The Truth About Mint

In my life, I have compiled exactly two recipes that call for fresh mint. 

The first is Moroccan Chicken Skewers with Green Sauce, and the second is Slow Cooker Cuban Mojo Pork.

That doesn't equate to requiring a lot of mint, but I've run into trouble finding fresh mint at the store when I need it. Late last spring, I checked three stores before finally finding a mint plant at Trader Joe's. I used what I needed, and then I sort of let it die, but I decided to try throwing the plant in my herb box in the garden - not thinking it would actually come back and thrive. 

Thrive it did! And I had a lovely mint plant all summer... from which I didn't use a single leaf. But sometimes I would pick one to smell. I think that's what garden herbs are for, mostly - to pick leaves from and sniff. At least, in my experience. 

I need you to know, despite never really needing any mint, I was so proud of this mint plant!

A week ago I was scrolling through Instagram when I saw this:

And I thought, "Oh! That's kind of what I did! But wait? Is mint problematic?"

And then I went on with my day and didn't give it another thought. 

A few days ago, I went outside to work in the garden. I had already planted a few cold weather crops (peas and spinach and the like) and was excited to see that the plants were popping up. I proceeded to plant a few flowers, trim back some weed barrier we installed, and remove a bird carcass from the onion box. Then I moved over to the herb box to plant some cilantro when I noticed tiny green leaves coming out of the dirt all over the place. My mind immediately went to that Instagram post as I questioned, "Is this mint?" 

There was a little cluster of it around the spot where the mint plant had been, but it was also popping up in smaller batches all over the garden box. I picked a leaf and sniffed it. Sure enough, it was mint. Out of curiosity, I grabbed a bunch of it and tugged to see how it would come out of the dirt. I ended up pulling some of the plant out of the ground followed by a long runner that connected back to the bigger cluster. 

And then I went, "Oh no!"

Because this thing I saw on the internet that I never knew about... was happening to me.  

I immediately went back to the internet to get more information, and I read things like:

"Reasons to never plant mint in your garden"

"I had to use a blow torch to get rid of my mint"

"I left a potted mint plant in my green house, and it escaped and took over everything"

So suffice it to say, if anyone needs any fresh mint this summer, I can probably hook you up.