Mint

Q: Clover has invaded my bed of mint and is choking out the mint. Is there any way to eliminate the clover and save the mint?

A: You could dig out the clover, but that strikes me as solving the problem in the hardest way possible. If it were my mint, I would simply start a new bed in a clover-free spot. If you transplant a few young stems of mint, a plentiful supply will have grown by next summer. Because mint has a shallow root system, the digging will not be hard work. If the soil is damp, it is often possible to pull up a stem of mint and have roots remain attached.

After removing any visible weeds from the site of the new bed, I would space the divisions of mint a foot apart, and set them at the same depth as they had been growing. I would trim back the tops to six inches or so; then the roots will not have to work too hard while they grow into a new network.

Things to remember when transplanting any perennial, including mint:

1. Perennials can be moved at any time during the growing season, as long as the soil is warm enough for roots to grow.

2. Get the roots back into the ground as fast as possible. Roots exposed to air begin to die within minutes.

3. Covering the transplants with scraps of nonwoven row cover or other fabric will decrease the stress caused by digging and moving. I like to cover transplants for a week while the shock wears off.

4. Water transplants every day for a week, then every other day for the second week. No matter how careful the gardener, a great many hair roots will be ripped off. The remaining ones will appreciate easy access to water.

In choosing the spot for a new mint bed, consider a place in the shade. Mint thrives without sun, but many potential competitors do not. The fewer the weeds, the easier the gardening. Besides, deep shade will slow down the spread of mint. Mint itself has been known to turn into a garden eating monster.

An abundance of clover says that the soil is low in nitrogen. Consider adding compost, manure, or any other source of nitrogen to stimulate other garden plants.

Q: I have noticed that small potatoes lost in the ground will start growing the next spring. Since our gardening season does not really start until the first of June, could I "lose" potatoes deliberately? Could I plant potatoes in the fall and winter them underground for the next spring?

A: I would not recommend it. Chances are good that most of them would freeze and rot, leaving you with a very small potato crop. Instead, I would use season extenders to plant as early in the spring as possible. Anything that warms the soil would let you plant a week or two earlier. What works best for me are walls of water; I plant potatoes in walls at the same time as I plant lettuce, and I leave the walls in place until frost danger has passed. By that time the potato plant has pretty well filled the space inside the wall. It continues to grow rapidly when the wall comes off.

I also stick to early varieties of potato, which means mostly the ones with red skins.

Q: How can I know which butterflies are going to hatch the worms in my cabbage and broccoli?

A: It's easy. First of all, their wings are white with small black or gray spots, and the wings are about an inch wide. There are several kinds of moths and butterflies that look like that, but most are harmless. If you see them anywhere else in the garden, all is well. Only when the white ones are flying around the cabbage do you know that trouble is coming. Look every day for the first little green worm. When you see it, spray all the cabbage family plants with Bt. That will kill the caterpillars but is harmless to everything else. Spray once a week until the butterflies are gone.

Master gardener Molly Hackett's motto is "Never trust a gardener with clean fingernails." She shares her gardening expertise in her "Dirty Fingernails" column in the first issue of the month. She welcomes reader questions related to gardening, pest management, plants, soils and anything in between. Those of general interest will appear in the column. Please submit your questions to her via email to mhackett@centric.net, call 406-961-4614 or mail questions to 1384 Meridian Road, Victor, MT 59875.