Mint, mint and more mint !

[Adrienne]

Spearmint, peppermint, chocolate mint, lemon and pineapple flavored mint ~ did I forget any ?

So many varieties of mint, so tempting to plant them in the garden....

but then...what does one do with the mint, besides putting the leaves into tea ?

Any recipes using mint leaves ?

Any spiritual significance to mint ?

Dream Angel xx

[Time]

Desserts such as icecream, icings, icetea.

Theres mint in greek food, toothpaste, homemade mouthwash, essential oils, insence, offerings, potpourii, alcholholic beverages ( if you of age of course:P). Then again, its nice just to break some leaves off and smudge them in your hand and enjoy the smell.

ITs also great for attracting beneficial insects, and apperantly has some beneficial health effects ( I cant remember them offhand, but i think it has to do with tonics, check out wikepedia, and ask a hmeopathic dr, or nutritionalist as well if you can).

[innerlight]

Spiritual significance? Not sure, but peppermint is very good for upset stomach.

[Adrienne]

hi Time,

I like the mint leaves in ice tea. I never really thought about adding it to food dishes, might have to check out some Greek recipes.

and what might a " beneficial insect " be ? I can't think of any ?

beneficial health benefits would be good, thanks for the suggestion to check it out.

Dream Angel xx

[Adrienne]

hi Inner,

good to know about peppermint being good for an upset stomach

as for the spiritual signifcance question, I had to have some reason to put the topic here on the forum :tongue:

and who knows, there just might be some connection I / we may not know about any, but someone else might ?

Dreamie xx

[Time]

ALmost all insects are beneficial. Bees and wasps pollinate, without them there wouldtnt be any fruit or veggies or flowers! Lady ugs eat aphids, theres big eyed bugs, and other predatory, and paracidic insects that eat all kinds of pests. Over 90% of all insects in yoru yard cause NO harm to any plant. Most things can cause problems, but if we let nature do its thing, things will come into balance. Most plants can handle siome aphids for a while. Whats wrong with a garden crawling with ladybugs?

All pesticides harm all life in the garden, especialy soil life ( the only reason things grow in the ground at all!), and insecticides kill good bags and ad ones.

Long story short, without bugs, mammals wouldnt exsist becasue almsot all our food is pollinated by insects. Can you hadn pllinating thousands of fruit trees by hand, when realizing that an apple tree can have thosuands of blossoms alone? Or how about an acre of food forest to get food? Grapes are wind pillinated, so is corn. other then that pertty much al lour food is dependant on insects

[Kaere]

I loooove mint. I remember visiting with my family in the states and we'd drive through fields and fields of mint. On a hot day it smelled so amazing.

When I grow mint, I generally use it as Time suggested - it's great in lemonade and iced tea (gotta crush the leaves a little though if you want it stronger). I wonder if they might taste nice in brownies or something else chocolatey?

If you're looking for some magic, wrap some mint up in a bit of cheesecloth and put it in your bath, when you're weaving a spell. Plant mint in your garden to attract money, spearmint for a loving home... of course all the magic in these is in the intent while you're using, create your own spell.

[Spiritlite]

I think mint is very uplifting in aromatherapy. It's a lovely herb and I remember eating it out of my mother's garden as a child.
Spiritlite.

[Time]

ITs refreshing as hell. You can put mint in water and let it steep ( like lemon water NOT boiling water liek tea). If you add enough it apperantly makes a super refreshing cooling drink. I thinkits just called mint water. ( Kaere, I know for a fact they sell it at the bay, downtown calgary, and other stores outwest. I dont know any other spacific cities other then calgary though....

[Adrienne]

Quite the science lecture Time :smile: . Yes, now that you mention it, I did know of those beneficial insects you mentioned. Sorry, just at the moment I was asking you the question, I had mosquitos on the mind ! :icon_eek:

a garden crawling with ladybugs would be just fine !

[Adrienne]

If you're looking for some magic, wrap some mint up in a bit of cheesecloth and put it in your bath, when you're weaving a spell. Plant mint in your garden to attract money, spearmint for a loving home... of course all the magic in these is in the intent while you're using, create your own spell.

Kaere,

Fields of mint, I can't even imagine ~
Nice idea for the brownies, just might have to add some mint leaves next time I bake.

ohh, I am always looking for some magic :wink: thank you !

Dream Angel xx

[Adrienne]

Aromatherapy, thanks Spiritlite ! I knew there was something !

Dream Angel xx

[iolite]

I don't think there is any drink more refreshing on a hot summer's day than spearmint iced tea! And of course you can't have a mint julep, mojito or thin mints without mint!!

I've read that you can chase mice out of the house with mint. I need to try that. We have had at least 3 mice come in to our house via crawl space up through a the plumbing comes up into the kitchen. Patches did a stellar job with mouse duty this winter and Bounder got rid of the evidence (most of it anyways). But I'd much rather repel them than have them meet their demise as Bounder's midnight snack.

[Adrienne]

hee hee iolite, I am having a vision of you with a sprig of mint leaves, chasing mice out of your house ! :D

just curious on that one ~ how does one use mint to chase the mice out ? how would you keep your cats from nibbling on the mint ? (not sure if it is one of the plants toxic to cats or not )

now you have me thirsty for mint iced tea or mint julep and of course, the thin mints !
funny thing about those mint juleps, they are delicious, but at the time I had no idea they were basically alcohol and mint leaves !

