If You Plant Mint in a Raised Bed This Will Happen

John from www.growingyour... shares with you what will happen if you plant mint in a raised bed garden.
In this episode, John will share the challenge he is having in his garden today with mint that took over an entire raised bed garden and did not allow other crops to thrive in the same garden bed.
John always encourages you to grow mint in a container, which it can spread out and take over the container, but not spread beyond as it can get out of control.
You will discover for yourself how mint, if left undisturbed for just a season or two, can send out its runners and root all over the place.
You will see first hand how much of time, effort and green material mint can generate if left undisturbed in a raised bed garden.
After watching this episode, you will think twice about ever planting mint in a raised bed garden bed.
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[@doriehess5835]

I wouldn't compost it. I have it because it was in a bag of grass clippings. Laid the grass for mulch, and viola! Mint. 20 years ago. Still here. Goes for Mojitos now.

[@ferniek5000]

Dorie Hess I agree, any time I have composted it, it takes over the compost pile...I plant it next to chickens and nearby daylillies so it has competition, and in containers near the door. One place I have noticed it does not take over is in deeply shaded areas.

[@Neyobe]

Oohhh! That’s a good point

[@hope2029]

Mojitos!

[@codyhunt3]

Consider smothering the bed with something for a season (as long as it takes). I use road fabric (and time) when I need to smother all plant life from an area, such as converting lawn to a food growing area. I had a similar experience growing up. A friend's mom gave me an apple mint start and it exploded in my garden. I left it alone for too long because the bees loved it. When it came time to remove it (all of it) it came up in one giant 5-6' diameter rug, like pulling up a carpet.

[@ZamoraBeto21]

Man it's because of the long videos that I have learned a whole lot from you, I enjoy them a lot. The fact of knowing everything before I invest the time and money is very satisfying and it encourages me to grow my greens instead of being afraid too or second guessing it. Thank you for ALL the info. Keep doing what your doing man. Me and my family appreciate it!

[@maymayshaughnessy6838]

We moved into our house five years ago and the previous owners planted mint around their pond. Two years ago I thought I got it all. Nope! I’ve propagated it and still have it but it keeps showing up in random areas. You’re so right about keeping it contained.

[@LetThePumpkinsFLY]

My first raised bed was a mint bed - Kentucky Colonel. I love it! I do need to clean it out this year and thin out the roots, but I love, love, LOVE having a whole bed of mint!

[@darksider7791]

Yes, if want it there permanently.

[@chanelleswan3107]

Thanks! Only planted my mint a week ago in my 3m x 1.5m raised garden. Just pulled it out!!

[@crosswind76]

I like both short and long videos of yours. Just mix them up for a variety. Thx for sharing w/ us.

[@toddstropicals]

Since my county replaced our recycle container, I've recycled the old ones into planters, so I grow in those

[@nc3430]

hey john dnt get upset. you are an inspiration. Long Videos are cool....

[@willowbrookhomestead7492]

I love the long videos because they contain a lot of info but i don't always have time to take in that much information. I also have a need for quick specific videos with easily searchable topics like this. Keep up the good work. Keep the long form tour videos and mix in a few more short/specific videos.

[@bobbiwest6625]

I like the longer garden tours. It lets me get a feel of how and where you are growing what you grow. And also you have such a variety, I can see what the mature plants look like. Thanks, your garden is inspirational.

[@ForestKnight111]

your Vids are always entertaining and full of amazing knowledge, you put time stamps on whats relevant for those that have short attention spans.. keep true to who you are... remember people who are negative are more vocal so they seem more numerous.. but im betting 10-1 that most people enjoy your vids as YOU enjoy making them.

[@MariaDominguez-bl1ef]

Oops thanks I love mint and I just decided to plant it in the raised bed lol I will be transplanting it ASAP. It started getting runners in the pots and I figured I could just trim it back every few weeks but I had I feeling I shouldn’t have done that. Glad you posted this! Thanks!!

