Peppermint In Your Cannabis Garden: The Benefits Of Companion Planting

Peppermint is one of the easiest garden plants to grow, reaching about one metre in height. As a hybrid of watermint and spearmint, this officinal herb contains compounds that made it one of the first plants to be experimented with in medicine and food preparations. Like all species of the Mentha botanical genus, peppermint makes a great companion plant for your cannabis garden, with just a little caution; members of the mint family can grow almost anywhere as their underground rhizomes develop very quickly, resulting in a potentially invasive presence that pushes other plants out of their comfort zone.

PEPPERMINT FOR COOKING, HEALING, AND WELL-BEING

The leaves and flowers of peppermint and other mint varieties are used both fresh and dried for tea and cooking, and to produce an essential oil that contains menthol, menthone, and other compounds that are both aromatic and potentially beneficial. Some terpenes such as limonene, pulegone, caryophyllene, and pinene are commonly found in peppermint, and cannabis as well. Menthol and select peppermint terpenes act as natural pesticides and insect repellents, making them particularly interesting to cannabis growers. The high concentration of menthol contained in peppermint leaves’ trichomes can repel some dangerous parasites, such as aphids.

Peppermint oil is used in aromatherapy, and, according to traditional medicine worldwide, it can help treat the symptoms of minor conditions like acute pain, itching, and respiratory issues. This essential oil is today under research for its potential action against conditions like irritable bowel syndrome.

GROWING PEPPERMINT AND CANNABIS AS COMPANION PLANTS

Companion planting is part of the wider permaculture concept that aims to obtain better organic products by naturally improving soil quality, watering efficiency, pest control, and nutrient bioavailability. As a companion plant, peppermint will attract beneficial insects like bees and ladybugs, while repelling ants, fleas, and aphids.

Peppermint can be easily grown from cuttings, requiring moist, loamy soil and partial shade. Again, it tends to be an invasive plant, and will spread far and wide if not contained in a pot. What a cannabis grower doesn’t want is competition for root space and soil nutrients. Better to grow mint in separate containers or soil patches.

When growing peppermint as a companion plant next to cannabis, mint should be kept at a lower height to avoid limiting your ganja buds’ exposure to the sun. Nevertheless, mint will remain high and bushy enough to contribute to a camouflage comprised of various companion plants. A proper companion garden might be able to repel both pests and curious humans, since smaller cannabis strains like indicas and autoflowers practically disappear inside a lush variety of green foliage. Unfortunately, mint performs best in cooler temperatures than the average cannabis strain, and its water and sunlight requirements are different, as cannabis prefers full sun and drier soil.

PEPPERMINT AS A COMPANION FOR OTHER GARDEN PLANTS

Peppermint is a good companion plant to have around tomatoes, eggplant, cabbage, broccoli, and kale, while parsley and chamomile are not happy to grow close to the refreshing herb. Planting mint near roses helps reduce the presence of aphids, who love roses. Peppermint leaves can be harvested at any point over the year, but the first year’s crop is the most abundant and full of aroma.

At harvest time, remember that peppermint can be used in hundreds of tasty recipes. It’s also the key ingredient in a mojito, which is a cocktail that can also be prepared alcohol-free and infused with a fresh cannabis strain during summertime!

Be as smart as an ancient Egyptian and grow multi-purpose peppermint in your garden.

Buy Peppermint Royal Guardians

Be as smart as an ancient Egyptian and grow multi-purpose peppermint in your garden.

Buy Peppermint Royal Guardians