# How to Grow Mint
Things You'll Need
- Garden Trowels
- Mint Plants
- Planting Containers
- Potting Soil
- Clay Drainage Tiles
Instructions
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1
Choose a site where mint can roam freely without disturbing other plants in your garden. It's happiest in partial shade and in moist, moderately rich, slightly acid soil, but it will grow in any light from full sun to full shade and in any kind of soil you happen to have.
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2
Buy mint plants at the nursery for planting in early spring, as soon as the ground can be worked. (Mint does not grow well from seed.)
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3
Plant mint in its ideal conditions if you want a vigorous ground cover. To contain its enthusiasm, give it a less-than-perfect home (for instance, full sun and soil that's on the dry side).
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4
Set plants 12 to 18 inches apart, depending on the variety. To control their rampant ways, plant them in bottomless containers sunk into the soil. Clay drainage tiles, about 10 inches deep and 6 to 8 inches across, are ideal.
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5
Keep the soil moist until the plants are established.
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6
Pinch stem ends off each spring to keep plants bushy. At the end of the gardening season, prune plants back to near ground level and top-dress with compost.
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7
Harvest sprigs as you need them throughout the growing season.
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