Mint: Cat Blue (Nepeta Mussinii)
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Blue Catmint (Nepeta Mussinii) is a dwarf, mounding, bushy perennial growing to 12" tall. It features small, abundant, two-lipped, trumpet-shaped, dark blue flowers in loose, interrupted racemes to 6". Catmint is used in rock gardens, border fronts, herb gardens or naturalized plantings. Also good plant for edging or small scale ground cover.
Scientific Name: Nepeta Mussinii
Native Range: Caucasus, Iran, Iraq, Turkey
Difficult of Growing: Easy
Grown as: Perennial
Maturity (Blooms): May to September
Hardiness: Hardy. Mint goes dormant in cold weather and can withstand most frost.
Crops: Spring Transplant
Growing Season: Short, Long
Growing Conditions: Cold, Cool, Warm. Mint prefers cool, moist conditions. You may want to grow it in containers to prevent it from becoming invasive in the garden.
Outdoor Growing Temp: 55°F - 85°F.
Min Outdoor Soil Temp: 55°F. There's no advantage to starting your seeds in cold soil, so wait until it's warmed up a little, to at least 60˚F.
Start Indoors: Yes.
Start Outdoors: No.
Light: Full sun to part shade. Min. 6 hours daily (Cold, Cool, Warm, Hot). Mint prefers full sun, but appreciates some light afternoon shade in hot summer climates
Water: Dry to medium.
Soil Moisture: Dry to Medium. Well-drained. Thrives in dry soils and is very tolerant of drought.
Feeder: Light. These plants grow best in rich soil, but almost any soil will do.
Suitability: Tolerates light frost, Tolerates hard frost, Needs summer shade.
Small Gardens?: Yes.
Containers?: Yes. A great container plant--it's even preferred by most gardeners! When growing in confined spaces, Mint should be divided regularly, to prevent overcrowding. The best way to grow it is in a 5 gallon bucket with the bottom cut out, sunk into the ground to within 2 or 3" of the rim.
Attracts Beneficial Insects?: Yes. Attracts cats, and its flowers furnish nectar for hummingbirds and bees.
Maintenance: Low
Height: 12"
Spacing: 12”
Sow Depth: On soil surface
USDA Zone: 3-9
Produces: low-growing mound of fragrant foliage with spikes of 12 inch violet-blue flowers.
Garden Uses: Rock gardens, border fronts, cottage gardens or herb gardens. Also a good plant for edging or small scale ground cover. Good for dry areas. Containers.
Native Range: Caucasus, Iran, Iraq, Turkey
Difficult of Growing: Easy
Grown as: Perennial
Maturity (Blooms): May to September
Hardiness: Hardy. Mint goes dormant in cold weather and can withstand most frost.
Crops: Spring Transplant
Growing Season: Short, Long
Growing Conditions: Cold, Cool, Warm. Mint prefers cool, moist conditions. You may want to grow it in containers to prevent it from becoming invasive in the garden.
Outdoor Growing Temp: 55°F - 85°F.
Min Outdoor Soil Temp: 55°F. There's no advantage to starting your seeds in cold soil, so wait until it's warmed up a little, to at least 60˚F.
Start Indoors: Yes.
Start Outdoors: No.
Light: Full sun to part shade. Min. 6 hours daily (Cold, Cool, Warm, Hot). Mint prefers full sun, but appreciates some light afternoon shade in hot summer climates
Water: Dry to medium.
Soil Moisture: Dry to Medium. Well-drained. Thrives in dry soils and is very tolerant of drought.
Feeder: Light. These plants grow best in rich soil, but almost any soil will do.
Suitability: Tolerates light frost, Tolerates hard frost, Needs summer shade.
Small Gardens?: Yes.
Containers?: Yes. A great container plant--it's even preferred by most gardeners! When growing in confined spaces, Mint should be divided regularly, to prevent overcrowding. The best way to grow it is in a 5 gallon bucket with the bottom cut out, sunk into the ground to within 2 or 3" of the rim.
Attracts Beneficial Insects?: Yes. Attracts cats, and its flowers furnish nectar for hummingbirds and bees.
Maintenance: Low
Height: 12"
Spacing: 12”
Sow Depth: On soil surface
USDA Zone: 3-9
Produces: low-growing mound of fragrant foliage with spikes of 12 inch violet-blue flowers.
Garden Uses: Rock gardens, border fronts, cottage gardens or herb gardens. Also a good plant for edging or small scale ground cover. Good for dry areas. Containers.
Growing Catmint from seed is not difficult. After the danger of frost has passed, in a prepared seedbed that is in full sun to partial shade, sow the Nepeta seeds directly outdoors, preferably in soil that drains well. Press the seeds into the soil but do not cover them, and keep the flower seeds moist until germination.
