Chocolate mint (Black peppermint)

Black peppermint - Mentha piperita.
Universal use!
Perennial, erect, compact plant, 70-78 cm high. The whole plant is very fragrant.
Type of piperite. The growing season is 86-99 days. The stem and leaves are dark green, with anthocyanin colouring, without noticeable pubescence. Lilac flower. The menthol content in the oil is 72-76%.
Leaves with shoots are collected during budding and used fresh or dried.

* Familiar taste and healing properties.
A perennial herbaceous plant of the Lamiaceae family, up to 1 m high. Cultivated peat bogs, sandy loam and loamy soils with sufficient humus and moisture content are suitable for cultivation. The best predecessors are perennial herbs, root vegetables, legumes and vegetables, as well as potatoes.
Mint is propagated by freshly dug rhizomes or seeds. Seeds are sown at the end of April to a depth of 0.5-0.8 cm. The seeding rate is 0.05 g/m2 according to a 60 by 10 cm pattern.
With the vegetative method, furrows are cut 6-12 cm deep, watered and the rhizomes are laid in one continuous line on the wet bottom. The row spacing is the same - 60 cm.
The soil is well-rolled after planting. Further care of the plants consists of loosening the rows and weeding. The cultivation period in one place is 3 years.

Black peppermint, chocolate mint. Bot. syn.: Mentha aquatica L. x spicata L., Mentha dumetorum Schultes.

Location: light-loving, but also tolerates shade. In this case, the soil should be less moist. But usually, this plant does not stay in one place for more than 2-3 years, since its shoots “run away” from the planting site.
Soil: grows well in loose, fertile soils. However, places with excessive moisture and heavy clay soil are unsuitable for it. It can produce good yields on calcareous soils, but the oil obtained from such plants has insufficient aroma.
Care: mint thickets should be renewed every 3-4 years, as they do not resist weeds well and quickly fall out. To protect mint from freezing in the fall, the ridges are covered with a layer of loose soil, or covered with spruce branches, straw, or dry leaves. Fertilizing of plants is carried out in early spring and during the branching phase - the beginning of budding. Care consists of loosening the soil, which protects it from excessive evaporation of moisture, improves air conditions and prevents compaction. Watering - as needed.
Reproduction: by sections of rhizomes with a renewal bud, stolons or cuttings in the 3-5 leaf phase. Planting is carried out in early spring (late April - early May) and in August.
Use: during growth and flowering, it emits a very pleasant aroma. Thickets of mint look good in the background of flower beds, creating a dense background. Mint grows especially well in loose sandy soils under sea buckthorn. We must remember that mint is quite aggressive, grows quickly and can crowd out other crops from the flower garden. Therefore, it is better to plant it in containers.