Raised beds are in - and herbs are more popular than ever. It almost makes sense to combine the two. The aromatic kitchen companions are also in good hands in a mobile tall planter - we'll explain to you why.
How do you create a raised herb bed?
A raised herb bed should have a maximum edge length of 1.20 m and a height of 90 cm to 1 m. Avoid heavily fertilizing sub-layers such as horse manure and instead add compost and sand for a suitable substrate. Care for your herbs with gentle, organic fertilizer such as coffee grounds.
The benefits of a raised bed
Many hobby gardeners create a raised bed for vegetables - this cultivation method is also ideal, especially for nutrient-draining varieties that like their feet to be a little warmer. It offers plenty of space for a carefully layered and enriched substrate with good thermal insulation.
The second big advantage that a raised bed has is the comfortable working height. Laborious bending is no longer necessary, neither to care for the plants nor to harvest them. A great solution for seniors too.
The raised bed benefits of
- deep, nutrient-rich and heat-storing substrate and
- practical working height
can largely also be related to herb cultivation.
At least the second point should be undisputed. Especially if you want to quickly grab some fresh chives, spicy chervil or a few sprigs of thyme while cooking, you'd probably rather run to the waist-high raised bed on the terrace than to the ground bed in the far corner of the garden.
However, the possibilities that the deep planter offers in terms of soil technology are only explicitly advantageous for certain types of herbs. You can also grow Mediterranean herbs such as rosemary or oregano in raised beds. However, local herb varieties that have a high nutrient requirement will benefit more from the deep substrate. These mainly include:
- Chives
- lovage
- parsley
- Tarragon
- Mint
- Borage
also herbs originally from subtropical areas such as
- Basil or
- Lemon Verbena
only thrive on nutrient-rich substrate.
Create a raised herb bed
When creating a raised herb bed, the rules of any other raised bed apply. In order to provide optimal working conditions and still a good planting area, the dimensions should be a maximum of 1.20 m edge length and a height of 90 cm to 1 m.
When filling, however, you should not work with quite as much fertilizing underlayers as with raised vegetable beds. So skip the horse manure, which is valuable for large, hungry vegetables - it is rather too spicy for the delicate culinary herbs. As a permanent fertilizer, an addition of good compost is sufficient. You should also add some sand to the substrate. Later you can always keep your herbs going with gentle, organic fertilizer such as coffee grounds.