[@cmenowOn]

don’t EVER stop your long vids! ❤️

[@kentvandervelden]

Short videos are nice; long videos are nice; all your videos are nice :)

[@jesuslives4362]

Kent VanderVelden right!! He's not boring

[@Neyobe]

Awwwwwww I know right!

[@hope2029]

Love ya John! Just ran across this video and saw you on the thumbnail, had subscribed years ago but lot it when I did a reset. You always have great info. This was the perfect length☺!

[@KateInTheCity]

Thanks John. I am the leader at a local community garden. We currently have 4 beds out of 100 that are unclaimed; one of which is FULL of chocolate mint. While I love it and I cut it all season long to use, it has completely over run the bed. I agree with you. Mint should not be put into raised beds! Ihope this spring I can dig it out, find it a new home, and have this bed open and usable!

[@carcina27]

I have two mint plants in my raise bed. I will definitely learn from your difficulties and move them to pots. Thank you for sharing.

[@cecilia4852]

Its too late, first they take over the garden, then the home, then the state, then the economy. Theres no stopping it now

[@0703la]

Love your videos! Ignore the whiners. Your friendly and, yes, verbose, videos are full of information, even when slightly off topic. You're my gardening friend and I really enjoy your visits while waiting impatiently for spring seed sowing time. I am considering planting mint in an area that was previously filled with some rampant viney stuff that required a nasty herbacide to clear. I don't care if it takes over that area as it is mostly shade near the foundation of the house. I figure the lower sunlight will help slow it down and the fresh mint scent will be pleasant under the bathroom window! Thanks for the timely video!

[@kentvandervelden]

The plant that I highly regret letting grow is wild strawberries! The person at the local gardening store thought it was wonderful to have wild strawberries. However, it spread super fast with runners, killing large areas of grass in one season, and was hard to get under control. It's a shame, but the wild strawberries had the texture of cotton and tested about as good.

[@coltons9522]

Short videos are cool 🌱

[@righyan]

Planted mint in the far corner of my yard almost 20 years ago, now it’s in 5 of the beds all over the front yard today. It never comes up super aggressive like yours, but if you look you can find it every year.

[@Papajoe1950]

So many videos so little time... Thanks John for getting right to the point and keeping it short! Yes I made the mistake of putting mint in my garden, “feeling the pain”

[@jarretdietzler7750]

I made the mistake of growing mint in the ground. Now I have to rip out over a pound of mint tendrils every year.

[@MegaLivingIt]

All these articles bash Mint but guess what, my whole yard is Mint and five feet tall and we are happy!! 😊

[@melissarmt7330]

I remember when you got the Grow 'Ems boxes and that video inspired me to buy grow boxes too. I found 'City Pickers' on clearance at home depot and used those. They've since been passed down to my oldest daughter and SIL. I try to grow herbs in good sized containers, especially mints. The weather in Texas really fluctuates and after mourning the loss of a bed of lavender, I can bring in the pots when it's too cold out. Great video, as usual. Thank you, John!

[@PaddedPew]

Oh John !!! Thanks for the less than 10 min. video. I will watch MORE now. THANKS!

[@Katie-vp4wm]

The dog was trying to plant some poo tatoes. 😆

[@dianet1659]

Katie lol

[@PrettySunShines]

I did it..yes, I planted mint in my square bed garden..I had no idea.....didn't water it for LONG time...moved the square bed garden to another house...there was no plants other than a kale or two....month later I decided to plant again and the mint came back! Die hard plant it is!

[@magicworldjohn]

thanks for the short video. LOVE to hear your advice.

[@MrGrombie]

Keeping the videos more focused is nice. However, I do enjoy the longer videos. I use them as podcasts of sorts when I am in my garden and playing games. Lol

[@NorthernThaiGardenGuy]

Hard lesson - thank you for sharing this (because I had planned to plant some in the parameter around my apple trees).

[@shandastenger7716]

I am so glad I watched this. I was going to plant it on my fence line to keep rodents away but I learned my lesson before I planted them. Whew!

[@oflow140]

glad I saw this... I was just about to plant my mints in my new raised bed for" live"mulch coverage.. Probably not a good idea huh. maybe ill just find bigger pots to transfer them to. thanks.

