How to Start a Raised Herb Garden

Benefits of a Raised Herb Garden

Raised herb gardens require a sturdy frame and quality raised bed soil, which can make them a bit pricier than traditional in-ground gardens. But they’re well worth the investment! Raised beds offer advantages you simply can’t get with in-ground planting—especially when it comes to soil quality, drainage, and flexibility.

• Better soil control: Raised beds let you sidestep poor native soil—whether it’s clay-heavy, rocky, too sandy, or pH imbalanced. You control the mix from the start.
• Improved drainage. Raised beds drain more quickly than ground-level soil, which helps prevent root rot and soggy soil problems.
• Longer growing season: Raised soil warms up faster in spring, allowing you to plant earlier and get a head start on the season.
• Fewer pests and weeds. Weeds and pests are usually less problematic in raised beds.
• Less back strain. Tall raised beds require less bending, and can be more ergonomic and easier on your back.
• Aesthetics. Raised beds are often made of wood or metal frames, which can be quite attractive and built to match your home’s décor.
• More gardening options. No yard? No problem. Raised beds can be installed on patios, balconies, rooftops—even driveways!

Picking and Preparing a Raised Bed

One of the best things about raised herb gardens is that they can be fully customized to fit your space, your style, and the herbs you want to grow. There are, of course, a number of attractive store-bought wood or metal raised bed frames and kits on the market, but you can create a simple, rectangular raised bed with untreated, water-resistant cedar boards, stones, bricks, or another upcycled, food-safe material. For a budget-friendly option, raised beds can also be built with inexpensive pine ledger board, although ledger boards may need to be replaced every few years if they start to sag. 

As far as sizing goes, raised beds can be as long as you like, but it’s best to keep them under 4 feet wide so you can easily reach across them to weed and plant. The depth of raised beds varies too, and they can be built tall for ergonomics or short to reduce the amount of soil you need to purchase. Just keep in mind that most herbs grow best in 12-inch deep beds, although shallow-rooted herbs can grow in about 6 inches of soil!

If you plan to move raised beds around, choose a pre-made raised bed frame with built-in wheels, and make sure that whatever raised beds you use have drainage holes or open bases to allow water to flow freely. Then, select a quality, store-bought raised bed mix or make your own light-weight blend with equal parts sand, compost, and top soil. Unfortunately, standard garden soil shouldn’t be used in raised beds as it’s quite dense and can lead to drainage issues.

Choosing the Perfect Location for Your Raised Bed

Once you’ve selected your raised bed and the soil to fill it with, find a growing location that’s relatively flat and well-draining, and that receives enough light for the herbs you’d like to keep. Bonus points if the spot is near your kitchen for easier harvesting!

Keep in mind that most herbs grow best in full sun areas that get at least 6 to 8 hours of bright light per day. However, herbs like dill and cilantro can tolerate lower light and are slower to bolt in summer if they’re located in an area that receives partial afternoon shade.

Which Herbs Can You Plant in a Raised Bed?

The herbs you select for your raised bed should reflect your personal taste and the herbs you love to cook with. After all, there’s no reason to reserve space in your garden for cilantro if you don’t like the taste of it!

While most culinary herbs are well-suited for raised beds, woody-stemmed herbs generally prefer drier soil than tender-stemmed herbs. Separating woody herbs and tender-stemmed herbs into different raised beds or different sides of a single bed can make watering easier. Mint plants are also aggressive growers and fennel doesn’t “get along” with other plants, so it’s best to keep these plants in their own dedicated raised beds or use dividers to keep them from getting into “mischief.”

If you need a little gardening inspiration, here are just a few tasty herbs that you may want to grow in your raised garden!

Tender-Stemmed Herbs

• Basil
• Dill
• Cilantro
• Parsley
• Summer Savory
• Lovage
• Marjoram
• Chamomile
• Tarragon
• Lemon Verbena
• Chives
• Fennel
• Salad Burnet

Woody-Stemmed Herbs

• Rosemary
• Lavender
• Winter Savory
• Sage
• Oregano
• Thyme

Mints

• Peppermint
• Spearmint
• Catnip
• Lemon Balm

Raised Herb Garden Layouts

There are countless ways to lay out a raised herb garden, but separating woody- and tender-stemmed herbs, and limiting the spread of mints with dividers is wise. You may also want to separate annual and perennial herbs so you only need to replant the annual section of your garden every spring.

To ensure your plants receive plenty of light, locate tall herbs towards the north or rear of your garden and shorter herbs towards the south or exterior of beds where they won’t be overshadowed. Groundcovering herbs, like creeping thyme, can also be used as living mulches to keep weeds from creeping in. 

Creating a themed herb garden design with a carefully curated selection of herbs can add a touch of whimsy to your planting, too. Here are just a few ideas to get you started!

1. Tea Garden: Chamomile, peppermint, lemon balm, bee balm (with dividers to keep mint from spreading)
2. Mediterranean Herbs (for dry soil): Sage, thyme, oregano, marjoram, rosemary
3. Herbes de Provence Garden: Rosemary, thyme, summer savory, oregano
4. Lower Light Herbs (for shady spots): Dill, cilantro, salad burnet, mints (with dividers)

Use the Almanac Garden Planner to design your herb garden and choose the best pairings!

How To Plant and Care for Herbs

When it’s time to install your raised bed, prep the planting area by removing rocks, weeds, and other debris, and cover the soil with cardboard or several sheets of newspaper to keep weeds from intruding. Then, add your raised bed frame and fill it most of the way up with a quality raised bed mix. Layering several inches of pinecones, compost, autumn leaves, twigs, and other organic matter into the base of your bed before adding any soil can reduce the amount of soil you need to purchase!

Most herbs can be grown from nursery starts or seeds started indoors in spring; however, woody-stemmed herbs generally grow best from nursery starts or cuttings. Nursery starts and transplants should be planted at the same depth they were growing in their original pots, mulched and watered in, and cared for just like herbs in standard gardens. Remember, most herbs are relatively pest proof and require minimal fertilizer, but they’re more productive if you harvest them regularly, water them when the top 1 to 2 inches of soil feels dry, and apply an annual application of compost over the soil every spring.

Summary

When your raised herb bed is fully planted, the real fun begins! You can gather fresh herbs for cooking and herbal teas, freeze herbs for long-term storage, or dry herbs for spice blends, loose leaf teas, or potpourri. The only limit is your imagination and the size and number of the raised beds you decide to grow in!