Dream Angel xx

[iolite]

The article that I read, suggested putting peppermint oil on a cotton ball and placing it under the cabinet where the mouse enters the house. I COULD also crawl under the house and fill the gap with spray foam. Mint isn't toxic to cats, but they much prefer catnip. I've got a HUGE catnip patch for them out front and a BIG patch out back by the deck.

[Adrienne]

I like the peppermint oil on the cottonball idea, much better . A friend of mine, living in an apt with cats, woke up one morning to find a mouse in one of their mouths ! :icon_eek: no clue exactly how the mouse got in the apt, but it was curious how one of the cats kept sitting outside the kitchen and just looking in a certain direction. I will mention the peppermint oil on the cottonball idea to my friend. Thanks !

I know cats like catnip, curious with your garden, do they eat it ? or just enjoy rolling around in it ?

[iolite]

I know cats like catnip, curious with your garden, do they eat it ? or just enjoy rolling around in it ?

They like to do both!

[sound]

Hi DA ... I have a friend (who i haven't seen in quite a while) who was warned about taking too much mint in its various forms as it can have adverse affects on the heart. I haven't researched it myself however it might be worth doing if you are having it daily :hug3:

[BlueSky]

planting mint around your foundation is a natural safe way of keeping ants out of your house.

[Adrienne]

Hi DA ... I have a friend (who i haven't seen in quite a while) who was warned about taking too much mint in its various forms as it can have adverse affects on the heart.

oh oh sound ! thanks for the warning, I will have to check on this. At the moment I am just planting the mint and was looking for ideas of what to do with it .:hug3: For some reason, all the different flavors are so tempting when one is herb/plant shopping.

[Adrienne]

planting mint around your foundation is a natural safe way of keeping ants out of your house.

a much more fragrant and ecologically good idea than using bug sprays or insecticides, thanks much WhiteShaman !

question ~ what to plant to keep rabbits out of the garden ? I have heard planting Marigolds because they don't like the smell of the plants.

[BlueSky]

a much more fragrant and ecologically good idea than using bug sprays or insecticides, thanks much WhiteShaman !

question ~ what to plant to keep rabbits out of the garden ? I have heard planting Marigolds because they don't like the smell of the plants.

I have heard that too. I don't use pesticides at all so my yard has plenty of dandelions to keep the rabbits interested......lol

Chicken wire works good as does fake rubber snakes from what I have heard.

Note: sprinkling cinnamon at outside doorways when ant season hits helps keep them out for those few weeks that they try to get in every year.

The other cool thing about the mint is the awesome smell as you hit it when you mow

[Adrienne]

oh oh, so I have been inviting the rabbits with dandelion delights ? :icon_eek:

chicken wire doesn't look the greatest, but thanks for the idea and the rubber snakes

and thanks for the sprinkling cinnamon at the doorways idea, seems no matter how careful I am there are always some who want to come inside. This seems to happen when it is especially hot and dry outside.

[BlueSky]

We have this old Chinese woman who moved into the neighborhood and my expereince with old oriental people is that they are very resourceful and do not waste anything. I admire that about her but you should see the fence she made around her garden!
Every inch of it was gathered up from what people throw away and no 2 feet look alike!
It really is a work of art......lol

[Adrienne]

sounds very creative of her , wonder if it keeps the rabbits out ? :tongue: or if they visit to admire the art ?

[BlueSky]

sounds very creative of her , wonder if it keeps the rabbits out ? :tongue: or if they visit to admire the art ?

LOL.....what keeps the rabbits out is the sound of the garbage truck backing up to it thinking she has just put out her trash....:smile:

[Adrienne]

:D :D :D .................

[Kaere]

Have a care sprinkling cinnamon at the door - if you wear your shoes inside and outside, you may stain carpeting. And of course there's always the chance you'll be descended upon by a herd of wild apples.

[BlueSky]

Have a care sprinkling cinnamon at the door - if you wear your shoes inside and outside, you may stain carpeting. And of course there's always the chance you'll be descended upon by a herd of wild apples.

Nothing is safe! LOL

[Kaere]

It's true! I'm telling ya, all you need is one and the rest can't stay away.

[Adrienne]

" a herd of wild apples " ? quite an imagination you have Kaere ! :D hmmm, thinking apple pie

thanks for the cinnamon by the door warning and staining the carpet ~

[Time]

Someone asked what keeps rabbit out?

Daffoldls stop all kinds of gnawing and burrowing mammals. They are poisonous to them ( highly infact) and dont go near them. I havnt tried this, but this is what ive read.

[unruhig]

That i would like to see ,a herd of apples lol chased by rubber snakes

[Squatchit]

Hiya Dreamie

Mint sauce!

Minted new potatoes!

Mint in fruit salad!

Make your own chewing gum...! :tongue:.....only joking on this one.

Squatch

[Adrienne]

hiya Squatch !

minted new potatoes, now that is a new one ! thank you

hee hee, on the chewing gum ! :tongue: creative idea

Dreamie xx

[Gracey]

my step mom made mint tea today, brought the leaves and some water just to a boil, then let it sit for awhile, added a tiny bit of sugar and walla, mint tea. it was pretty good too. never had it before today.

[Adrienne]

hi Gracey,

Can't get much easier than that ! I had to think for a minute.... was trying to figure out what walla mint tea was ! :tongue: then I got it, lol ! hee hee .... voila ! :D