Thin the seedlings to 12 inches apart and pinch off the growing tips to promote a bushy growth habit. Care of Catmint plants includes trimming the plants back after blooming to encourage a second bloom. The plants are aggressive and don't need much care, but an application of fertilizer 1 - 2 times during the growing season is beneficial. Give Nepeta plants lots of space as they will spread. Many gardeners will border them with an edging. Well-established plants can be divided in the spring.
Young leaves: raw. A mint-like flavor, they make an aromatic flavoring in salads. Older leaves are used as a flavoring in cooked foods. They can be used fresh or dried to make an aromatic herb tea. The tea should be infused in a closed container in order to preserve the essential oils, boiling is said to spoil it.
Catmint has a long history of use as a household herbal remedy, being employed especially in treating disorders of the digestive system and, as it stimulates sweating, it is useful in reducing fevers. The herbs pleasant taste and gentle action makes it suitable for treating colds, flu and fevers in children. It is more effective when used in conjunction with elder flower (Sambucus nigra). The leaves and flowering tops are strongly antispasmodic, antitussive, astringent, carminative, diaphoretic, slightly emmenagogue, refrigerant, sedative, slightly stimulant, stomachic and tonic. The flowering stems are harvested in August when the plant is in full flower, they are dried and stored for use as required. An infusion produces free perspiration, it is considered to be beneficial in the treatment of fevers and colds. It is also very useful in the treatment of restlessness and nervousness, being very useful as a mild nervine for children. A tea made from the leaves can also be used. The infusion is also applied externally to bruises, especially black eyes.
Project Purity Seeds can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
The plant is said to deter insects such as ants and flea beetles as well as rats and mice. (The idea behind it being a rat repellent is probably based on the plants attraction to cats) A strong infusion can be used to repel fleas from carpets or the fur of animals. An extract from the leaves (called nepetalactone) has herbicidal and insect repellent properties. The freshly harvested flowering tops contain 0.3 - 1% essential oil by distillation. It is mainly used for medicinal purposes. The dried leaves retain their fragrance and can be used in potpourri.
Catmint helps repel bugs from plants it is set next to, such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, spinach, and roses, so it's a good companion plant for veggie gardens.
Suggested Varieties
Eggplant: Black Beauty (Heirloom) (Solanum melongena var. esculentum)
$1.00 - $5.60
Eggplants date back to medieval times where they were called mad apples. A staple of regions of Asia, known as the "king of vegetables". Eggplant comes in all shapes colors and sizes. Black Beauty is one of the earliest and dates back to the early 1900's.
Eggplant: Golden Egg (Solanum Melongena)
$1.00 - $5.60
Ornamental Eggplant is a very unique tropical annual that produce purple flowers and egg-shaped, edible fruit that begin white and turn golden upon maturity. Excellent choices for pots and containers, ornamental hedge, or house plant.
Eggplant: Long Purple (Heirloom) (Solanum melongena)
$1.00 - $5.60
This Italian heirloom eggplant, Long Purple, produces dark purple cucumber-shaped fruit with firm, mild flesh. Good yields, especially in northern climates! Plants will typically produce 4 or more 8-10" fruits with harvest beginning in 70 to 80 days. Average water needs. Some parts of plant are poisonous if ingested.
Pepper, Hot: Habanero (Heirloom) (Capsicum chinense)
$1.00 - $5.60
Though this greatest quantities of Habanero peppers are now grown in the Yucatan in Mexico, they once played an important part in the industry of "La Habana," or Havana, from which they receive their name. Habanero peppers spread so far so quickly that they also became called Chinese peppers, since some believed that was their place of origin. Habanero peppers are the hottest open pollinated pepper available.
Pepper, Hot: Hungarian Yellow Hot Wax (Heirloom) (Capsicum annuum)
$1.00 - $5.60
Hungarian Yellow Hot Wax pepper is an heirloom that is very popular for canning and pickling. Excellent for short season areas. It sets fruit over a long season. The light yellow fruit are medium to very hot.
Pepper, Hot: Jalapeno (Organic) (Capsicum annuum)
$1.00 - $5.60
Jalapenos are the most well-known chili pepper in Mexico and the United States. Use them in everything from nachos and pizza to Mexican cuisine. Green conical fruits get hotter as they mature to a deep red on upright plants. They are also known as 'chipotle' chilies when dried and mesquite-smoked.
Pepper, Hot: Long Red Cayenne (Organic) (Capsicum annuum)
$1.00 - $5.60
Cayenne peppers were found growing on a bush near the town of Cayenne in French Guiana, South America. Records show that this pepper is among those discovered by Christopher Columbus in his travels and taken back to Europe, where they immediately established themselves in European cuisine.
