You can’t overstate the benefits of raised bed gardening. This method gives you complete control over soil composition and structure, increases the length of your growing season, and protects your plants from foot traffic. However, not all plants play nicely in raised beds. Pumpkins and squash, for example, may flourish, but they’ll take up tons of space. Sunflowers are lovely, but their enormous roots may hog nutrients, and they’ll shade out smaller species.
Many garden staples form top-notch communities in raised beds, especially those that are known as companion plants. Planning your garden? We’ve assembled a list of the plants you should be growing in raised beds.
Sun Gold Tomatoes
Sun Gold Cherry Tomato Seeds
African Marigold Flowers
Crackerjack Marigold Flower Seeds
Shishito Bush Peppers
Shishito Chile Pepper Seeds
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are the perfect raised bed plant. They grow vertically, there are countless varieties and cultivars, and they provide you with delicious, nutrient-dense fruits. Just don’t forget to provide a stake or some alternate form of support.
There are two types of tomato plants: determinate and indeterminate. While determinate tomatoes reach a predetermined height and release just one flush of fruit, indeterminate tomatoes will continue vining and fruiting until frost.
Both are well-suited to raised beds. While determinate tomatoes may produce less fruit overall, indeterminate tomatoes require more maintenance, as you’ll need to keep updating their support and pruning as they grow, especially in limited real estate.
Whichever you choose, ensure that your tomatoes get full sunlight. Water consistently, and don’t forget to fertilize. These plants need a lot of nutrients, especially if you aim to keep harvesting fruit through fall.
You can’t go wrong with classic indeterminate cultivars like ‘Sun Gold’ cherry tomatoes, ‘San Marzano’ Roma tomatoes, or ‘Cherokee Purple’ slicing tomatoes. If a determinate variety may be a better fit, try ‘Ace 55,’ a classic heirloom canning tomato.
Marigolds
Marigold plants have multiple functions in a raised bed. They add visual interest with their brightly colored flowers among dark foliage, they fit perfectly in open spots, preventing weed growth and deterring pests.
True marigolds of the Tagetes genus not only have smelly flowers that turn off pests, but also they produce alpha-terthienyl below the soil. This substance reduces root-knot nematodes and other plant pathogens. Marigolds may just be the ultimate companion plant.
Marigolds prefer full sun to produce their showiest displays. They will grow in partial shade but will flower less. They’ll survive in pretty much any soil as long as it drains well, and they will even tolerate drought. Most marigold species grow up to two or three feet tall.
You can grow marigolds in various shades of yellow, orange, red, and white. ‘Crackerjack Blend’ produces large, classic orange flowers, while ‘Red Metamorph’ blooms are smaller and red. Consider growing Mexican tarragon as well, a culinary herb that’s actually a marigold, Tagetes lucida.
Peppers
Similar to tomatoes, peppers are another solanaceous crop that plays nicely in raised beds. Plant peppers as soon as the last frost has passed, and they’ll spend spring and early summer growing and developing flowers. Peppers may grow a few feet tall and will produce fruit until the first frost.
Peppers do best in full sun and with regular fertilizing. You can top off their nutrients every month or so with granular fertilizer, and you may want to treat any struggling plants with fish emulsion. As peppers grow, attach them to a stake. Otherwise, summer storms can knock them over.
There are many types of peppers you can grow, from sweet bell peppers to mega-hot scorpion peppers and everything in between. The variety extends into shape, size, color, flavor, and heat level.
If you love spice, give ‘Megatron’ jalapenos a try. You will be adding heat to your meals all summer. If you prefer a milder chile, consider growing ‘Shishito’ peppers. These peppers are usually sauteed with lemon juice and salt and served as an appetizer or side dish.
Beets
Beets and other root vegetables are excellent choices since so much of their success depends on soil conditions. In raised beds, you have complete control of the soil composition and quality, so you can plan perfectly for vitamin-packed beets.
When preparing soil for beets, choose a well-draining, nutrient-rich mix. Lean towards sandy, as beets don’t like growing in heavy soils in spring and summer. Beets need consistent moisture, so don’t let their soil dry out completely.
You can plant beets in full sun or in partial shade, but beets growing in partial shade will take longer to reach a mature, harvestable size. Note that each beet “seed” is actually a tiny, dried fruit with multiple seeds inside, so you’ll need to thin your seedlings.
