Source: Grow Veg
Photo Source: Unsplash,
Herb Garden Layout
Your medicinal herb garden design can be a combination of indoor and outdoor herb garden containers and planters, window boxes, and garden space, or just one of these. I love having multiple herb garden designs as they bring texture, beauty, and different settings for medicine in various places throughout my homestead. I have a spiral garden, raised beds, herb containers, medicinal houseplants, rows and squares and triangle plots, and more. Get creative!
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View of a garden in the mountains.
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Visuals
Perhaps you are a visual person and drawing a map of what you want your medicinal herb garden to look like will help with the layout process. Or if you are a list maker, write down the things you will need to do so that you are able to best prioritize them. Flipping through pages of inspirational gardening books or surfing the internet for medicinal herb garden images may be a fun way to mine ideas. Another tip is to find an herbal medicine gardener you admire in your area and volunteer with them so you can see firsthand what resonates for you and learn straight from the source.
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A double-dug and mulched triangle bed to best use the available space.
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Soil
Once you have determined exactly where your garden will be, observe the soil. Is it already a welcoming place where plants want to grow? If not, and you are completely new to gardening, I recommend checking out [Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening] to answer questions that arise—I have referred to this book many times for guidance. Herbs are not as picky as vegetables as far as soil type goes because most herbal medicines evolved wild, and in uncultivated soils, so that is encouraging!
Maybe you need to buy soil for containers. See if there are any organic compost suppliers in your area or buy organic potting mix from a local nursery. It is just as important for your medicine to begin in pesticide/herbicide-free soil as your vegetables!
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Borage* grows best in full sun to partial shade.
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Light and Height
How much light will your window herb garden or patch of land receive? Lots of sun? A little? Is it mostly shade? Observe how many hours of sun each day your area gets and learn which plants will do well with that amount of light. There are many plants that will grow in shade or sun, but if a sun-loving plant is put in the shade (or vice versa), it won’t be able to reach its potential or yield its most potent medicine.
If the land or windows available to you are north-facing or surrounded by trees, you can find dozens of medicinal plants that grow in shade. Fortunately, some of our most potent medicines come from the woods, so you could focus on growing forest botanicals.
Research how tall (or small) each herb will be when grown, and if it spreads, before you plant it in your garden. This will prevent overcrowding or having big gaps in your garden beds. It is also important to think ahead to how they’ll grow next to one another. For instance, you wouldn’t want to sandwich spilanthes (Acmella oleracea) in between valerian (Valerianella officinalis) and motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) because the spilanthes would not get enough sun, as the other two herbs mentioned grow much taller and would cast too much shade. On the flip side, you can use tall herbs to shade low-growing ones if needed.
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Fennel likes to be alone.
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Companion Plants
A real compassionate herb gardener will consider giving their plant babies some friends. The definition of companion planting is the close planting of different plants that enhance each other’s growth and/or protect them from pests. There is a whole fascinating study of companion planting, and I encourage you to experiment on your own, but I will share about a few herbal friends (and foes).
Many vegetables grow well with herbs, but as far as herbs loving herbs are concerned—coriander (Coriandrum sativum), aka cilantro, and anise (Pimpinella animus) are good buddies.1 Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) planted with roses (Rosa spp.) help repel Japanese beetles and reduce black spot. Basil (Ocimum basilica) is scared of rue (Ruta graveolens), but roses appreciate hanging out with rue! And fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is allelopathic (a germination or growth inhibitor) so be mindful where you decide to plant that!2
How can you introduce more (organic or natural) fresh vegetables and fruits into your diet? How could this impact the environment? How could a home garden contribute to your and your family's overall health?
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