Pepper, Hot: Serrano (Heirloom) (Capsicum annuum)
$1.00 - $5.60
Heirloom Serrano Peppers are known for their unusual combination of intense heat and flavor. Named for the Spanish word meaning "from the mountains", these chiles are originally native to the mountains in the Mexican states of Puebla and Hidalgo. Growing in popularity in the United States, they are a cultural tradition in Mexico.
Pepper, Hot: Tabasco (Heirloom) (Capsicum annuum)
$1.00 - $5.60
This fiery pepper was first known near Tabasco, Mexico in the 1840s and imported in 1848 to Louisiana. Edmund McIlhenny, a native of Avery Island, Louisiana, began brewing his famous Tabasco pepper sauce in 1868 using these peppers. Since then, Tabasco pepper sauce has become the most loved and well known hot sauce available.
Pepper, Sweet: Banana (Heirloom) (Capsicum annuum)
$1.00 - $5.60
The pepper is native to Central and South America, where Christopher Columbus and other explorers discovered it and took it with them back to Europe at the end of the 16th century. They became called "pepper" in Spanish, or pimiento, because their spicy flavor brought the spice black pepper to mind. For their excellent qualities, Sweet Banana peppers won the prestigious AAS Award in 1941.
Pepper, Sweet: California Wonder 300 TMR Bell (Heirloom) (Capsicum annuum)
$1.00 - $5.60
California Wonder peppers, introduced in 1928, became the standard for sweet peppers. Many horticultural experts and gardeners used this pepper in breeding new and superior types of garden pepper, because of its excellent size and production. California Wonder peppers can be found in nearly every grocery store and restaurant in America because of its extensive use in the commercial food market.
Pepper, Sweet: Purple Beauty Bell (Heirloom) (Capsicum annuum)
$1.00 - $5.60
These Peppers are native to Central and South America. They were discovered by Christopher Columbus, and other explorers, who took them back to Europe at the end of the 16th century. Purple beauty is an excellent choice if you are looking for both a colorful pepper and high yields. A bell shaped pepper that ripens from green to purple to purplish red.
Spinach: Bloomsdale Longstanding (Heirloom) (Spinacia oleracea)
$1.00 - $5.60
In 1784, Englishman David Landreth moved to downtown Philadelphia to open the first commercial seed business in the United States. He and his brother Cuthbert developed this variety of spinach, which they named Bloomsdale Longstanding and introduced to their customers in 1826. Bloomsdale became known for withstanding temperature changes without bolting, and continues to be well loved by gardeners.
Spinach: Purple Passion (Heirloom) (Atriplex hortensis)
$1.00 - $5.60
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Purple Passion Spinach also known as Purple Mountain Spinach has 3 times more Vitamin A than normal spinach. It is also very tasty and easy to grow. Purple Passion Spinach can grow to six feet tall, with beautiful purplish-red leaves, and can be used in place of traditional spinach or chard. Also superb in salads or cooked as a green.
Tomato: Amana Orange (Heirloom) (Lycopersicon lycopersicum)
$1.00 - $5.60
The Amana Orange tomato is an Iowa heirloom obtained from Gary Staley of Brandon, Florida, who named it for the Amana Colonies of Amana, Iowa. The Amana Colonies, a National Historic Landmark since 1965, were completely self sufficient German Pietist communities. The Colonies imported with them their traditions and handcrafts from Germany, including heirloom vegetables such as Amana Orange.
Tomato: Beefsteak (Heirloom) (Lycopersicon lycopersicum)
$1.00 - $5.60
Seed expert Peter Henderson introduced this tomato in 1894, naming it "Henderson's Crimson Cushion." Later renamed Beefsteak, it became a favorite of gardeners in the Northeast. It was developed for resistance to fusarium wilt and nematodes, as well as meaty flesh for eating fresh or cooking.
Tomato: Green Zebra (Heirloom) (Lycopersicon lycopersicum)
$1.00 - $5.60
Seed expert Tom Wagner of Everett, Washington bred Green Zebra from several green tomato varieties, including Evergreen. Since he was young, Tom had been fascinated with green tomatoes, but was disappointed with their tendency to crack. He set out to create a new green tomato, and Green Zebra was the result; he first offered it for sale in his seed catalog in 1983.
Tomato: Yellow Pear (Heirloom) (Lycopersicon lycopersicum)
$1.00 - $5.60
History well documents the Yellow Pear tomato, indicating the presence of this variety in Europe as early as the 17th century. The earliest known reference to this heirloom in North America comes from the sale records of the Hudson Bay Company in Vancouver, Canada. Numerous heirloom seed companies in the United States still offer Yellow Pear as an unusual, delicious little tomato.
Tomato: Sweetie Cherry (Heirloom) (Lycopersicon lycopersicum)
$1.00 - $5.60
The Heirloom Sweetie Cherry Tomato has a firm texture and was produced for commercial sale in 1980. These succulent fruits can grow up to 1" in diameter, and even though they aren't very big, they still have incredibly high sugar content.