Grow Mint & Other Herbs from Cuttings from Your Garden or Store Bought Produce
I love to save money in whatever ways I can and being frugal in my gardening pursuits is no exception. So, since I needed some fresh mint for a tabbouleh recipe I was making … and I didn’t have any growing in my garden (yet), I had to buy some at the grocery store.
Did you know you can root many store bought herbs, if they still have fresh, viable stems? You don’t have to depend only on cuttings from your garden to propagate more herb plants.
Here’s a simple way to root mint (and a few other herbs) in soil. I started a couple of slips today so I’ll end up with a nice little mint plant to grow in a pot so I’ll have lots of fresh and FREE mint for whenever I need it.
This method works not only for mint but also for rooting oregano, sage, basil, French tarragon, rosemary, lemon balm, and lavender. Either use a very healthy looking 3 to 5- inch cutting from your store bought mint, or if you can snip some from a plant then carefully cut off a 3 to 5-inch piece of a tip’s new growth, clipping just below a node. Avoid woody stems and soft shoots as they take longer to develop roots.
Dip the end of the cutting in rooting powder (available at most garden supply stores). Place the end of the cutting into a rich soil and firmly secure it in by pressing the soil in place. Place in a sunny spot; water as necessary. Allow several weeks for the roots to develop before planting outdoors.
*Note: Mint is very invasive and will take over your garden in no time. And it’s a bugger to try and eradicate if you decide to plant it in the ground. I highly suggest you grow it in a pot. You could sink the pot in the ground if you want, but still … even one runner growing out of the pot and rooted and established into your soil could be a headache of gardening trouble in the future. That’s why I’m putting mine in a nice large pot that I’ve also faux-finished to give it some eye-appeal. (Learn how to turn an ordinary pot into something unique using one of my simple DIY decorative paint techniques .)
This frugal herb propagation tip and hundreds more on all sorts of gardening related topics can be found in my 300 page eBook that’s full of frugal and eco-friendly remedies and how-tos: The Shoestring Gardener.