Thursday, April 2, 2009

Chocolate Mint

Chocolate Mint - A Favorite! Very strong mint used for teas. Has a smell similar to a peppermint patty. Great dried and added to black tea or used by itself, Chocolate Mint also makes a nice addition to chocolate desserts or a surprise addition to breakfast breads. Easy to grow, spreads rapidly. You may want to grow this one in a container!

Herbs Cultural information: Mint's are very easy to grow. They readily make themselves at home in full sun to partial shade in moist fertile soil. Most gardeners don't have any trouble growing Chocolate Mint, they have trouble containing it. Chocolate Mint should be harvested frequently or cut back to keep the plant it looking its best. Remove older woody plants to allow newer younger plants to fill in. At the end of the growing season cut plants back to ground level - then MULCH, MULCH, MULCH! to protect from the winter weather.

Uses: Aromatic, Cosmetic, Culinary, Medicinal and Ornamental
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Harvesting & Storage: All of the plants in the Mentha family are best used fresh... but they can be dried or frozen. Chocolate Mint is very hardy and can be harvested as soon as new growth appears in the spring.

Young new growth is the most fragrant and flavorful, but all leaves are edible. Hang small bunches upside down in a dry, dark, warm area to dry. Leaves can be dried on paper or on screens. Store dried leaves in an air tight container.

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PURCHASED: Start from Garden Fever March '09.
STARTED SEED:
HARDENED OFF:
TRANSPLANTED IN GARDEN:
DISEASE ISSUES:
INSECT ISSUES:
HARVEST YEILD & DURATION:
OTHER NOTES: Yes, I plan on potting this little guy up...

03/30/09
Photobucket

2 comments:

Randy Emmitt said...

Jenn,

I planted this plant about ten years ago by the pond. Weeds and blackberries have made it unaccessable. Right now it is likely under water because the pond is high.
When you walk around the pond at a lower level you can smell it as you crush the leaves of the plant with your feet.

Just Jenn said...

It does have a wonderful smell. I'm hoping to make some simple syrup by steeping the leaves in sugar water and maybe I'll dry some for tea. Oh and maybe chop a few up finely and sprinkle over fresh strawberries.