Donald Humbler

Fresh Mint washed and dried (in the shade not in direct sun light) then placed into a bottle of vinegar.
let seat in a warm place out of the sun, turn the bottle under side down and then upright every other day for about three weeks or more to make a mint vinegar.
Can add thyme, rosemary to the vinegar. Makes a tasty vinegar to add to salads, cooking or add one cup of water to a teaspoon (or less) of vinegar for refreshing summer drink.

I grow as many types of mint as I can find.
if you research peppermint, the properties of the other mints are basically the same with variations on taste,  cooling and heating effects on the body.
how you use mint depends on your sense of taste.
you can make a vinegar for salad dressing, in alcohol for the herbal effect, make a hydrosol for use in cooking / skin care / in the bath / compress.
I use for all of the above with the different mint for smell, flavour, taste and healing.
the uses are endless.

This is what I believe.
Each person must do what they know and believe.
For me that is using solar with and without batteries.
with batteries for storage to run as much electrical equipment as possible. There is no ongoing cost of fuel.
solar distillation unit to extract distilled water to use in batteries.
solar pumps {without batteries} to pump house water and dam water to header tanks 81 feet above the house for house and garden use.
the house uses electrical stove and oven as well a washing machine and a fridge and two freezers.
for wet or cloudy days and during winter there is a wood stove for cooking, heating up the hot water tank and heating up the central heating in the floor if needed.
from 10am to 2am; an 8KVA welder can be used if needed on a sunny day.

Each person needs to choose what they are willing to do.
sealed batteries are fine if you do not want to do any maintenance work. may not last as long.
gas works if there is always gas a available.
water works if there is a flowing stream or such.
if you need to bend over all the time into the wind, then wind power can be very cheap.
or use no power like your grandparents did.

I find that there is no best way only what works for you.

about BATTERIES there are so many types.
For myself, I made a list of what I wanted to do with my Life.
Then made a list of what was required of any power system that was going to be used.
the list was 50 items long.
the list made it ease to choose the type of power system needed.
of the 28 solar installers contacted. Only one meet the requirements sent to them.
do not let them choose for you.
do not let anyone choose for you.
CHOOSE ONLY FOR YOURSELF.................

the research for the suitable system took over three years.
the solar systems installed has lasted 15 years and is still going strong.

I have been using 60 * 2 volt lead acid batteries for solar power for the last 15 years with no issues.
I do need to add about 30 liters distilled water every 3 months.
The life of the batteries is measured in discharge / charge cycle.  
This system has worked well using less than 10% capacity of the batteries.
The possible life of the batteries could be 30 years.
Use more of the capacity of the batteries and reduce the life of the batteries.