Topic: Growing mints together affects flavour-true or false

[George the Pigman]

Monty in GW on Friday(and the RHS) claimed growing herbs together affected flavour. I've grown applemint, spearmint and ginger mint in a herb bed about 6ft by 5ft for 30 years and noticed no problems this a myth or has anyone found this to be the case. Where does the original evidence come from?

[ed dibbles]

Complete tosh I'd say. Plant root hairs are minute and exist to draw moisture and nutrients from the soil or other growing medium. They don't fuse with other root hairs either from the same plant or other plants growing nearby. (there are a few parasitic plants but we are not discussing those here)

So tomatoes don't taste of marigolds when grown together. Neither hedgerow blackberries taste of nettles (or deadly nightshade) if growing side by side. Your crops don't taste of a weed infestations either. The flavour of carrots and onions is not different if grown intermingled as is sometimes suggested to deter their respective flies.

Just because someone on tv says something does not mean it's true. Your own and everyone else's experience of growing mint and other herbs together rather proves the idea wrong doesn't it.

As always a little online research proves far more instructive.

 

[pumkinlover]

I noticed that the beds were fairly close together.
Would the mint roots not touch anyway at that  spacing anyway?
Especially as Monty was cramming several big plants​ into a smallish space.

[woodypecks]

False    I do love Monty though..very clever and useful dog finding and bringing the trowel to him ...I thought only Collie dogs could do that . My old collie could find the remote control for the TV when ever it got lost !  Debbie 

[Obelixx]

As ever, MD has no formal training or scientific evidence to back up his claims so it has to be myth or personal observation and I would say you have to have very fine taste buds indeed to notice if your spearmint has been affected by close proximity to apple mint.    If it does, we're in trouble as apple mint grows wild all through this new garden and also in the hedgerows.   Smell fabulous when we cut the grass or just walk on it.

[sunloving]

False    I do love Monty though..very clever and useful dog finding and bringing the trowel to him ...I thought only Collie dogs could do that . My old collie could find the remote control for the TV when ever it got lost !  Debbie 

That is a very clever collie! Mine only ever apply brain cells when it comes to toys , you are obviously a great trainer!

[Paulh]

I suppose if they grow through each other, you end up picking a selection and getting a mixture of tastes that way!

[Tee Gee]

To put a bit of scientific fact to it I would say that there would be no difference as propagating all the mint types is done vegetably, by root cuttings.

Having said that if the plants were produced from saved seeds (although I have never heard of this method with mint) then I guess there is a possibility of cross pollination meaning that the plants could be genetically different so potentially they will taste different.

It would seem that  my education / qualifications is similar to Monty's in that we were both educated at the  "The University of Life"

My dissertation took the form of my website and my diploma will be issued posthumously in the form of a "Death Certificate"

Pity!

I would have  liked to have worn a mortar board and gown, guess I will have to settle for a shroud and a box.

[George the Pigman]

TeeGee as someone who has three degrees I always believed and ounce of common sense is sometimes worth a ton of knowledge.
The one thing I have learnt as I got older is that we are always learning.
The more we know the less we realise we know.

[Obelixx]

TeeGee - you are not vaunted on TV as "the nation's favourite gardener" and nor are you presenting the Beeb's flagship gardening programme.   On the other hand, you have a wealth of experience, all documented and shared on here and much valued.

Monty is given to spouting without thinking - his latest is his comments on buying plants from specialist nurseries instead of supermarkets.   He does not live in the real world where most people have small gardens and are cash and especially time poor because they work long hours and have to commute as well as run homes and families.  He has no idea!

[johhnyco15]

maybe Monty is trying to fill prince Phillips shoes now here retired from public duty  by engaging the brain before opening ones mouth   

[Vinlander]

I'm always looking for a mechanism that explains why otherwise sensible people behave strangely occasionally. I call it Charity .

In this case I'm drawn to the idea that smelling two mints in the same minute or even hour will 'cant' your sense of smell for the second one. I'm constantly failing at comparing smells; even using a different hand to squeeze each leaf only helps with really different smells.

I also note that my wife is fully aware that she always says a wine is rubbish at the first taste, but her second taste and my first taste always agree.

Sadly it is very difficult to think of a way to exclude these vagaries of the nose.

I'm pretty sure that leaving lots of space between the 'mixed' and 'pure' beds will introduce enough variables to render the test pointless.

I'm also sure the people at Rothamstead have better things to do...

Cheers.

[Tee Gee]

I always believed and ounce of common sense is sometimes worth a ton of knowledge.
The one thing I have learned as I got older is that we are always learning.

I agree! My philosophy is: "It is better to know a little about a lot rather than a lot about a little"

Monty is given to spouting without thinking

I seem to be going this way as my mind and brain often get out of sync these days but I put that down to old age and all that comes with it ( or should that be 'what goes with it?)