[@JoshJWeaver]

I don't watch your longer videos usually but I think that's a problem more with me than with you or your content. I can never find the time or focus to get through an entire one at once. I do love the shorter ones for my attention span though! Also I put mint in my raised bed last year so I have to learn what I did wrong.

[@crosswind76]

Great tip. Last fall we gave our mint it's own XL whiskey barrell. I planted 2 types of mint (spearmint & peppermint). Now it can't invade other veggies & its happy but controlled.

[@lucybyrd1810]

Thank you, I will grow it in a pot. I also love your longer videos..They are a how to..step by step to learn for me. Thank you so much.

[@wayneleake1971]

I recall mint growing around student housing at Syracuse University, back in the 60's. It kept spreading, and it seems to like damp, even wet areas. I have sweet mint growing here in Texas, but I put the small pot I bought into a large 15 or 16 inch pot last year. And it is growing aplenty now. I think I had figured it was one of the invasive plants, so decided to keep it in a pot, as I do NOT want it spreading all over. Like you said, grow it in containers, so you can control it.

[@b.e.adventures2329]

Short videos are nice. The long ones for sure have more info. When you itemize the long ones, it makes it easier to find the parts I really want to see. Now I need to go replant my mint, but thats OK. My hubby just bought me 2 bright orange beds to put by the front door and it will look beautiful there. Thanks!

[@mikegallegos7]

LOL Okay, John; file this under Mint Root Complaints !! LOL I grow mint in a contained area, and don'[t bother to weed it much; I mostly harvest for eating or juicing. It just grows and grows and I continue to harvest and harvest - however !! I moved ... so the new owner will have to contend with the mint garden while I establish a new mint garden which I'll keep contained. Have a nice day and thanks for your many videos.

[@khanhHo07]

I'm glad you're doing short videos. Thanks for the info. I've tried to grow it in a container too but it got out somehow. If you want to grow it you should put it far away from the soil since it crawls.

[@yeevita]

Mint likes to die on me haha. Since this is Vegas, let that bed go fallow or if you have time, bury the mint underground and keep on preventing any green from showing. It will just die and become compost.

[@StabbyMcStabwood]

I love the long vids John

[@beeneverywhereman]

lol Oh noooo! I had some of that stuff try to take over a raised bed and I spent about an hour pulling out all the roots. Now It's in a smaller planter. The Bermuda grass tries to do the same thing only the roots are tougher. Bermuda grass is my worst enemy.

[@McCoysOakHillFarm]

If a person gets the cold enough weather like i do in MN. I noticed with my mint if it gets water on it and gets exposed to a freeze (really cold like below 20s), thaw cycle it will kill it. lol I have only gotten peppermint to survive our winters. I tried spearmint, but it is not as aggressive and is more likely to die off.

[@meganjonas3421]

I live in MN and my cousins yard is full of mint which she hates can’t get rid of it! So idk its cold AF in Jordan MN where she lives and it continues to come back and with a vengeance

[@PrettySunShines]

A person said he ie still pulling out ming he planted 30 years ago...I had it in a raise bed garden...ahuum...and moved didn't water it for many months...was left in a pile and it regrew in a new home...and there wasn't any rain (LA)since we moved until it grew...

[@WildernessSlimes]

In a pot it will jump the edges of the pot and dive down into the dirt around the pot and root there too. I went out to clean up my mint plants for a new season and all of them jumped the pots and were working their way out into the garden.

[@mariaa2710]

Why would you listen to people thats complaining about your long videos...? I personally like it. Some will always have something to complaint about no matter what you do. Keep doing what you are doing, dont be a people pleaser, cant make them all happy even when they are because they are watching, thats why they are complaining with nothing constructive to say when they do less to nothing🤤 love your work, stay strong, the longer more informative the better😃🤗😍😘

[@InHisName999]

I keep mine in only fabric grow pots for this exact reason.

[@mackoybaker5354]

Your long videos are the best.

[@ketuwonder5118]

I long for his videos.

