You’ll just have to harvest what you need and let the rest stay in the urban farm. That way you won’t be wasting or spending so much.

To say that mint is a prolific grower is a gross understatement. If you plant some, and the conditions are ideal, the mint can quickly overwhelm and take over your entire grow bed. And that is why there are many who opt to have them planted in a space exclusively devoted to mint.

Thus, regular pruning is a must. But, like hydra, rather than deter and defeat mint’s power to continuously creep and crowd, with every cut, the stems multiply several times over, and the leaves grow everywhere. This is not such a bad thing, if one has an idea how to make the most out of the mint.

The writer of this column, time and again, has been in the middle of the mint predicament. I started with a few rooted cuttings. In a span of a few weeks, and then a month or two after, the mint was everywhere in that small urban farm of mine. And I was constrained to find a way to utilize it in various ways possible.

Mint can be turned into tea. Some opt to have it air dried, but there is a faster way to accomplish this, and that is through the use of an oven. Spread the mint over cookie sheets, let oven heat up to 170 degrees Fahrenheit and allow the mint to dry in 20 to 30 minutes. Check regularly. Too much time in the heat will ruin mint’s distinctly refreshing flavor.

Once dried, get some of the leaves, add hot water and let the leaves release the flavor for around five to 10 minutes. Remove the leaves, enjoy the tea.

Another option is to use the dried mint as toppings for cakes and pastries. Here at home, my sister loves to bake banana cakes topped with chocolate chips. Chocolate is sometimes mixed with mint. Ergo, why not turn the banana-chocolate cake into a banana-chocolate-mint cake? The result was a complementary added layer of flavor. It was a success. My nephew, who initially refused to try the new cake, after tasting a slice, ended up eating the entire cake.

Mint can also be used for sauces. You can mix it with olive oil, blend, and put the result in the freezer for storage. This is the base for many kinds of sauce. It can be used for mint-based Chimichurri or even a mint-based version of pesto. Experiment and see where your culinary imagination can take you.

Yet, at least, in my case, despite drying and blending lots of mint leaves, there was still so much left. At this point, it is relevant to point out that the grow space devoted to mint was barely two square meters big. And yet, it was (figuratively, but sometimes quite literally) raining mint!

With still lots of fresh mint left, for those who are into cocktails, another option is to use the leaves for mojitos. You’ll just have to harvest what you need and let the rest stay in the urban farm.

That way you won’t be wasting or spending so much. After all, mint costs around 650 per kilogram at the grocery!

Lastly, the still leftover mint (if you accidentally overharvested) can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or two, reserved for a sudden inspiration for its use. You can also give mint away to neighbors or sell to nearby local restaurants and bars.

Grow and make the most out of your mint.