The Best Herbs To Grow In Raised Garden Beds

By Victoria Fuller

When thinking of a beautiful raised garden bed, often our first thought is of a blooming paradise filled with lush greens and bright flowers. However there is an entire other realm of raised bed gardening that is often overlooked, and no it isn’t a vegetable garden: it’s the wholesome herb garden! For today’s blog post we are going to shine some light on some of the lovely little herbs that you can comfortably grow in your raised garden bed in most climates, these herbs can be used as ingredients in a variety of delicious recipes and are incredibly easy to cultivate even for those of us who don’t have the greenest of thumbs:

Chives: The chive’s the limit with this simple-to-grow herb! These delicious members of the onion family are rich in antioxidants & vitamins and they’re known to promote heart health, sleep, and mood! Here are our tips for having the time of your chives: plant your seeds ¼” deep in soil in an area with full sun, water 1” per week and aim to keep them at around 15 degrees celsius. Your chives will be ready to harvest in around 8 weeks!

Mint: This fragrant herb can make a delightful ingredient in teas, soups, baked goods, and more! Plus they are incredibly simple to grow! To successfully grow your mint plant the seeds initially at around ¼” deep, then once they begin to germinate transplant them into soil around 7” deep. Keep your mint’s soil nice and moist with around 1”-2” of water per week, and try to keep your plants in full sun if possible. Your mint will be ready for harvesting in around 90 days and remember that mint is also a herbaceous perennial meaning that it will re-sprout every year! So once the Cedar Planters season is over you can keep your mint alive indoors by following the aforementioned tips!

Oregano: This leafy member of the mint family makes an excellent addition to pizza and pasta sauces but is also a great flavour to add to meats and seafood! Here are our tips for growing your own “joy of the mountain”: plant your seeds around ¼ inches deep, maintain moist soil (around 1” of water per week) and keep your seeds in full sun (unless you live in an extremely warm climate, in which case some shade can be beneficial as well!), and finally enjoy your delicious oregano after around 6 weeks!

Thyme: The thyme is now to start planting and planning your thyme plants! Thyme is known for having many antiseptic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties so it is well worth having in your garden arsenal! Here are some tips for growing this delightful member of the mint family at home: plant your seeds around ¼” deep, water your plants every other day (so around 1” per week thyme is drought-resistant so don’t worry if you forget to water them for a couple of days!), keep your plants in full sun and harvest them after around 90 days (a slower-growing plant but well worth the wait!).

Cilantro: Sometimes known by its alter-ego coriander, cilantro is an incredibly popular herb however between 4 and 14% of the population have a genetic variation that causes the herb to taste like soap! For those of us who are lucky enough not to have to nibble through the suds cilantro is extremely easy to grow yourself at home, here are our tips for growing your own cilantro: plant your seeds at 1” deep, keep them nice and moist by watering them 1” of water per week, keep them happy with lots of fun and harvest your beautiful herbs after just 30 days!

Sage: If you’re looking for a way to take your potatoes, pork, or a variety of delicious recipes to the next level, then sage no more! Here are some tips for planting this lovely member of the mint family at home: plant your seeds ¼” deep, keep your seedlings moist with 1” of water per week and in a nice sunny area, after 10 weeks you will have delicious sage ready for plucking!