[@rohanmarsh2259]

Thanks a lot John, I was just about to plant it in my raised bed. Keep the vlogs coming.

[@eileenfb1948]

Thanks John. we all need reminding of these things, thank you.

[@karenk7157]

Thanks for the reminder! Am planning my square foot garden and was mistakenly thinking I could control a simple square foot of it. Nope, gonna put it in containers instead.

[@barbaraachandler79]

Good to know experienced gardeners have made this same mistake...the Mint Wars have begun in my garden patch!!

[@southerncaliforniadeplorab9363]

Short videos are better, you crammed a lot of information in there. And mint is tenacious. 😎

[@DeezMistaReez]

Short videos are MINT! But so are the long videos! They are MINT, too! Don't plant them in raised beds or the people complaining will fall asleep and they'll be engulfed in a raised bed covered in mint. :P Thank you for the great videos!

[@dldarby82]

Good luck with that John. It only takes a tiny piece of root to remain when you're done, and the mint will rebound. I had some mint escape a pot, and my front yard is now 1/3 mint.

[@marestar64]

Yes, I planted mint ONCE in my garden. Then I moved. 😉 Love mojitos so have mint in pots.

[@nhacviet1000]

Love all your videos regardless. Now I know what to do with my mint. Dig it up and put in containers .. thanks John !

[@jamiesmith1343]

I'm a fairly new gardener, so your video's are very helpful, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge

[@101Cecilia]

Love your videos all the time. And yes, my mint took off about 3 yrs ago, and is now a big part of the lawn. Now I know. CONTAINMENT.

[@tomcahill6981]

This reminds me when I used to cut my sister in laws law in Virginia Beach. I went to her back yard and discovered that the entire back year, 100' X 100' was totally overrun by peppermint. One side note though, boy did it smell great as you cut it.

[@MookieCards]

I had a simular learning experience. To correct it I had to dig and sift through araise bed down 18 inches t9 rid it. I grew it in a quater of a water barrel holes in the bottom to allow drainage. now it stays contained

[@DiligentProsperous]

Thank you John for this information.

[@TeachThem729]

I have some of those same round beds. I planted one Orange Mint plant in a pot near one of the beds. OMG! I have orange mint everywhere. It spun around the raised bed and grew underground outside the bed. By the time I noticed it, it was out of control! It was a "Mint Wildfire" lol Still finding it out of place. Going to tackle it early this year before it gets a chance to get worse. Going to be giving some of the orange mint away on my Facebook page.

[@TheGardeningArtist]

I need to start watching your videos again. Great info John.

[@jasonbean7296]

I planted mint, spearmint as I recall, decades ago, as part of a companion planting program for my vegetable garden. It didn't take over the garden, but it wasn't content to stay there, either. To this day, I find it hundreds of feet from where I originally planted it. A note on long video: my mobile times out every 10 minutes or so, and I have to reboot frequently. I like your content, but it can take 4 hours to watch 1 hour! What can I say? I live in a remote location. Ah, the rural life..:)

[@paulaivens8063]

Just the video I needed to watch answered my questions 👍

[@heathergilreath9159]

Do you think it's possible for the mint to reroot in your compost pile, and then come up where you put your compost? That stuff is beast! :D

[@TeachThem729]

Absolutely! Made that mistake with chocolate mint years ago.

[@ilovemywife2685]

Isaac Borquez if you hot compost it then d8ft your compost, I see no reason it will not be destroyed.

[@stevengayler8447]

Not if you hot compost.

[@GetFitEatRight]

@@TeachThem729 I have an herb bed filled with different mints, spearmint, cholate mint, catnip, bee balm, so on. There's a deck between them and the yard and grass all around. I just chop and drop along the edges on really hot days.

[@renegross8240]

What is hot compost???

[@andres3614152]

yup. first year or gardening this was me. it seemed to be draining the juice from other plants so when I noticed this, I went all out and pulled out all the roots and all the mint I could see from my bed. Problem solved. Now I have my mint in a few buckets, away from my bed!

