Harvesting Peppermint

Today I harvested our first peppermint. It was the first time I'd done it so I researched a little and found the following information:

When the plant starts to grow vines that are a good 5" or so, cut all the vines down. Cut them all relatively short, but be sure to leave a couple sets of leaves on each vine. This way the peppermint will continue to create food for it's roots.

As it continues to grow, keep cutting it back to a few inches. This will make it start to get bushier toward the base of the plant, and you'll get a greater yield.

There are many different ways to store your peppermint. The best way to use it is fresh. I'm hanging mine to dry and then will pull off the leaves to use for tea after the growing season is over. Peppermint is my favorite tea!

Garden Starts

Here are a few pictures of garden starts in the greenhouse. Several of them I have planted in the garden already and will be posting pictures soon.

Garden Report

Peas, carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, and spinach are now planted in the garden! 

The garlic is growing well! Several are 8"-10" tall

Chocolate Peppermint

I've had a hard time finding regular peppermint. There are plenty of other varieties but not plain peppermint. Yesterday I stopped by the nursery again and asked about it. I learned something new: the "chocolate" peppermint is really the same as regular peppermint except the stems of the plant are brown. It is marketed as chocolate mint which sells it and often tricks people into thinking it actually smells like chocolate when really it doesn't.

Our Garden Grew

 

Today my help and I leveled the garden area and I made the boxes for our raised beds. I also picked up a load of compost to fill them. Our garden has now grown to 40' x 18'

 

Garden

Today I picked up two loads of top soil to cover our garden area. With the help of brothers and friends we got it all unloaded, spread out, and the fence moved out to make our garden a little bigger. Soon I'm going to build raised beds. I also picked up a few seeds for the plants I need to start early.

Reagan helping me spread the new soil

William and Phil unloading the truck

William helping me set up the fence

All ready to build the raised beds!

I was also able to plant my garlic today! I planted softneck Italian and a little hardneck variety.

Potato Digging