Like almost all herbs grown in the garden for their essential oils, you need to be very careful when fertilizing peppermint. Too much or the wrong fertilizer will prevent enough aromatic compounds from forming. It is better to provide nutritious soil before planting.
Be careful when fertilizing peppermint
Peppermint needs a nutrient-rich soil, but the wrong fertilizer and the wrong time to fertilize will affect the quality of the leaves. They form much less aroma and develop an unpleasant aftertaste.
Prepare the soil well before sowing
If you provide good soil preparation before sowing or planting peppermint, you do not need to worry about fertilizing.
Loosen the soil well. Mix in some sand to very firm soil to make it lighter and prevent waterlogging. Work mature compost or mature manure underneath. This will provide the plant with enough for several years.
In the fall, you can place a light blanket of leaves or fir branches over the plant as winter protection and thus additionally increase the supply of nutrients.
Use only organic fertilizers
Since you use the leaves of peppermint in the kitchen, if necessary, use only organic fertilizers. Particularly suitable are:
- Nettle liquid manure
- Horn shavings
- Horn meal
- Well seasoned compost
- Mature manure from the previous year
The best time to fertilize
For depleted soils, a light application of fertilizer is a good idea in the spring. Spread some mature compost around the plant and lightly work it under with a rake.
Follow-up fertilizing with nettle manure can be done during early summer and after flowering.
Under no circumstances should you fertilize peppermint before winter. This makes the plant susceptible to diseases of the root system. In addition, then it may not survive very low temperatures.
Do not harvest peppermint immediately after fertilizing.
When fertilizing, keep in mind that you can’t harvest the peppermint right after. You should wait at least two weeks before picking the leaves.
Tips & Tricks
You will need to provide nutrients more frequently to peppermint in a pot. The soil in the pot is more quickly depleted. Simply replace some of the soil in the spring.
