Mint mint and more mint

nattles88, Oct 12, 4:53am
i have a feral mint plant at our house. hacked it back over winter as it looked scraggy and now its grown back nice and healthy with gusto. Now its growing all the way down the side of my house and i have no idea what to do with it all, any ideas!

twindizzy, Oct 12, 4:58am
Cocktails.lots of cocktails

lodgelocum, Oct 12, 5:09am
Mint sauce

hawki1, Oct 12, 5:12am
You made me think! (not bad for a Friday Evening) so I googled uses for mint, got such a lot of ideas.

245sam, Oct 12, 7:29am
There are lots and lots of uses for mint - e.g.cocktails (as suggested by twindizzy - see below), mint sauce (as suggested by lodgelocum), mint jelly, raita, tabbouleh, mint pesto (see below).

from:- http://www.mintrubbing.org/themintplant.pdf Mint Julep Cocktail Recipe fresh mint 1 tablespoon fine sugar 1 tablespoon water
2 fl oz (5.7 cl) bourbon whiskey
Place 4-5 leaves of mint in a highball glass. Crush the mint, sugar and water together until the sugar
is dissolved and the flavour of the mint extracted. Add the bourbon and fill the glass with crushed ice.
Stir until the outside of the glass is frosted. Decorate with a sprig of mint. Serve with straws.

MInt Pesto -
http://www.ecook.co.nz/recipe/New-Potatoes-With-Mint-Pesto/!
r=39&fs=1


http://annabellewhite.com/mint-pesto/ and while Googling I found the recipe for this Lebanese bread salad that uses 1 cup each of parsley and mint - it looks both very easy and delicious. http://www.ecook.co.nz/recipe/Fattoush/!r=2308

Hope those few suggestions help.:-))

otterhound, Oct 12, 8:01am
I'm jealous.My mint was also rampant until it got "rust" and for the last year, I've been trying to grow it again.It just keeps getting rust.I can't believe I'm having trouble growing something most almost classify as a weed!I've a great frittata recipe that uses a bunch of asparagus, cheese, eggs, and a cup of fresh herbs - and I normally use mainly mint.Got the asparagus in the fridge, heaps of eggs, but no blimmin' mint!

245sam, Oct 12, 8:19am
otterhound, later in the season our mint usually gets 'rusty' spots too and I recall hearing or reading somewhere that any leaves with those spots should be picked off asap to prevent the rust from spreading - I have never been able to prove or disprove this advice because the rust seems to appear so suddenly and also spread so fast, usually right when I either don't have time or am not at home to be available for picking those spotty leaves off as they appear.At the beginning of the season though we have the most perfect non-spotty leaves that I'm always so pleased to see them appearing because IMO the mint's reappearance/new growth means that the warmer weather is imminent.:-))

chatsmom, Oct 12, 8:41am
Mint vinegrette is yummy on chicken & lamb salads.

lilyfield, Oct 12, 9:06am
Dry it for tea

leebee35, Oct 12, 9:14am
MInt needs to be potted in a pot if you dont want it to grow like a weed.I love it being wild through my garden as I make a lot of Mojitios.

louisesamosa, Oct 12, 9:24am
Mojitios, Mojitios, Mojitios and more Mojitios!

kiwiscrapper1, Oct 12, 9:28am
The one thing that does not grow in my garden is mint! Not sure why but it will not grow.

lythande1, Oct 12, 6:56pm
Mint likes shade and water. Other than that it doesn't care, requires a haircut every now and then.

Is your spot quite hot!

nattles88, Oct 12, 7:06pm
thanks for the ideas guys, otterhound your frittata sounds very yummy, would you care to post the recipe!

carlosjackal, Oct 12, 7:37pm
Mint chopped very finely is nice in meatballs and also potato salad. I put a few mint leaves (and chopped garlic) in the water when i cook the potatoes, and the potatoes take on a wonderful flavour before you've even made the salad! Yummmm

otterhound, Oct 12, 8:41pm
6 eggs
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup cooked kumara, chopped
1 cup soft mixed herbs (mint, parsley, basil etc) chopped
1/2 Tblspoil
1 bunch asparagus, cut intosections
Beat eggs in a bowl.Add 1/2 the cheese, kumara and herbs.Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat oil in large frying pan over high heat and fry asparagus for 1 minute until starting to colour. Turn down heat then add the egg mixture and cook gently for 5 - 6 minutes until base is set.Preheat the grill.

Sprinkle over the remaining cheese then put frying pan under the grill and cook the frittata for 3 - 5 minutes until set and golden.

Easy as=)

otterhound, Oct 12, 8:43pm
it's in a planter on the verandah.Have cut it back to ground level several times now to get rid of the rust, and sprayed the new growth with copper as suggested by the garden shop.Still it gets rust again=(I must be the only person who can't grow mint!It was brilliant for a couple of years, then this started happening.

fifie, Oct 12, 10:32pm
Get rid of the plant. Rust is a fungus disease and can contaminate soil if left. Fresh soil and a new plant, sit in the shade and keep it moist, you will have nice mint again in no time.

otterhound, Oct 13, 1:00am
I did!This is a new plant.Perhaps I need to dump everything and start again!

antoniab, Oct 13, 1:11am
Mint will nearly always get rust if it is in a pot not in the ground - do you have a barren area of your property that you can throw one in and let it go rampant!

beaker59, Oct 13, 1:15am
Just cut it back to ground level regularly and use the fresh growth. Keep soil moist and not a hot sunny spot traditionally its grown by the backdoorstep on the cold side of the house usually under the hose tap so any waterdrips are onto the mint garden. It gets rust on older growth. Rust is everywhere its fungal and unavoidable really so if the plant starts suffering to bad then mow it and watch it regrow, the new growth will be great.