T-Bird
05-19-2009, 11:29 AM
About 5 years ago, I moved into a new house. This was the dream house - or as close as I was ever going to be able to afford - and it was a great time in my life as a single mom to finally get the SFH the kids were wanting.
I bought the house in winter - <<WARNING people with yards that need to totally tilled over and started from scratch sell their homes in the winter!>>
There was a spot for the vegetable garden - that was horribly overrun with weeds. That first spring, I spent many hours every week digging up the weeds (no herbicides here, of course) and tried to start up a veggie patch. I planted in peppers, tomatoes, and some herbs to start, rosemary, creeping thyme, and mint. Much more was planned, but that was the start.
Then I was in an accident on my bicycle. I hadn't located my helmet since the move - had a head injury, plus massive bruising, a large hematoma, and a crack in the tailbone. I could hardly move - or think. I just focused on getting to work and keeping my job (i.e. keeping the dream home!). I could have gotten disability - but I couldn't think it through - it was a confusing time.
After I started to get a little better, I was faced with a house in chaos - 6 months of unopened mail and the place was a mess. DS with behavior problems as school. Even today - I don't feel I've caught up with all that went wrong after the accident - But soon, I think I will.
Meanwhile, back at veggie patch, I found that the garden went to pot. The few plants that survived the neglect had their bounty taken by the bunnies - I didn't have bunny probs previous, hadn't thought of counter measures. The only things to escape the bunnies were the hot peppers, rosemary, and mint. But the ground in the feral weed patch was bleak, hard as concrete, and likely void of many minerals, etc. The hot pepper died, and so did the little rosemary bush. The Thyme and mint both came back the second year, and each spring I try to valiantly start up the garden, but the weed presence is so entrenched - these huge towering weeds that grow 4-5 feet tall and have roots that go down 3 feet - it's a major enterprise to dig one up. Then again - the soil is so poor, I can't get anything to grow except the weeds. I keep digging, they keep returning. Nothing can get a toe hold there.
Except the mint.
The thyme is lost I think.....maybe I'll find it under a weed I dig up?
The mint I planted was originally a small potted organically grown 3-4" pot I picked up at a farmers market. It is giving the weeds a run for their money - it grows very similarly to a weed. Through the years, I've given it a bit of encouragement, digging out weeds in the middle of the mint. Each year it comes back more vigorous.
I would have tried to constrain it, I mean, how much mint does one person need? Several years - I didn't even use it, kept planning to, but suddenly, winter weather wiped it out. About 2 years ago, I got into mojitos, so have used it there and given away to mojito loving friends:). The mint patch is now about 3x5 feet. Most years, the vast majority went to waste...
The Gift of Mint
So now I'm raw, and about a week ago - I didn't have any greens or bananas for my green smoothie:eek:, and I was thinking that it is the penalty for being unprepared. I was contemplating this while washing up the wheat grass juicer in the sink and saw the neglected mini mint field out the window. A green smoothie with only mint and no banana??? didn't sound too appetizing, but accepted that it's the penalty I pay for disorganization. I took my scissors out and harvested a bunch.
I thought about the mojitos I loved so much, and concocted the following bananaless smoothie.....
2-3 cups mint
3 good sized apples
juice of a small lime
I thought it was delicious! It's the only bananaless smoothie that I really enjoy (so far).
Suddenly - I was all about the mint! My next creation was my post-workout 'shamrock shake' protein drink:
2 cups of mint
4 Tablespoons shelled hemp seeds
2 really ripe bananas
Yum!! I can't wait to get some dates and add them into it - then I'll ask the kids to sample, once perfect. But definitely good enough for me as is!
Another favorite:
1-1.5 cups mint
1-1.5 cups baby spinach
1/2 pineapple
2-3 really ripe bananas.
This last week - I've lived off the bounty of my mint patch and a little creativity!
Last night - I finally went to the store to pick up some other greens. Got some baby spinach and arugula. 16 oz for 4.99:eek:, Thankfully on sale for 3.99, still pricey.
While looking, there was a small pack of organically grown mint for 3.??. I was absolutely astonished, thinking about the cost of one of my mint creations would be. Looked like less than 1/4 cup for over 3 dollars?
I felt that I'd received such a wonderful gift!
Give yourself the gift of mint!
It grows like a weed, needs no tending, and can crowd out other undesired plants in poor soil.
I've never seen any bugs in the mint! They don't like it! Bunnies don't eat it! A worry-free crop! And it grows back after you cut it! Truly the gift that keeps on giving. If it freezes over, then you get a mild December - some more will grow for you!
It's pretty clean, rinses up easy.
http://health.learninginfo.org/benefits-mint.htm to read up on the health benefits of mint!
