How To Build A Herb Spiral

A herb spiral is a clever garden trick to grow lots of varieties of herbs, each with different environmental needs (full sun, moist, dry, shade, etc.), in a minimal amount of space. It’s also a clever way to conserve water since each watering flows from the top of the spiral down to the herbs at the bottom, water reaching each of the plants effortlessy.

Today’s feature is a collection of resources that provide information on what a herb garden spiral is and how to build one.

The first is from Welcome To Voluntary Simplicity with How To Build A Herb Spiral:

Many people seem to be interested in herb spirals, and rightly so if done properly they need little maintenance and can keep you in herbs all year round. For me they encompass all manner of permaculture principles from how close to house you can get it to including a a small pond so frogs can do some of the slug hunting for you.

Basically the idea behind them is to get as many different herbs as possible in a confined area. The spiral and the subsequent height differences mean that you create a number of different environmental conditions which normally would not be possible in a small space. The small area also means that they are ideal for a small garden and harvesting and watering is easy.

The next resource is a video: How To Build Soil and an Herb Spiral

Video Summary:

• You can increase the planting space of a circle about 2 meters in diameter by raising the soil into a spiral which will give you about 9 meters of planting space.
• Keep size in mind when designing your herb spiral, everything should be easily reachable by hand. To start, take a rock and place it at arm’s length to the center, then build around.
• If you build the formation of the spiral with rocks then fill with dirt, the plants won’t get the nutrition that they need. Instead, do a sheet mulch which will provide nutrients and create soil that will break down over time.
• Herb spirals provide different microclimates and soil types for different types of plants. Top center will be a warm, dry and sunny area that is well drained. The bottom will be cool, wet and shady. Choose plants that are well suited to each part of the spiral.

The final resource is another video: Herb Spiral – Permaculture

Video Summary:

• As the spiral foundation, lay cardboard over compostable items (peels, veggies, etc.). The cardboard will break down eventually and the veggies left will have broken down and then add more nutrients to the soil inside the spiral. The cardboard also helps prevent grass from growing underneath and from across the yard.
• Sketch out the spiral design on the cardboard then start laying the bricks over the pattern.
• Do as much building as possible in the center as the center can be up to 4 ft high.
• Use straw to fill up the spiral then water well. The mulch will break down over time as well as do a good job of holding moisture.
• For each spot that will hold a plant, make a hole in the mulch and put one or two handfuls of soil in there. Plant the herb and water.

Very interesting stuff! You don’t need to build a huge spiral garden either, you can start with something small-ish near the kitchen door and just grow a handful of your favorite and most-used cooking herbs. You can also build spiral gardens filled with flowers instead of herbs or do a mixture of both.

Don't Miss These Tips:

• How To Make A One-Pot Indoor Herb Garden
• Diggin It: No Dig Gardening
• How to Build a $15 Compost Bin