Dog Owner Guides | Grow your own Dog Friendly Herb Garden
Whether you have a large garden space, a small outdoor plot, or just a windowsill, you can grow a herb garden that both you and your dog can enjoy. We’ve selected our favourite dog friendly herbs below. Most of these plants are simple to grow and inexpensive to boot. Even better, many can double as home remedies for you as well
Milk Thistle
Known for its healing benefits to the liver, milk thistle is a great choice for a pet herb garden. One of the lesser-known benefits is that it is very calming for your dog’s temper.
Lemon balm
This hardy perennial that prefers moist soil. It’s great for senior pets because it strengthens memory and vitality. Lemon Balm can also calm the nervous system and soothe the stomach ailments of highly anxious dogs.
Peppermint
Easy to grow, but be warned it can take over if you give it the chance. While peppermint will help your dog with nausea and indigestion, it is also great for freshening breath, relieving toothaches, and soothing insect bites.
Parsley
Super rich in minerals, helps ward off diseases through maintenance of pH levels, it’s great for digestion and fantastic help to the bladder and kidneys.
Basil
Basil is an anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant, known for being rich in rich in essential vitamins, minerals, phyto-nutrients, electrolytes and oils.
Thyme
Thyme is an antioxidant and its primary ingredient, thymol, helps inhibit fungal and bacterial growth.
Chamomile
When made into a tea in can help with teething pain in puppies, and can ease young dog’s anxiety and nervousness during the adolescent stage. When your pup is older it can also help them with any sleep or digestive issues.
Fennel
Known to be incredibly good for digestion. The seeds are especially good for this and for getting rid of intestinal parasites. You can even add the whole plant to your dog’s meals to help with overall health
Tips on Growing Herbs at Home
When choosing your pots, what's most important is that they provide enough drainage. Any pot or planter you use must let excess water escape, which is why most planting container bottoms have holes in them.
When it's time to plant, use potting soil and not garden soil. Potting soil drains water more effectively. The former is lighter and porous, while the latter is dense and traps (or blocks) moisture inside containers.
Unless you're an experienced gardener, use starter plants for your herbs. This will save you two to three weeks of growth time and increase your chances of a successful harvest.
Harvesting Your Herbs
It’s best to harvest your herbs in the early morning, when the essential oils are at their most abundant. Try not to pick all of your herb’s bigger leaves right away, as they act as the plant’s power station. Take a mixture of small, new leaves, and big older ones when you go picking.