Beets are grown for their signature root, but beet greens are delicious as well. The greens have more antioxidants than the roots. Try out ‘Early Wonder’ for hardy beets that have large, harvestable greens. If you prefer a milder taste, try ‘Golden Boy.’ Golden beets are sweeter and less earthy.
Basil
Basil is well-known for its status as a top-tier companion plant, so it’s particularly beneficial in raised beds. Of course, basil is a delicious herb commonly added to Italian dishes, but it also repels pests, attracts pollinators, and may even improve the flavor of other edible plants.
The smell of basil may remind you of caprese salad. It also confuses pests like mosquitos, potato bugs, and tomato hornworms, turning them away. On the other hand, butterflies and bees are compelled towards basil flowers, assisting in the pollination of neighboring plants during their visit.
Finally, gardeners claim that growing basil near tomatoes actually makes the tomatoes taste even better. This is more of an old wives’ tale than a scientific fact, but could it be true? Maybe! It certainly couldn’t hurt to grow basil near tomatoes, especially because they pair well in the kitchen.
Plant basil in full sun for bountiful leaves, and keep the soil moist. There are many different basils you can cultivate, offering different flavors, colors, and flowers. ‘Italian Genovese’ is a tried and true cultivar. ‘Everleaf Emerald Towers’ offers similar classic flavor and bolts months later than other basils.
Kale
When spring has sprung and you’re counting down the days until the last frost, cold crops such as kale are cold-tolerant enough to become the first plants in your annual raised bed. Kale germinates easily and grows slowly but consistently, providing healthy greens and ground cover all summer.
Kale grows best in full sun and prefers neutral, well-draining soil. You could pop it into a shadier corner of your bed as well, just know that it will grow slower. Research the mature size of the kale varieties on your mind, as some will become quite large if left unharvested.
Decide whether you plan to pick mature kale leaves or “baby” kale, which will determine how much space you need between each plant. Kale planted for its baby leaves can be planted in rows with about six inches between each plant, but full-size crops need 12-18″ of space.
‘Dwarf Blue Curled’ kale is a curly cultivar that has been grown for hundreds of years. ‘Lacinato’ or ‘Dinosaur’ kale is smoother and darker, and best picked when young and tender.
Nasturtiums
Another flowering option with multiple functions is nasturtiums, which have coin-shaped leaves and bright orange flowers. Blooms can also be yellow and red, and variegated nasturtiums are common and easy to grow.
Nasturtiums provide thorough ground cover around other, taller plants, like tomatoes and peppers, preventing weeds and reducing moisture loss. It may seem like more plants would equal more water needed, but actually, nasturtiums can protect the soil from the harsh UV rays that evaporate water.
Additionally, nasturtiums repel various garden pests, such as whiteflies and aphids, and they also function as a trap crop for squash bugs and cucumber beetles. Their cheery flowers attract hummingbirds and bees.
You can plant nasturtiums anywhere that gets at least a few hours of sunlight. These plants are pretty hardy and will continue to thrive in the face of neglect. In fact, if you live in a warm enough zone, you may find volunteer nasturtiums popping up in your gardens for years.
Radishes
Radishes are extremely rewarding to grow and harvest. You can plant up to sixteen radishes in a single square foot of a raised bed, and in as little as a month, they’ll be ready to harvest. With succession planting, you can continue to harvest fresh radishes.
They’re perfect for raised beds because of how small they are. While many gardeners like their raised beds to be orderly, others prefer a more chaotic path. Radishes can flourish in either condition: plant them in rows or just stick a radish seed into any open area with a few inches of soil.
Radishes will reach their harvestable size fastest in full sun, and they prefer well-draining soil. As cool season crops, you won’t have much success with radishes in the summer. Spring and fall are the seasons when radishes shine.
There’s a lot of diversity among radishes. You can grow big, red radishes like ‘Crimson Giant,’ elongated radishes like ‘French Breakfast,’ and even black radishes like ‘Round Black Spanish.’
Zinnias
If you’re looking for flowers to grow in your raised bed for cut flowers, you can’t go wrong with zinnias. Whether you harvest the blooms or not, their beautiful colors will stand out in a bed, and the hummingbirds and butterflies will thank you.
Zinnias come in various shapes, a few sizes, and many colors. Usually, they grow to be about three or four feet tall, with copious blooms that just keep coming. You can encourage even more flowers with regular deadheading.
