Planting Catnip
Catnip is a cool season herb in the Lamiaceae family. Getting the timing right is the difference between a strong stand and a disappointing one, so the windows below are given relative to your own last spring frost and first fall frost rather than a generic calendar date. Look up your local frost dates and count back or forward from there.
Catnip is started indoors 6–8 weeks before your last spring frost date, giving seedlings a head start before they move outside.
You can sow Catnip directly into the garden 0–2 weeks before your last frost.
Catnip can be grown by direct sowing and starting indoors. Starting indoors gives the longest, most controlled season, while direct sowing is simplest where the season is long enough.
Spacing and Planting Depth
Give Catnip room to mature. The figures below come from verified extension and seed-supplier data for typical varieties.
| Spacing in row | 18 inches |
|---|---|
| Row spacing | 24 inches |
| Plants per sq ft | 0.33 |
| Planting depth | 0.125 inches |
| Sun requirement | Full sun |
Days to Maturity
Catnip reaches maturity in 70–90 days from transplant.
Catnip is ready to harvest after about 80 days. Harvest before summer heat or, for fall crops, before a hard freeze, to keep quality high.
Conditions and Care
As a cool-season herb, Catnip does its best growing in the cooler weather of spring and fall and tends to bolt or turn bitter in summer heat. It is frost hardy and can shrug off light freezes, so it can stay in the ground later into the season than tender crops.
Catnip needs full sun — give it at least six hours of direct light a day for the best growth and flavor. Sow seed about 0.125 inches deep — small seed is sown shallow and barely covered, then keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings establish.
Catnip belongs to the Lamiaceae family; rotating where you grow members of this family each year helps limit the build-up of soil-borne pests and disease. Catnip is generally grown as a single planting each season rather than succession sown.
Growing Notes
Perennial; can deter some pests but attracts cats.