[@VochosGranja]

O wow i didn't know mint can do that. Thanks John.

[@user-hk8rz3dp9x]

I do not know why people dislike the long videos.. they seem to be secure information.

[@ronaalexander825]

Thank you. I wish I had seen this 2 years ago. Mint took over my pallet garden.

[@BobCindyL]

They can climb over the top of the container and invade the surrounding soil too. I made the mistake of planting it in a raised bed about 3 years ago and then tried to remove it all. It is always poking thru the soil everywhere.

[@tom_something]

I'll leave my question below for posterity, but I got my answer. I can see new growths coming up in the pot and some thin horizontal roots along the surface. Original question: I don't have any outdoor space with sunlight, so I've just started an indoor garden with each plant in its own pot. The mint I got is pretty vertical and narrow right now. I know with other herbs you can prune them in a way that encourages them to fill out their container. With the mint, should I just take it on faith that the roots are already doing their horizontal thing and will eventually break ground and fill the pot?

[@ChallengeTheNarrative]

Long and short videos are essential. Short videos for quick tips like this 👍

[@Growyourheirlooms]

30 years ago as a young gardener, I planted some mint in between grape vines thinking they would go good together. They ended up choking out the grapes and killing them. I bet that mint is still there today :-)

[@Noworries092]

I love the shorter videos! I ❤️ mint too and i learned the hard way lol as well. SE Louisiana is sub tropical kinda weather so its pretty much growing season all the time. Except for a once...maybe twice in a year freeze.

[@meganjonas3421]

Love your videos!!! Love the long ones too! Your a lot of help! I looked for hours on what runners were called and what to do with them and you are the only one who was helpful! I’m serious you explained it and what thy called I didn’t know until today! I’m newish to gardening but have a Botany degree among others! I just am not good with plants? I think I over water and I try to grow from Seeds and I have tried doing everything and it doesn’t grow while I can ever get my lavender to grow from seeds it’s just hard now because I’m homebound from being so out and from his whole opiate epidemic I’m in chronic pain and have been my whole life and I’m young so gardening is something I try to do to get my mind off of it as well and I miss working in Miss school! I was learning to clone plants at Michigan state until my meds and doc were taking( my meds are t completely taken yet but they plain on Kt&won’t let me get scripts from my doc and other docs are assholes) it worked for 17yrs I’m 30! Anyway I wanna grow medicinal plants and herbs!! Do u have any suggestions?? I can’t really compost now I live in an apt. But I was told to blend my eggshells and use banana peels and coffeee ground in put it in my soil? Is that something I should not be doing? I just worry I’m only getting certain nutrients and changing the ph?? Can you help I have. Few questions bout strawberry plants, lavender, ext.. [e-mail]

[@MrChisma1986]

Do the videos no matter how long. The info in invaluable and appreciated. We have FF buttons and can use them. Thank you for everything you do on this channel brotha.

[@marchetaalbert7050]

I dry my mint,then chop it in the food processor. Using loose leaf cage for steeping to add to my black tea. It's a favorite at this home ,even with the grands.

[@isaacpatterson6934]

Thanks. I didn't know mint will grow like that. I was going to plant a couple with my strawberries this year. Lol. That would have destroyed my garden. Great information. Thank you

[@hguawcire]

I like the long and short videos. Just keep on posting this awesome info. Thanks so much :)

[@shonitagarcia3222]

I've planted Mint with Oregano. They compete equally for space and they seem to thrive together well enough.

[@PrincessShaBooBoo]

I like your longer videos! I listen while I’m working. 😊 But, all of the videos are great! 👍🏾

[@chrisklest1238]

My dad had planted peppermint and chocolate mint behind this large evergreen bush where stray cats were peeing in hopes to cover up the smell. I'm not certain if the smell completely went away, but the mint attracted house flies for some reason. This was in the suburbs of Chicago.

[@maryrancourt2467]

Chris Klest maybe try rue instead.

