumber halves for serving.

Top with the pomegranate seeds and serve.

Herbal tea is also commonly known as tisane or herbal infusion, it is prepared from a single herb or a mixture of various herbs. You can add fruits or spices to add that extra zing.

Herb teas can be made directly in a cup, in a tea pot, or a plunger or herb infusion mug. Read the rest of this entry »

The moisture in the air from our continual very wet weather has left a film of mould on nearly every surface. To remedy this I have made some herbal vinegar sprays to clean up with.

Vinegar is a cheap and safe way to clean surfaces around your home. It is free of toxic chemicals that many of the store bought cleaners contain. Read the rest of this entry »