Give yourself a gift! Plant some mint today.
5 years from now, you'll be glad you did:)
I bought the house in winter - <<WARNING people with yards that need to totally tilled over and started from scratch sell their homes in the winter!>>
There was a spot for the vegetable garden - that was horribly overrun with weeds. That first spring, I spent many hours every week digging up the weeds (no herbicides here, of course) and tried to start up a veggie patch. I planted in peppers, tomatoes, and some herbs to start, rosemary, creeping thyme, and mint. Much more was planned, but that was the start.
Then I was in an accident on my bicycle. I hadn't located my helmet since the move - had a head injury, plus massive bruising, a large hematoma, and a crack in the tailbone. I could hardly move - or think. I just focused on getting to work and keeping my job (i.e. keeping the dream home!). I could have gotten disability - but I couldn't think it through - it was a confusing time.
After I started to get a little better, I was faced with a house in chaos - 6 months of unopened mail and the place was a mess. DS with behavior problems as school. Even today - I don't feel I've caught up with all that went wrong after the accident - But soon, I think I will.
Meanwhile, back at veggie patch, I found that the garden went to pot. The few plants that survived the neglect had their bounty taken by the bunnies - I didn't have bunny probs previous, hadn't thought of counter measures. The only things to escape the bunnies were the hot peppers, rosemary, and mint. But the ground in the feral weed patch was bleak, hard as concrete, and likely void of many minerals, etc. The hot pepper died, and so did the little rosemary bush. The Thyme and mint both came back the second year, and each spring I try to valiantly start up the garden, but the weed presence is so entrenched - these huge towering weeds that grow 4-5 feet tall and have roots that go down 3 feet - it's a major enterprise to dig one up. Then again - the soil is so poor, I can't get anything to grow except the weeds. I keep digging, they keep returning. Nothing can get a toe hold there.
Except the mint.
The thyme is lost I think.....maybe I'll find it under a weed I dig up?
The mint I planted was originally a small potted organically grown 3-4" pot I picked up at a farmers market. It is giving the weeds a run for their money - it grows very similarly to a weed. Through the years, I've given it a bit of encouragement, digging out weeds in the middle of the mint. Each year it comes back more vigorous.
I would have tried to constrain it, I mean, how much mint does one person need? Several years - I didn't even use it, kept planning to, but suddenly, winter weather wiped it out. About 2 years ago, I got into mojitos, so have used it there and given away to mojito loving friends:). The mint patch is now about 3x5 feet. Most years, the vast majority went to waste...
The Gift of Mint
So now I'm raw, and about a week ago - I didn't have any greens or bananas for my green smoothie:eek:, and I was thinking that it is the penalty for being unprepared. I was contemplating this while washing up the wheat grass juicer in the sink and saw the neglected mini mint field out the window. A green smoothie with only mint and no banana??? didn't sound too appetizing, but accepted that it's the penalty I pay for disorganization. I took my scissors out and harvested a bunch.
I thought about the mojitos I loved so much, and concocted the following bananaless smoothie.....
2-3 cups mint
3 good sized apples
juice of a small lime
I thought it was delicious! It's the only bananaless smoothie that I really enjoy (so far).
Suddenly - I was all about the mint! My next creation was my post-workout 'shamrock shake' protein drink:
2 cups of mint
4 Tablespoons shelled hemp seeds
2 really ripe bananas
Yum!! I can't wait to get some dates and add them into it - then I'll ask the kids to sample, once perfect. But definitely good enough for me as is!
Another favorite:
1-1.5 cups mint
1-1.5 cups baby spinach
1/2 pineapple
2-3 really ripe bananas.
This last week - I've lived off the bounty of my mint patch and a little creativity!
Last night - I finally went to the store to pick up some other greens. Got some baby spinach and arugula. 16 oz for 4.99:eek:, Thankfully on sale for 3.99, still pricey.
While looking, there was a small pack of organically grown mint for 3.??. I was absolutely astonished, thinking about the cost of one of my mint creations would be. Looked like less than 1/4 cup for over 3 dollars?
I felt that I'd received such a wonderful gift!
Give yourself the gift of mint!
It grows like a weed, needs no tending, and can crowd out other undesired plants in poor soil.
I've never seen any bugs in the mint! They don't like it! Bunnies don't eat it! A worry-free crop! And it grows back after you cut it! Truly the gift that keeps on giving. If it freezes over, then you get a mild December - some more will grow for you!
It's pretty clean, rinses up easy.
http://health.learninginfo.org/benefits-mint.htm to read up on the health benefits of mint!
Give yourself a gift! Plant some mint today.
5 years from now, you'll be glad you did:)