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Like mint tea? I do. And I drink it all day if I want to. If you don't like to pay the high price of it at the store, save $200 for just 2 or 3 hours work. I was able to collect 3 lbs of mint and it lasts me 6 months.
Grow mint in a 3 ft by 5 ft garden. If you don't want to start it from seed, it grows all over. Believe me, you see it in your neighbor's yard and they usually want to get rid of it. If they have not used chemicals, I go and harvest it there. And then I transplant two or three uncut plants into my own garden because I can have fresh mint for other things like salad. Just make sure you dig up enough of the root.
Harvest before blooming, winter or ANY TIME AT ALL! I use a curved vinyl flooring knife to cut the stem of mint above the ground and gather the cuttings in my hand at the bottom. Then when I have a handful, tie them together and hang them in a dry place in the house or shed (where there are no smells). Let the leaves dry out until they are brittle. 1 hour of work so far. I collected half a bale in 1 hour. You can cut some every week in 5 minutes, hang them up and have some every week.
Later, strip the leaves off the branches into a big clean galvanized pan or bowl. Throw away the stems and save the leaves. Put the dried leaves in a blender and chop them into a coarse powder.
Put them in a airtight container and save for your favorite tea time. Use only 1 teaspoon to make two quarts of tea. It is concentrated because there is no junk or stems in it so "1 teabag" go 10 times further than store bought bags.
By cd4life from DFW Texas
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