I harvested the lemon mint last week! I did not cut it all, I left a few stalks to go to seed so I can sell it this fall in the seed store.
It makes great tea and spice for cooking! I especially like lemon with chicken.
I rinsed it and laid it out on a screen for drying. I might hang some herbs to dry this year too. I do have the wire strung under the porch roof just for that purpose but this is drying on a screen. I will turn it a few times every day.
I collect large screens whenever I find them at garage sales and so forth. They are a great way to dry herbs, flowers and seeds!
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kellyb says:
Sheryl-RunningTrails,
What a gorgeous bunch of mint. I’m curious, this looks like what I would call lemon balm. Is it the same thing or is this a specific flavored mint?
I’ve dried 4 batches in my Excal dehydrator so far this year. It’s been too rainy here to air dry anything. I love opening a jar to that wonderful smell.
On June 26, 2011 at 7:04 am
threadtales says:
I just started harvesting my catnip and mints! Isn’t it a glorious smell? I too use a drier, and the first load should be done this evening….
On June 26, 2011 at 7:58 am
Sheryl - Runningtrails says:
I believe that it is the same thing, yes. I call it lemon mint because that was the label in the pot when I bought it and I wasn’t sure it was the same thing until recently. I moved it to the upstairs hall to dry when it started to rain here. It’s drying quite well up there now. I wasn’t sure that would be a good place for it as the two cats frequent that area but so far they have left it alone.
On June 26, 2011 at 8:43 am
Linda Goble says:
Once you have that lemon mint you will always have it. I can’t get rid of it. I had it in a bed that was for herbs and now is flowers and I am always pulling it up. I too love the smell of it. I think I will dry some when I pull it up. I have put it in tea an it is so good.
On June 26, 2011 at 9:36 am
bonita says:
In school I hated biology, all those fussy Latin names to learn. (I’d had 3 years of Latin, but it was all about Gaul and its three parts!) I turned to physics, where everything was expressed in simple equations, d=st and such. Years later, when I began to garden, I realized the Latin names existed for a reason. They’re especially useful for pinning down exactly which plant is being considered. So, at the risk of being annoying:
Lemon mint (Monarda citriodora). Monarda is a genus consisting of roughly 16 species of plants in the family Lamiaceae.
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), not to be confused with bee balm, Monarda species, (bee balm, horsemint, oswego tea, or bergamot). Melissa is a genus of five species of perennial herbs also members of the family Lamiaceae. Clue here: the stems are square.
Oh, Linda, I had the same problem with my Monarda…Experts say the plants need to be enclosed with (metal) boarders at least 12 inches deep!
On June 26, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Sheryl - Runningtrails says:
I guess that settles it! Mine has square stems. Good to know and thanks for the info! I got it from another gardener who didn’t have a label to go by.
So I have lemon balm? That’s good! I have heard good things about it and wanted some. lol!
It is dry on the screen now and ready to crumble and jar. I plann to harvest and dry a lot of herbs this week , if it ever quits raining and dries up…
On June 26, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Sheryl - Runningtrails says:
I said earlier that I call it lemon mint because that’s the label in the bought when I bought it, but remembered since posting it that I didn’t buy this one. I do apologize for the confusion! I’ve had it a few years and my memory is not what it used to be.
I do wish we could edit our posts…
On June 26, 2011 at 2:45 pm
kellyb says:
My lemon balm, that’s how it was labled from the nursery also has square stems. Seems that we have a mystery!
On June 26, 2011 at 2:55 pm
lavenderblue says:
Both beebalm and lemonbalm grow in my garden. What
Sheryl has looks like my lemonbalm. It has tiny inconspicuous cream or yellow flowers tucked close up to the stem at each leaf section. The monarda has purple-y spider-y looking blossoms. They both have square stems, as far as I can tell.
The lemon balm has taken over my garden, also. Along with the spearmint I’d planted in the same garden. It was a really cute garden, once. Now it just smells and tastes good.
On June 26, 2011 at 3:37 pm
Liz Pike says:
My in-laws had lemon balm take over their greenhouses after a few plants fell behind shelving and were never retrieved. We are constantly pulling it up. I never wanted to cook with it, reminded me too much of lemon Pledge.
On June 27, 2011 at 1:53 pm
lavenderblue says:
Liz, I have read somewhere that in Colonial America housewives used to use handfuls of lemonbalm for just that purpose. Lemon-y smell, shine-y furniture and an added bonus of keeping the fleas and flies away. If I could ever get the kids stuff cleaned off my table tops, I’d try it! lol
On June 28, 2011 at 9:22 am