Stupid gardening question

[treacheroustexan]

So, first off I will say I live in a small apartment on the second floor so I don't have a huge space to grow things... just a small balcony. Only had hanging baskets of flowers in the past. An impromptu trip to the store earlier made me come home with a 12" x 12" rectangular pot, maybe 10" deep. I bought a sweet mint plant (endless mojitos) and a jalapeno plant and transferred both to the pot I bought. THEN I decided to do my research and realized how quick mint spreads and it's best to plant it alone otherwise it will take over. In conclusion, is my jalapeno plant worthless now or will it still grow even with the mint?

 

[TheDudeLebowski]

Trim mint down by drinking more mojitos. I have mint plants. It will spread like a weed and get kind of tall but pruning should work.

 

[treacheroustexan]

Trim mint down by drinking more mojitos.

I'm certainly up for the challenge.

 

[ChefRex]

I'm sure you'll be fine this year, takes a while for the mint to take over but it will take over and it's a perennial so it will be back, the jalapeno will be long gone.

 

[TheDudeLebowski]

I've never done it but if you're ever overloaded with mint I hear you chop it up and put it into an ice cube tray, add water and freeze.

 

[treacheroustexan]

I'm sure you'll be fine this year, takes a while for the mint to take over but it will take over and it's a perennial so it will be back, the jalapeno will be long gone.

That's good to hear! Ever since I moved out of my parents a few years back I've been in an apartment with no place to grow things.. I just want to see one jalapeno grow and I'll be happy haha.

 

[TheDudeLebowski]

Rosemary and thyme grows well too and can be used in a lot of cooking. Looks, smells and tastes good for under $10.

 

[ChefRex]

That's good to hear! Ever since I moved out of my parents a few years back I've been in an apartment with no place to grow things.. I just want to see one jalapeno grow and I'll be happy haha.

I fully understand, I got lazy or just too busy doing other things and didn't plant a garden last year, how I missed it, planted this year and it's looking happy, now to keep up with it.

 

[applescrap]

I think it will be ok. Many plants cohabitate well. my concern would be the jalopenos tasting minty, and not as bad the mint being spicey. I am not 100 percent sure on this but I think I am right. See how they do. If it isnt growing, transplant either the mint or pepper. But to answer you question they should both grow ok together, even though they will compete some. That pot will need plenty of water probably daily, and fertilizing it is your best bet.

 

[triethylborane]

So, first off I will say I live in a small apartment on the second floor so I don't have a huge space to grow things... just a small balcony. Only had hanging baskets of flowers in the past. An impromptu trip to the store earlier made me come home with a 12" x 12" rectangular pot, maybe 10" deep. I bought a sweet mint plant (endless mojitos) and a jalapeno plant and transferred both to the pot I bought. THEN I decided to do my research and realized how quick mint spreads and it's best to plant it alone otherwise it will take over. In conclusion, is my jalapeno plant worthless now or will it still grow even with the mint?

Mint will spread rapidly through runners and you do have a small pot at 144 sq in, but unless you plan on cultivating both the mint and Jalapeño as perennials, you shouldn't have an issue. If you keep the pot outside, mint is cold hardy to zone 3, and your zone is 6a, so it has a good shot at overwintering, but the Jalapeño will be a goner unless you bring it inside.

Just remember to keep the soil moist for the Jalapeño and harvest fruit as often as available for sustained fruit production.

 

[treacheroustexan]

Mint will spread rapidly through runners and you do have a small pot at 144 sq in, but unless you plan on cultivating both the mint and Jalapeño as perennials, you shouldn't have an issue. If you keep the pot outside, mint is cold hardy to zone 3, and your zone is 6a, so it has a good shot at overwintering, but the Jalapeño will be a goner unless you bring it inside.

Just remember to keep the soil moist for the Jalapeño and harvest fruit as often as available for sustained fruit production.

Thanks! GF and I are in the process of buying a house so we should be out of this apartment by winter. Not worried about year after year, just want to get something this year haha.

 

[triethylborane]

I think it will be ok. Many plants cohabitate well. my concern would be the jalopenos tasting minty, and not as bad the mint being spicey. I am not 100 percent sure on this but I think I am right. See how they do. If it isnt growing, transplant either the mint or pepper. But to answer you question they should both grow ok together, even though they will compete some. That pot will need plenty of water probably daily, and fertilizing it is your best bet.

The mint will not take on any capsaicin flavor and the peppers will not taste like mint. However, whatever weight you put in companion planting pursuant to Farmers Almanac or the organic farming mindset, mint is a good companion plant for peppers of the solanaceae family (jalapeños are in this) and the menthol in the mint variety supposedly helps with repelling insects.

 

[Zuljin]

I foolishly planted mint in the garden. Yeah. Now I've got a mint garden and even a mint lawn. The backyard smells great!

I decided this year to encourage it. I call it Operation Over-Mint. It has actually done a good job at preventing weeds in the garden. The mint is so dense and fast growing that it out-competes the weeds. Awesome! But I do have to trim it down. Easier than pulling weeds, and I get mint.

Lots of sources say mint repels insects. Not here it doesn't. There are spiders and mosquitoes, the two thing's mint is supposed to repel the most, in my garden. Loads of them. There are also leaf footed bugs, squash vine borers, four line bugs, and those yellow spotted bugs that look like ladybugs, but aren't. Grasshoppers, too. No slugs or snails, though. So, maybe it repels those.

No minty flavored produce, but I did grow some huge basil mixed in with okra once. The okra had a floral basil flavor. Not from any cross breeding or anything. The basil was just so pungent and grown up into the okra that it rubbed off some flavor. Was good.