here's the pic.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1159355}}

The plant looks over potted (tiny plant in a too-large container), which can lead to some serious problems, especially at this time of year. Just a guess, since we can't see the pot or the potting soil texture.

Over potting can cause little black things to grow on the leaves of the plant? Anyone have an idea of what those are?

looks like freeze damage.. or sun scald .... or chemical damage [perhaps prior to being sent] ....

where are you ... where are you growing them??? ... how long have you had them ... what kind of media did you use .... etc..etc...etc ...

black spots are either bugs or poop .... anything living on the undersides of the leaves????

bottom up ... lack of light ... hyper-extension of the plant reaching for light.. and the sacrifice of the lower to support the reaching ....

more info .. better answers ... ken

Ahh. They are indoor plants due to the weather. I'm planning on using the sprigs for making a wine. were facing a North eastern set of corner windows, but have recently been moved under cabinet lighting in my kitchen. they are constantly exposed and the light is about 8" away form the plants now. I can see what you are saying about the plant having to struggle for the attention when they were in front of the window.
I know I should have a grow bulb, (know a good online source for purchasing one?)
and I have been watering them every day so they probably have been getting too much moisture. I just thought that mint was such a hardy weed that it would flourish under almost any circumstance.
I am in a colder region but my kitchen is a fairly steady 72 degrees.
Each of the six plants are potted in a 6" plastic faux terra -cotta pot. When I planted them I used planting soil, which appeared to be the same media they were originally grown in. Thanks for the response and the future help!!

your kitchen is 72 degrees all night long... how cold does the window sill get at night ...

too much water.. and too cold at night can lead to root rot... which will cause problems ...

an under counter light is insufficient... it should be a 2 bulb 4 foot light ... if you cant move the light down .. move the plant up .... one bulb just wont cut it ... you do not need grow lights ....

see the link below.. ignore all the references to bonsai ... a plant is a plant is a plant ... this guy is local .. and he gave the speech a month ago .... he grows all kinds of stuff under the lights...

work on your cultural practices.. and you can grow anything indoors .... heat, light, media, fert., etc ...

good luck

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: learning plant culture

I think Ken has the dots right. Can you remove one of the larger dots with a damp papertowel. It looks like the bug crap I get on one of my mints during the summer. If the dot smears on the towel after about a minute look for a very small worms under the leaves and on the stems. You may not see it the first time you look because the young ones are about the color of the foliage except for the head. Take worms off and squish or put out for birds if squishing bothers you.

Try placing the pot on rocks or stone pieces in a saucer. Some mints like the air around them more humid than a regular house.

You did not tell how long you have had the plants. You may need to give them a small amount of plant food.

If this were my plant, this is what I would do.
First I would look under one of those leaves for something that looks like very small particles of white sand within the pockets between the veins. The stipling on the leaf looks like something is feeding on it, possibly spider mites. You might not see any webbing but for that, look at the leaf nodes at the stem.
The spots look like leaf spot to me. Though it is a little hard to tell from the photo, it seems some spots are developing lighter coloring within the spot. I won't guess what type of leaf spot it is, but below is one source that lists types of leaf spot that might affect mint.

Here are two pictures of phosphorus deficiency that look similar to your damage. They are shown by other plants types and compared to most pics representing phosphorus deficiency, yours really doesn't match. Are these pics incorrect? Who knows but it is interesting that the clover site mentions it is caused by cold roots that cannot uptake the phosphorus and wasn't your plant stationed at the window?

http://www.windowbox.com/tomatoes/tomatosolutioncenter.html

http://www.luminet.net/~wenonah/min-def/clover.htm

As Ken writes, the temps drop next to the window especially at night - radiant heat loss and such- many of my plants can't take that position. The leaves crisp and drop in my house. The roots will rot. My plants do a little better if they are a foot or so away. They do even better under lights in the basement. Plants reaching for light do seem to loose the bottom leaves, don't they?

If it were my plant, I would cut off anything that looks damaged. I would throw out the soil and change the pot. I would prefer a clay pot that breaths to a plastic pot. Though they dry out faster, they don't promote fungal rot as much. You don't have the same damp water lingering in one place as long, growing mold and fungi. I would examine the size of the root and choose my pot accordingly.
If it ends up being spidermites or such, I would cut the tops off all together, rinse the white roots - they should be white in mint - and spread them out in a new pot. They will grow. I do this every year when I refresh my pots of mint.
I leave them outdoors in pots all winter. Most of it dies but a few bits of root live and are obvious by being white.
I take these bits, lay them out, throw out the old withered, pieces and the mints refresh themselves.
Finally, if you still have problems keeping them indoors, divide the root, create a new pot and bury one outside where it won't sit in water and ice over.
In the end, as long as you can somehow keep them going for the winter, it will refresh come spring when you can bring it outdoor and trim the roots if needed and the top.

Here is a link that might be useful: APS - Diseases of Mint