Raised bed herb garden.plant spacing?

The plants you describe range in sizes. They also vary in whether or not they are perennial or annual. Basil could probably grow within 1 square foot. Oregano, marjoram, rosemary and sage can be perennial and semi-woody (very small shrubs) depending on where you live and they might require up to 2-2.5 square feet of room. You also need to allow room for your feet if the garden is of a size you’ll walk in to weed it. You don’t want to trample your herbs! IF, however, you are doing a small bed which you can simply weed from the outer edges, I think a safe spacing for a general garden would be 18 to 24″ if you are cramped for space. Good Luck! You’ll really enjoy those fresh herbs — the flavors just sparkle compared to stored herbs you get at the produce department!

check the size of the herbs. some will spread, others will grow into a bush. some are only annuals (like basil) and will only last the summer. it also depends if you want a spaced out herb garden or a clumped together one.

Much of it would depend on the size of your raised bed, and whether you’re growing herbs for culinary use or as ornamentals. From the herbs you listed, I would allow the most space for the sage plant. Sage is a relatively slow-growing woody perenniel shrub, so the first year you can plant annual herbs quite close to it. After a few seasons it will require more room. My sage came in a pitiful 3″ pot, but over the next 15 years it’s grown to over 3 feet wide. If you harvest the leaves and give it an ocassional trim, it will probably stay smaller for your space.

Rosemary also likes a bit of room, maybe 10″ (or more if it’s perenniel in your Zone). I’m in zone 5, so my rosemary only lasts the one season and I usually just crowd it in with the annual herbs.

Oregano and Marjoram would be happy near the edge of the raised bed since they both like to spill over into adjacent territories, and you would be saving space by allowing them to cascade over the edge of the bed. (This also keep the Marjoram leaves cleaner, with fewer mud splatters to rinse off).

Common Basil would probably tolerate a 5-6″ spacing. Try harvesting the new growth shoots often to encourage more branching.

Parsley can be tucked away into just about any space that’s left. Since it’s bienniel, the best leaf growth will be the first year (the second year it just goes to seed).

I you have any room left, try a few other short season herbs such as Dill or Coriander (cilantro). These are both easy to start from seed and can be used to fill in the spaces until your other plants mature.