[@thebunnyfoofoo]

Try a plant called piss off plant or sometimes called scaredy cat plant. Keeps dogs and cats out

[@wayneleake1971]

I don't know what kind of Rue you mean, but we have African Rue growing here in West Texas, and I try to get rid of as much of it as possible. I keep goats and sheep, as well as chickens, and feed them assorted weeds, grass and other plants they like, African Rue is on of the NO NO plants, as it is very toxic.

[@speedfreak8200]

Are you certain the flies were there for the mint & not the pee?

[@magre9656]

Mint has insane root system which spreads far and wide. I had mint capture half of my garden as well. Never managed to get rid of all of it. It still pops up all over the place.

[@LB-vl3qn]

Short is good, thank you. This happened to me with lemon balm. Never did get rid of it. Will never grow it again.

[@barbt.1171]

I planted mint in my hard clay parrari soil. it thrived too well. By the end of summer it had spread its roots over about an 8 foot by 8 foot area. My Mom and I spent 2 weeks plus an extra weekend digging mint roots. For the rest of the fall, winter, spring and summer we kept the grass killed off as well as any weeds with a natural weed killer. When a mint sprig sprouted I reached for round up because it was the new thing on the market and it would kill the roots. That has been about 45 years ago but I remember. And no, I do not use round-up any more. I now use a 26 inch tall pot with about 16 to 18 inch soil to grow mint. That leaves me with about 8 to 9 inches height of grow room for the mint and when it gets above the pot it is trim time whether I need it or not. There is a pot saucer under the pot and ir is kept on concrete so the roots do not make it to the lawn or garden. Over kill maybe but it works.

[@vinarch1962]

This is a perfect length video. You covered the points.

[@PazLeBon]

I know Im pedantic but a raised bed is a container in reality :) Mint is so much more aromatic and tastier when it goes wild, at least out here. I use various varieties as companion planting around the base of some plants and they deter certain insects :)

[@spencerhoadley5723]

Whoever rebted the house I’m in before I got here, put mint in the front decorative garden area. Was taking over the lawn and everything. Went through with a shovel and ripped the roots out inch by inch, and rototilled after. Hoping it doesn’t come back this spring...

[@richfiryn]

You need to pull the drip irrigation up out of there and get busy. Go deep and take 100% of that out. 1 tiny little piece of root will start the whole thing all over again in short order. Mint is a plant you sneak into a neighbors yard if you don't like them, lol

[@probablynot1368]

Rich Firyn My neighbor planted mint in his backyard. I didn’t know he’d done it until the roots worked their way under our ‘good neighbor’ redwood fence and into my yard. He doesn’t even use it for eating; just planted to have low maintenance (really?!) greenery along his swimming pool. When hearing about this, I spray an herbicide on every bit of this invasive plant as it enters my yard, as I treat it like any tenacious weed that I can’t eradicate through pulling/digging by hand. I peak over the fence every so often to see if his plants are dying from my spraying. Not a single area is affected. The growth is so thick on his side that I make no impact. All I’m able to do is control the growth on my side and prevent it from approaching my plants.

[@josephKEOarthur]

seriously thanks.. (and for making it short). thanks for the tips on the mint growing.

[@austind2784]

Keep making the long vids(short ones are fine too)! I really appreciate it.

[@light_and_sound]

What if we want a bed of mint? Will it spread to other beds? I have 8 beds with about 4 ft of space in the walkways. I dry mint and make tea with it.

[@Jason-nc4pm]

i enjoy the long videos. thanks for all the tips. I to grow my mint in pots.

[@Combat_Pyro]

Try covering the soil with 8” of wood chips over the winter and don’t use the bed for a year. That’ll probably smother it out

[@margan59]

Combat Pyro HA! Good luck with that:-) Mint will be here long after we are all gone.

[@McCoysOakHillFarm]

Mixed length of videos are good. I watch all of them when I can. I never know when I might learn something I don't know already. :)

[@sandhyaarunachalam]

I wanted to plant in a small container in the middle of a raised bed as companion for cabbage and spinach. My question is if the container has drain holes, will mint propagate through the hole to the rest of the bed? I plan to plant them next week after the last frost. Thanks