For Fresh Mint, Grow It Yourself

When we say that a plant is easy to grow, we usually mean that it takes care of itself. You extend the single kindness of planting it, and it gives you a bounteous harvest even when ignored. By this definition, mint is as easy a food plant as you'll ever find. A hardy perennial, you need only designate a spare corner of the yard for it, in sun or in shade. Damp soil befits it best, but an average soil will do as long as there's enough organic matter to help retain moisture.

Finding that out-of-the-way spot, however, is essential. Introduce mint into a garden and it will make work for you, year after year. Its aggressive underground stems will creep rapidly among the roots of its neighbors and will swamp all but the most firmly entrenched. Schemes such as surrounding it with barriers will fail, although planting it in a large free-standing pot can work if you keep it well watered. Gardeners often give up on it as a weedy nuisance.

In a place where mint can be mint, it is well worth growing and savoring. Those who know it mainly though Life Savers, toothpaste and envelope glue should try adding it to cucumbers and onions sliced and stirred into yogurt for an Indian raita -- a cool-tasting complement to a hot curry. I love to chop it up and toss it with sliced oranges in summer, spiked with a splash of Cointreau or Grand Marnier. Its leaves give salads an unexpected fresh flavor, and it's brilliant in beverages, from juleps and mojitos to strong, sweet tea, either hot or cold. I sometimes combine it with lemon verbena and honey for an aromatic summer cooler. And it is a proven tummy tonic, very soothing for indigestion.

There are many kinds of mint, from the familiar peppermint and spearmint to more subtle forms such as apple mint or chocolate mint. These variations are not always pronounced, and if several kinds are grown together they will cross-pollinate, confusing things further. I've enjoyed growing black mint, a type with very dark green leaves and stems, which yields a fine, strong tea. I make a point of cutting and drying it for a winter supply, before it goes to flower, and before it gets the rust disease that sometimes strikes in midsummer. Neither the rust nor the cutting-back deters the crop, which grows back bushy and strong.

Mint grown from seed does not come true to type, so it's best to start either with cuttings or divisions of established plants. Richter's catalogue ( http://www.richters.com) offers more than 40 varieties, from Fruitasia to Italian Spice to a special mild mint for salads. And surely no gardener who grows mint would ever mind parting with a clump.