This fall’s mint

Alasgun

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Being big tea drinkers, we grow chocolate mint, peppermint and mojito mint. This photo is what we took from those and dried.
what’s not shown and a new favorite of ours is Anise Hyssop! This year that bed is being expanded.
 

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Carol Dee

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Being big tea drinkers, we grow chocolate mint, peppermint and mojito mint. This photo is what we took from those and dried.
what’s not shown and a new favorite of ours is Anise Hyssop! This year that bed is being expanded.
Nice harvest. How do you dry yours? We put ours in paper bag in the fridge for a few weeks until nice and dry then remove most of the stems. That way it stays nice and green.
 

digitS'

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I'm having some ginger tea from the store for an after-breakfast cuppa. Breakfast was with Oolong. Yesterday, I had lime leaf tea :).

All that is from the store although we did have a couple of potted ginger plants in the greenhouse again, through the 2020 summer. (Shoulda had a couple more ;).) I suppose I should just buy chamomile blossoms to go with my spearmint in the back yard. That's the way I like mint tea. (Growing chamomile for its flowers was a serious waste of effort for this gardener. I'd need a thousand square feet to come up with a pound!)

Anise Hyssop? That's a favorite! Not by itself but with Lemon Verbena ... Yeah, I felt like a real connoisseur once I came up with that combination :D. I had it so easy! Oh, the potted verbena required cutting back and protecting in the greenhouse through the winter but it always comes back nice. The anise hyssop would volunteer - for years!

Then, the tractor guy must have aimed his rototiller more carefully. One year, the only plant that showed up was in the neighbor's raspberry and grape jungle. I didn't see it until it bloomed.

Last year, I planted some seeds in the backyard garden. Too much shade, although I have had anise hyssop in the shade before. There were a good number of plants that time. With just a couple of plants showing up, I didn't have enough of the herb. This Year! I gotta do better!

Steve
 

Alasgun

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Thanks for the interest everyone. We bundle the branches and hang them upside down with a small fan (monkey fan) circulating the air, takes 4-5 days. Then strip the branches into glass gallon jars, keeps thru the year easily. Typically i’ll use 2 TBS. in a pot for the two of us, steeped in hot water. Some of these taste better with a couple drops of Stevia added during the steep. No black tea or other additions.

Up here Chamomile grows wild, got some in the floor of the greenhouse. Never were much on it until i discovered what a good eye wash it is. Simply brew a cup, cool it and using a dropper put a couple drops in each eye to eliminate irritation from pollen, weld flash etc. it will sting mildly for just a moment then your eyes will hug you!
 

ninnymary

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Nice harvest. How do you dry yours? We put ours in paper bag in the fridge for a few weeks until nice and dry then remove most of the stems. That way it stays nice and green.
Carol, I still remember you sending me a paper bag of dried mint. I had never tasted mint tea so fresh as the one made with your leaves. It was incredible and nothing at all like store bought mint tea.

Mary
 

Cosmo spring garden

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I'm having some ginger tea from the store for an after-breakfast cuppa. Breakfast was with Oolong. Yesterday, I had lime leaf tea :).

All that is from the store although we did have a couple of potted ginger plants in the greenhouse again, through the 2020 summer. (Shoulda had a couple more ;).) I suppose I should just buy chamomile blossoms to go with my spearmint in the back yard. That's the way I like mint tea. (Growing chamomile for its flowers was a serious waste of effort for this gardener. I'd need a thousand square feet to come up with a pound!)

Anise Hyssop? That's a favorite! Not by itself but with Lemon Verbena ... Yeah, I felt like a real connoisseur once I came up with that combination :D. I had it so easy! Oh, the potted verbena required cutting back and protecting in the greenhouse through the winter but it always comes back nice. The anise hyssop would volunteer - for years!

Then, the tractor guy must have aimed his rototiller more carefully. One year, the only plant that showed up was in the neighbor's raspberry and grape jungle. I didn't see it until it bloomed.

Last year, I planted some seeds in the backyard garden. Too much shade, although I have had anise hyssop in the shade before. There were a good number of plants that time. With just a couple of plants showing up, I didn't have enough of the herb. This Year! I gotta do better!

Steve
Dobyou harvest the flowers of the anise hyssop for the tea? I'm growing it for the first time this year. Any tricks for growing it from seed?
 

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