Sunday, August 10, 2014

August 10: Mint

I collected some mint from my garden.  I really should have had this done a few weeks ago.  I like to dry it for tea for the winter months.  I love mint tea.

Mint tea has great health benefits... Its an old time remedy for upset stomach. "Though there have been few human clinical trials on the health benefits or risks of peppermint tea, there is some evidence that peppermint-based products (and potentially, the tea) have healing effects because of the peppermint oil or menthol that it contains, and that treatment using orally ingested peppermint oil will relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.[2] The oil of peppermint has also been shown to be an effective antispasmodic during colonoscopy and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. "  Wikipedia.

If you are tempted to plant mint, be careful.  Its a weed.  Its crazy voracious.  It sends runners just beneath the soil.  It will spread very quickly.  Where you want it and not where you want it.  In other words everywhere.  If you dig into the soil and put up barricades it will stay where you want it.  Get a large planter, cut off the base, sink it into the soil, at least five inches and have it above the soil as well, about two or three inches.  This will it keep it in place.

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