Colorful zinnias are sure to bring pollinators to your bed, increasing the likelihood that neighboring plants will be pollinated, too. Just make sure zinnias have good airflow to reduce fungal pathogens.
Zinnia flowers can be pink, red, orange, yellow, white, among other colors. You can even grow zinnias with flowers that are a true green, such as the ‘Envy’ cultivar. Choosing can be hard, but you can always just opt for a mix, like ‘Benary’s Giant Blend.’
Cilantro
Cilantro is a wonderful choice for your raised bed, especially in the spring and earlier in summer, before the days get long and hot. Enjoy the leaves while you can, and before you know it, cilantro will bolt, forming flowers that mature into coriander seeds.
Many people love the taste of cilantro, though it can be divisive. Try ‘Long Standing Santo’ if you want to delay bolting. Fortunately, pollinators love flowering cilantro, so it’s a stellar companion plant even when you’re no longer harvesting its leaves.
Cilantro is an annual, so each plant will live out its life cycle in one season. However, the cilantro seeds usually survive winter. This often translates to volunteer cilantro popping up in your raised beds and gardens in future seasons.
Carrots
Just like beets and radishes, carrots have the potential to thrive in raised beds since you have so much control over soil composition. Carrots need well-draining soil that stays consistently moist, but they will rot in heavy, compacted soils.
Carrots will grow best in full sun, though they’ll still survive in partial shade. When planning your bed, ensure that carrots won’t get shaded as neighboring plants grow. It’s also crucial that you avoid fertilizing with too much nitrogen, which will inspire carrots to put more energy into their leaves than their roots.
Check out ‘Danvers 126’ if you’re looking for a hardy, reliable carrot cultivar with a classic shape and the perfect shade of orange. Other colors of carrot exist, too, such as ‘Atomic Red,’ which is dark red on the outside.
Bush Beans
Vining pole beans can fit in raised beds with the proper support, but bush beans fit perfectly with no support needed. As the name indicates, these plants grow in a bush shape, so they won’t take over your whole bed.
Beans, peas, and other legumes also add nitrogen to the soil via nitrogen fixation. In short, this is a process in which legumes are able to convert nitrogen in the air into usable nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen becomes accessible to neighboring plants right away, and even more is added to the soil once the legume dies.
Planting bush beans, harvesting them as they’re ready, and then letting them complete their life cycle in the soil is an easy way to improve soil quality, if you’ve got the space.
Globe Amaranth
If you’re looking for another ornamental to add some visual interest to your garden, look no further than globe amaranth. This low-maintenance plant loves the sun and catches the eye with small, pom-pom-shaped globe flowers.
Gomphrena flowers are well-known for their cut flower capabilities. They’re beautiful when fresh in a vase, and they maintain their color when dried. You can grow globe amaranth in your garden, harvest and dry the flowers, and enjoy their color all through winter.
Globe amaranth flowers bloom in early summer and stay in bloom until the first frost. You can find them in purple, red, orange, and white. Check out ‘Lavender Lady’ if you love butterflies or ‘QIS Fiery Sunrise Blend’ for a mix of warm colors.
Rainbow Chard
Rainbow chard, like the seed mixes in ‘Five Color Silverbeet’ and ‘Celebration,’ usually refers to a mix of chard plants where the stems and veins are different colors. The result is bright and colorful, adding visual variety to your greens.
Like most greens, chard is a cool-weather crop, which means you can sow seeds and start growing early in the season. It’s perfect for that time of year when you’re excited to start gardening, but it’s still too cold.
Additionally, chard is very slow to bolt and may not bolt at all. Some other greens like spinach and bok choy are all but guaranteed to bolt and become unusable when the temperatures rise, but rainbow chard will simply slow down.
Dill
Dill is another tasty herb that dual-functions as a helpful companion plant. You’re sure to find use for it in the kitchen, whether you use it to make pickles or toss some freshly chopped dill onto a refreshing summer salad. Plus, the yummy fragrance of dill actually repels garden pests.
The plant will bolt in summer, but since it can tolerate temperatures as low as 25° Fahrenheit, you can plant dill early in spring. Enjoy the leaves while you can, and then dill’s yellow, umbel-shaped flowers will attract pollinators. The flowers are edible, too.
If you’re looking forward to big dill flowers, plant ‘Bouquet.’ Or if you prefer to harvest leaves late into the season, explore the ‘Tetra’ cultivar.
