I seem to have an abundance on "mint" in my yard....?

Question

...Are there any ideas of what could done with it?
A few years ago, my wife had a few herbs planted in tires along the fence of the goat pasture. Well, now the mint has spread wild to encompass about a quarter of an acre.
My goats do not seem to want to eat it, and all it is doing is smelling good. So are there any ideas as to what I may be able to do with it? Maybe even an idea of a way to market it, and make a dollar or two?
I would appreciate any responses and ideas.

Answer 1

Right away, I can think of lots to do with your mint, some of the suggestions like mojitos, juleps, tea, etc are only going to use a little bit of your quarter-acre.



Selling: If you have a roadside convenient, pulling it out with some root attached and setting it in shallow (flat like a flat tray, etc) then setting it out on a table next to the road would work. Also, you might want to find out if a flea market or farmer's market will let you sell it there. I can't see why not.



Give some of the local restaurants a call to see if they'd be interested in any. Fresh herbs are very popular these days at most restaurants.



Other ideas: mint jelly uses a LOT more mint than a couple drinks... it's also saleable later on if you're interested in doing that.

Drying can be a useful (although somewhat tedious) way of preserving some of it. But let's face it, you probably can go out there anytime of year to pick a little.



You can also make a mint oil. Sort of like making pesto but use mint and a VERY light-tasting oil like canola, etc. And after it's "melded" together, strain out the spent leaves and bottle the oil. It can be used for all kinds of things that way. You could even make a mint extract with vodka as the base.....



Hope that helps. I wish I had a "little" patch of it myself. A quarter acre might be a bit too much, however. That stuff really GROWS doesn't it???



Hope you find something I've suggested useful... BTW, if you go with the mojitos idea.... be sure to invite me.



Bon Appetit!

Answer 2

You can dry it to preserve it for the winter. Place the leaves in a single layer on a rack and put it in the oven on the lowest possible setting overnight. When dry and crispy, put it in ziplock bags.



You can sell these bags at local arts&crafts sales as "mint tea", though you won't get a huge amount, because mint is so easy to grow. Print up some instructions for making mint tea to make it a bit more valuable. It's very popular with a bit of sugar.



If you want to get a bit more upscale, you can make cloth bags and sell them as peppermint sachets. Peppermint is Christmasy, so if you decorate them with a Christmas theme you might be able to sell them for a few bucks.



Another recipe to use a lot of mint is to make a pesto:



MINT PESTO:

1/4 cup unsalted almonds, toasted

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1 1/4 cups fresh mint leaves

3 medium cloves garlic

Kosher salt

Freshly ground coarse black pepper, optional



Grind all of the ingredients in a food processor until it forms a paste. You can keep it in your freezer all winter. It's very popular with lamb dishes.



For the most part, though, you can just ignore it. It will spring back next year, better than ever, and you'll have plenty of mint for yourself. Mow it down, and it will still spring back, but your yard will smell great for a while.

Answer 3

I chose peppermint, I wait till the end of the season and harvest it all at one time. Some I dry and some I freeze. You can always cut a few up including stems, put in vase’s and set around a room, it will smell great for at least a week then all you have to do is dump them out and chop them again and return to vase. here is a few recipes that you may enjoy. Since you have an over abundance, how about farmers market? you can sell them in bunches.



http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf23322120.tip.html

Answer 4

im sure there is a sort of way to sell it, but you would have to be careful about that because of the people who made them. and a little idea, next time your wife or even you want to plant mint or anything that is invasive, sometimes if you put them in pots in the ground, that can keep them from spreading so much.

Answer 5

Mint is a very invasive species of herb. Because of it's rhizomatous root system it is very difficult to rid your yard of it. The best way is to pull it up and keep it from getting any more food through photosynthesis. Keep your grass very short, preferably with a weed eater. Eventually you will kill it off by simply denying it food.

