help with mint seedlings

12 years ago

Hi all,

I used to grow herbs outdoors, but I now live in NYC, so I'm learning how to grow things indoors. It's much trickier. :-\ I started a lot of herbs from seeds. Everything is thriving except for my oregano and spearmint, which are runty and pathetic.

Each herb is in its own pot. I have three spearmint seedlings. They have their second pair of leaves now, but they're TINY. They must be about about 3 weeks old now, and their growth rate is slow to the point of being invisible.

I've tried varying light and water, to no noticeable effect, so far. I keep the soil moist, I don't let it dry out. Although runty, their color is good and they look strong. I keep them about 5-6 feet from a NE-facing window that gets a lot of bright light all day. (I tried direct light for a day, and it nearly killed them, so back across the room they went.) I've been wondering if even strong indirect light is too much for them, so as of yesterday I've started trying to give them partial shade, to see if that makes a difference.

One significant point: the spearmint pot is the only one with insects in the soil. (The soil is about half potting soil, half peat for seed starting.) When I first noticed them, I panicked, looked them up, and seemed to be reassured that they're just a bug that feeds on rotting peat and are indicative of good soil health. Now, I'm not so sure. The bugs are not on the plants, only in the topsoil. If I put the pot in the windowsill and let the topsoil get hot and dry, the bugs vanish until the soil is once again shady and moist. The insects are extremely small, maybe 2 mm long, white, tubular. There are a LOT of them. (All of my other herbs are in the windowsill, so that might explain why they don't have the bugs--too hot. Houseplants, which are likewise across the room from the window, have no peat and no bugs.)

As for the oregano, it actually just died (I must have damaged it when repotting), so it's a non-issue for the moment, but anticipating the next crop having the same issue, I thought I'd mention it. I moved it from direct light to indirect light, and it seemed to grow a little faster afterward, but then I black thumbed it before I could really see any results. Ah well. At least the rest of the family is happy.

Comments (4)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
12 years ago
Considering that mint likes the direct sun when grown outside, I'm surprised that you're having problems with it in a NE window.

Have you noticed any little gnat like insects flitting about lately?
naeelah
Original Author
12 years ago
Sorry, I'm sick and I typed the wrong thing -- my bedroom window is NE. The kitchen window is S. Lots of bright, strong light for almost the entire day.

I moved the mint to my bedroom window, instead of trying to finagle partial shade in the kitchen. We'll see how that does. The plant might be happy in the kitchen when it's grown up, but right now, the direct sun is definitely too hot.

I do have some little flies of some sort. They're larger than gnats. They're a bit wispy looking, sort of like a cross between a fly and mosquito. I first noticed them after I started a flat of seeds in peat starter pots. Could be coincidental, but they seemed to emerge out of those pots in particular. Haven't seen them bothering the plants -- they mostly hover in damp areas (kitchen sink and window, bathroom window).

It's so weird! Normally you have to beat back mint with a sharp stick and a bottle of holy water. Meanwhile, I planted 2 rosemary seeds (not realizing they have a notoriously low germination rate), and one of them sprouted in no time. It's less than a week old and already bigger than the mint! I just bought a gardenia a few days ago, too -- watch it burst into a glorious 4 foot hedge a month from now, and my mint still be a runty little nub.
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gjcore
12 years ago
You might have fungus gnats. I usually use neem oil to keep them in check. It seems your herbs would do better in the south window. Concerning the heat what I have done before is to wrap the containers, especially black plastic containers, in aluminum foil.
naeelah
Original Author
12 years ago
Ah, you're right! They are fungus gnats. I did notice that they seemed to disappear briefly after I left the peat pots dry out.

All of the herbs are in the south window. They're quite happy there -- except for the mint, as I mentioned above. After one day in the NE window, it's not unhappy, so I'll leave it there for now and see what happens (unless anyone here has a better suggestion).

Spearmint isn't usually a slow grower, is it?

In case it will help, here are a couple of pictures:

http://twitpic.com/8wusn0 -- here's the baby mint (left) and baby rosemary (right), which I've stuck in the same pot until other real estate becomes available. (You'll see another tiny mint in the middle. Keeping it in case the stronger one spontaneously offs itself.)

http://twitpic.com/8wus71 -- and here's the rest of the family, happy in their window. (Basils will be thinned as soon as I can get more potting soil.)