Spearmint Leaves
Delicious And Beneficial Spearmint Leaves
You can eat freshly picked spearmint leaves because they are an edible treat. But they are also used to enhance the flavor of food as a spice and used in the preparation of certain entrees. It is known to make foods pop and can add a zest to any dish. But spearmint leaves are not only used to enhance other foods. They are also used to flavor household hygiene items like toothpaste and mouthwash. Along with this delicious flavor, these leaves also have medicinal uses. They are used holistically as a remedy for many different aliments.
Peppermint and spearmint leaves are both known to settle a stomach. People who are suffering with gastrointestinal problems can benefit by using either of these types of leaves. Consuming them can actually help with digestion and prevent excessive gas or gas building up in the stomach. But if you are trying to settle your stomach, you should only consume this remedy once. Eating too much peppermint or spearmint has been known to upset a stomach instead of healing it and this can cause nausea. This is especially true for younger children. You should never give children peppermint as a stomach remedy. Use spearmint instead because it is not as strong as peppermint.
Spearmint leaves can be dried and used as a spice or as a tea. It is also used to spice up drinks that contain alcohol. Spearmint teas can be served either hot or cold and you can make your own tea or spearmint tea extract by adding dried spearmint leaves to water and boiling the mixture for 5 minutes. Strain the leaves from the mix and use the juice for a beverage or an additive to enhance foods. If you start to enjoy the spearmint flavor, you can grow spearmint in your own garden.
The Kentucky colonel or spearmint plant is a smaller herb. It grows up to reach 12 to 18 inches in height and from mid summer to mid fall it produces tiny blooms. These blooms are white, pink or violet in color and the spearmint leaves are a medium green color. The leaves are oval shaped with pointed edges and they have deeply engrained veins. Although this plant will probably grow bigger if it is placed outside, many gardeners choose to grow it within the home. If you do plan on keeping this plant indoors, you should make sure to use a container pot with holes on the bottom for water drainage.
This plant does exceptionally well, even in cooler temperatures. It can live and thrive in most areas even when the temperature goes way below freezing. But whether you keep your plant inside or out, you will have to keep it in direct sunlight. This plant needs a full 6 hours of direct sunlight everyday to remain healthy. If you are keeping the plant indoors, you can purchase a small grow light to use during the winter months when there is not as much sun.
You will not have to worry about constantly watering this plant. When the plants are young you should saturate the soil completely, twice a week. As the plant matures you can reduce this to once a week. But never allow the soil to become sandy and dry. When the plants are young it can also be helpful to raise the soil a bit, so that the water runs away from the roots.
The spearmint plant produces blooms that are fragrant and this can be attractive to birds and insects and it can be a nice addition to any garden. But most importantly, you will have access to the spearmint leaves and their healing properties.