Answer 6

-Make mojitos with it. -Put it in your iced tea. -Stick a lot of leaves of it in a blender and then fold it into your ice cream. Yummy. -Put springs of it in water around the house to make it smell nice naturally. I’d be careful, though, because it can take over. If you don’t seriously cut it back it’ll kill off all your other herbs. I speak from experience on this one. Cheers! Cyndy

Answer 7

you are able to dry it to maintain it for the iciness. place the leaves in one layer on a rack and placed it interior the oven on the backside available placing in one day. while dry and crispy, placed it in ziplock luggage. you are able to promote those luggage at interior reach arts&crafts sales as "mint tea", in spite of the undeniable fact which you will no longer get a brilliant volume, with the aid of fact mint is quite elementary to strengthen. Print up some instructions for making mint tea to make it somewhat extra effectual. this is totally widespread with somewhat sugar. in case you want to get somewhat extra upscale, you additionally could make textile luggage and promote them as peppermint sachets. Peppermint is Christmasy, so in case you beautify them with a Christmas subject you might have the potential to promote them for a pair of money. yet another recipe to apply quite some mint is to make a pesto: MINT PESTO: a million/4 cup unsalted almonds, toasted a million/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese a million/3 cup extra suitable virgin olive oil 3/4 cup clean basil leaves a million a million/4 cups clean mint leaves 3 medium cloves garlic Kosher salt Freshly floor coarse black pepper, elective Grind all the ingredients in a nutrition processor till it varieties a paste. you are able to save it on your freezer all iciness. this is totally widespread with lamb dishes. For the main area, in spite of the undeniable fact that, you are able to merely forget approximately it. it is going to spring returned next year, extra effectual than ever, and you might have quite some mint for your self. Mow it down, and it will nonetheless spring returned, yet your backyard will scent great for a together as.

Answer 8

The leaf, fresh or dried, is the culinary source of mint. Fresh mint is usually preferred over dried mint when storage of the mint is not a problem. The leaves have a pleasant warm, fresh, aromatic, sweet flavor with a cool aftertaste. Mint leaves are used in teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, candies, and ice creams. In Middle Eastern cuisine mint is used on lamb dishes. In British cuisine, mint sauce is popular with lamb.

To Store mint:

Fresh Mint leaves can be kept in airtight plastic containers in the fridge for several days. They can also be frozen in ice cube trays. Dried leaves can be kept in airtight baggies in a cool dry place to store.

Mint has a lot of uses...mainly tea...but also can be used for medicinal purposes:



Mint is a necessary ingredient in Touareg tea, a popular tea in northern African and Arab countries.

Alcoholic drinks sometimes feature flavor of mint, namely the Mint Julep and the Mojito. Crème de menthe is a mint-flavored liqueur used in drinks such as the grasshopper.

Mint essential oil and menthol are extensively used as flavorings in breath fresheners, drinks, antiseptic mouth rinses, toothpaste, chewing gum, desserts, and candies; see mint (candy) and mint chocolate. The substances that give the mints their characteristic aromas and flavors are menthol (the main aroma of Peppermint, and Japanese Peppermint) and pulegone (in Pennyroyal and Corsican Mint). The compound primarily responsible for the aroma and flavor of spearmint is R-carvone.

Methyl salicylate, commonly called "oil of wintergreen", is often used as a mint flavoring for foods and candies due to its mint-like flavor.

Mints are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Buff Ermine.



[edit] Medicinal and cosmetic Mint was originally used as a medicinal herb to treat stomach ache and chest pains. To cure stomach aches, put dried mint leaves in boiling water, then, when it cools drink it. This tea is called monstranzo. During the Middle Ages, powdered mint leaves were used to whiten teeth. Mint tea is a strong diuretic. Mint also aids digestion.

Menthol from mint essential oil (40-90%) is an ingredient of many cosmetics and some perfumes. Menthol and mint essential oil are also much used in medicine as a component of many drugs, and are very popular in aromatherapy.

A common use is as an antipruritic, especially in insect bite treatments (often along with camphor).

Menthol is also used in cigarettes as an additive, because it blocks out the bitter taste of tobacco and soothes the throat.[citation needed]

The strong, sharp flavor and scent of Mint is sometimes used as a mild decongestant for illnesses such as the common cold.

In Rome, Pliny recommended that a wreath of mint was a good thing for students to wear since it was thought to "exhilarate their minds". Some modern research suggests that he was right.[citation needed]



[edit] Insecticides Mint leaves are often used by many campers to repel mosquitoes. It is also said that extracts from mint leaves have a particular mosquito-killing capability.

Mint oil is also used as an environmentally-friendly insecticide for its ability to kill some common pests like wasps, hornets, ants and cockroaches.