Peppermint leaves are grown for pharmaceutical processing. It is a perennial plant grown (for up to 3 years) in the USA as well as Germany. Peppermint requires damp and cool climates as well as warmer regions with plenty of humidity. Humus-rich soils, as well as loamy to sandy soils are ideal for growing peppermint. Peppermint requires plenty of soil moisture as its flat root systems make it difficult for it to absorb water. It is typically grown from stolons (pieces of root), rooted cuttings or seedlings. New cultivation areas are usually created using stolons. In order to plant stolons, peppermint requires a well-prepared plant bed with a good soil structure and water supply. The roots are planted around 10 cm deep in October.

Mechanical weed control is carried out particularly in the 1st year of growth using a hoe or harrow as the ground can be cultivated using tools until the rows of peppermint have grown too dense to do so. The use of isolated synthetic chemical pesticides is permitted and strictly regulated by the European Legislation on Plant Protection Products. However, weed infestation inevitably increases during the three years of cultivation as it becomes more difficult to work on the overgrown areas.

The optimum harvesting time is shortly before blossoming, or just after blossoming starts. The nutrients are at their most abundant during this time, particularly essential oils such as menthol. In the first year, harvesting takes place in July and September, and in the second year in June and then between August and September. The peppermint plants are harvested unchopped in dry conditions using a forage harvester and loaded onto a transport lorry. The herb is separated from its stalks so that only the leaves are dried using various drying methods. It is important to dry them gently to preserve the valuable nutrients.