Summer is a time for the outdoors and relaxation, so I am writing to tell you about a very easy hobby I enjoy.

In fact, it is so easy I don't even remember starting it. I'm talking about growing mint.

There are many types of mint growing wild in the Pittsburgh area. In my mint garden I have lemon mint, spearmint, chocolate mint, apple and pineapple mint. Other plants in the mint family include sage, thyme, rosemary and lavender. None of the mints listed here are poisonous. They are all edible and tasty.

Mint has dozens of uses. It can be added to flavor sugar, make cookies and ice cream, put in tea or just chewed on, to name a few. There are lots of places you can find mint. Try looking in your yard, a field or a forest.

Mint is easy to find. The easiest way to identify mint is to feel the stem. All mints have square stems. Mints also have a spicy smell and their leaves grow in pairs opposite each other along the stem.

This is important: Be careful when eating any type of wild plant. Make sure you can positively identify the plant, and get an adult with knowledge of botany to confirm the ID before taking a bite.

So try growing mint. Give it a try and soon you will be a mint expert like me. See you in the garden.

Young people living in the Greater Pittsburgh area can contribute to GETout. Age 13 through college, write about 230 words describing a recent outdoors adventure. Any age through college, draw an outdoors scene. Include name, age and town (and phone number, not for publication) and e-mail it to outdoors@post-gazette.com.