Herb gardening in Zone 3b - Tips and tricks?

i live in what is essentially a big frost pocket, a quasi cooley/canyon between mountains, facing steep cliffs. My yard get pretty decent sun in a lot of places though, despite there being a few pine and fir trees around. I have to watch the soil under those trees, so it looks like we'll be gardening in patches this year (it's our first full growing season at this house). I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with herb gardens in this area, and if it's really possible to have it all outside. I feel like as long as I get a solid start on the seedlings, they should be fine up until around mid September.

What do you think - any suggestions for varieties that are particularly cold/frost hardy? I can't do anything too drastic to the landscape, as we're renting, but tips for planting in some mildly allopathic soil?

hi destiny! theres lots of herbs that grow in your zone . just some are annuals instead of perennials. start them indoors first so you get more growing season. or start them in plastic hoop tunnels to give them a boost. raised beds work good too. the soil warms quicker in raised beds. also you can control what you have for soil to start. where as it takes time to amend soil thats never been gardened.

steve bossie wrote:hi destiny! theres lots of herbs that grow in your zone . just some are annuals instead of perennials. start them indoors first so you get more growing season. or start them in plastic hoop tunnels to give them a boost. raised beds work good too. the soil warms quicker in raised beds. also you can control what you have for soil to start. where as it takes time to amend soil thats never been gardened.

Thank you Steve! Normally we would do hugel beds since it gets so dry here in the summer, but we're renting, and it's quite a pain to take them out when you move (ask me how I know that). I'm curious, I've never done raised beds without hugelkultur - do they dry out quite a lot faster than if you just plant directly into the ground? I worry about soil erosion as well. I'm working on a seed starting/chick brooding room in my house right now actually, where we'll be starting the herbs, then moving them into the greenhouse by May, then planting in June.

funny how you mention hugelkulture. i make my raised beds out of cedar wood 18in. high. i fill in the bottom w/ cardboard about 1/2in. then i add 6in of branches from 1/2in. to 3in. i fill in between w/ a good compost. on top of that fill in with soil you want. the wood holds your water for you while it decomposes. eventually the wood rots and makes new soil for you. should be great for your area. its kinda like a mini hugel bed!