Spearmint — DutchGreenhouses

Spearmint is the mint type most commonly grown for the fresh trade, sold into drinks, cuisine and retail packs. Demand peaks in warm months and never disappears, and the crop is grown for repeated cutting rather than as a finished plant.

What the crop needs

The plant is perennial and spreads by runners, which is an asset in a dedicated channel and a problem in a shared one. Containment is a system design decision made at the outset rather than a management task afterwards. It regrows strongly after cutting, which is what makes the rhythm work.

What the greenhouse has to do

Mint is vigorous and it spreads, which is a layout problem before it is an agronomic one. Given a shared channel it will take it over, so the design answer is separation: its own channels, its own return line where the water system allows it, and a position in the house where a runaway crop does not reach its neighbours.

It is a perennial cut-and-regrow crop, so the channel is occupied long-term and the climate is set to keep a harvested plant recovering. Demand peaks in the warm months and never disappears, which makes it a steady base load in a mixed herb programme — provided the house is laid out so the rest of the programme can be cleared and replanted around it.

DutchGreenhouses® designs the structure, climate and irrigation around the herb programme as a whole, so a mixed house can carry several short crops on one system. Get in touch to discuss a herb project.

Sweet basil

The highest-value fresh herb, and effectively two crops.

Coriander

A fast herb that bolts if it is held too long.

Flat-leaf parsley

Cut once, then cut again — the return is in the regrowth.

Hydroponics

Substrate growing with drip supply and drain recirculation.

Used whole, judged by the leaf

Spearmint goes into drinks, where the leaf is used whole and stays visible in the glass. That is a harder standard than a chopped herb has to meet. A bruised, blackened or curled leaf cannot be hidden in the dish, and a pack full of them is not sold at a discount, it is not sold at all. Handling and time are what produce those leaves.

The scent runs on the same clock. The oil that makes spearmint worth putting in a glass is at its highest in leaf cut that day, and it declines from there whatever the packaging does.

Demand peaks in the warm months and never disappears, and the peak is exactly when an imported bunch has the longest, warmest journey. A perennial crop held in its own channels near the market meets that peak by cutting more often rather than by shipping further.

Nutrition facts

Spearmint, fresh

Per 100 g

Energy: 44 kcal
Fat: 0.73 g
Carbohydrate: 8.41 g
Fiber: 6.8 g
Protein: 3.29 g
Sodium: 30 mg
Potassium: 458 mg
Vitamin C: 13.3 mg

Source: USDA FoodData Central, FDC 173475

Questions

Spearmint, asked and answered

Can it be grown alongside other herbs?

Yes, but in its own channels. Mint is vigorous and will take over a shared one, so the layout separates it rather than relying on management to hold it back.

What does a perennial crop change in the house?

The occupancy. The channel is held long-term, so the rest of the programme has to be clearable and replantable around it without disturbing the mint.

Why is mint a useful crop in a mixed programme?

Demand peaks in the warm months and never disappears, which makes it a steady base load underneath the faster short crops.

From the knowledge base