Growing herbs outdoors in pots or a raised bed

Mmmm delicious: fresh herbs. Straight from your own back yard or balcony.

Fresh home-grown herbs from your garden or balcony — *Fresh home-grown herbs*

Home-grown herbs taste much better than greenhouse-grown herbs from the supermarket.

They are also incredibly expensive: 3 sprigs of rosemary or thyme cost more than a euro. Add up all those euros and before you know it, you have earned back your Makkelijke Moestuin raised bed.

Do herbs grow well in a Makkelijke Moestuin raised bed?

You bet. All kinds of herbs do extremely well in the MM-Mix:

Parsley growing huge and bushy in the MM-Mix — *These were 4 tiny parsley plants once*

They grow great next to your other vegetables.

But most herbs are perennials and occupy 1 patch year after year.

When you get your raised bed ready for a new season, you have to work around it. I find that pretty inconvenient.

Plus, herbs usually do so well in the mix that they quickly turn into huge bushes that do not care about the edges of the square.

Mint plant after 1 year becomes huge and bushy — *This is a mint plant after 1 year*

Herbs that grow like weeds

Some herbs are real spreaders. One mint plant will happily take over your whole raised bed if you do not contain the square with a bottomless pot.

*New mint root sprouts pop up all over in the spring*

Oregano, lemon balm, lavender, and sage also grow into huge bushes. So big they overshadow the neighbors.

*4-year-old lavender plant: you can no longer see the raised bed*

Herbs in pots

That is why many MM gardeners grow their herbs in pots.

Pots are easy to move, so frost-sensitive herbs can spend the winter in a sheltered spot. That way, you do not have to sacrifice a square in your raised bed.

But just like other plants, herbs grow less well in a pot than in your raised bed.

That is because the roots circle along the sides, get thicker and thicker, and eventually suffocate themselves. So you have to move the plants to bigger pots regularly.

Luckily, there is now a solution.

Better than a regular pot: the MM-mini

The MM-mini is made of recycled plastic felt that allows air to pass through. As a result, the roots do not continue to grow longer and thicker, but instead stop growing once they reach the wall. For the plant, this is a signal to produce new roots.

*Herbs grow better in MM-minis than in regular pots*

That gives the plant a healthy root ball for the long term. It can stay in the same MM-mini for years and grow just as well as in a raised bed.

Nothing but upsides

With herbs in an MM-Mini:

you keep your mint plants in check
the plants can grow as big as they want
you can move them around to your heart's content
you no longer have to worry that they will crowd out the rest of your vegetables

Plus, the MM-Mini is made from recycled plastic bottles. How great is that?

Mini herb gardens

In a square in a raised bed, you have to keep the neighboring plants in mind. In an MM-mini, you do not.

I even tried putting several types in one MM-mini, and in the first year that works pretty well.

Just look at this rosemary, thyme, and sage:

*Rosemary, thyme, and sage in one MM-mini*

But after a year, they start to get in each other's way, resulting in none of them performing really well anymore. Due to lack of space.

And that's a real shame, because as long as they're happy, perennial herb plants can last for years.

That's why I now give them their own section. Usually separate in a mini. But if you want to plant a whole box of herbs, then a MM-airbak is a great alternative. They can grow over the edge and not get in each other's way.

*Rosemary, sage, thyme, and flat-leaf parsley in an MM-Airbak.*

Plants or sow yourself?

For most herbs, plants are by far the most convenient. Often, one plant is already more than enough, especially for the perennial varieties. Chives can even last a lifetime.

Parsley is most delicious in the first year, in the second year it quickly goes to seed and it's better to replace it.

Small curly parsley plants are available everywhere in spring, I then plant four of them in one bed:

Flat-leaved parsley has a stronger taste and can be easily sown by yourself. You can also fit 4 plants in one square, although that quickly becomes a large bunch. Again: ideal for a MM-mini 😉

*Plants of flat leaved parsley grow quite big*

Basil

You can never have enough basil and you can easily sow it yourself. Then they'll even grow better than store-bought plants and it is also much more cost-effective.

Cilantro and dill

Cilantro and dill are herbs you should never buy as young plants, because they flower pretty quickly. I do not know about you, but I grow them mainly for their leaves, not for the flowers and seeds.

I also sow them several times a year, simply in a square in a raised bed. That way, I always have fresh greens. Like here in an MM-bamboo table raised bed:

*Cilantro in an MM-bamboo table raised bed*

But just wait until it gets big. It can easily reach 3 meters, starts flowering, no longer tastes good, and looks awful. On top of that, it is hard to remove from your raised bed: it clings to the weed barrier fabric.

I am also not into savory, tarragon, or sorrel. Chamomile is super cute but I do not do anything with it, and I am not that enthusiastic about celery either. But that is purely personal 😉

A quick recap:

All herbs do super well in the Makkelijke Moestuinmix.
You can easily sow some herbs yourself, such as basil, cilantro, flat-leaved parsley, and dill.
For most herbs, one plant is enough. Those are better to buy as young plants.
Many herbs are perennials too, so they stay in one square for a long time and quickly outgrow it after a year.
As an alternative to the raised bed, MM-minis are very handy.