15 reasons to build an herb spiral for your garden (By Jean Bardot, Natural News)
Whether you’re a city mouse or a country mouse — with a high-rise patio or 1000 acres — building an herb spiral near your kitchen allows you to partake in the sustainable permaculture revolution and have fresh organic culinary herbs at your fingertips. An herb spiral is a compact vertical garden built on specific principles allowing for individualized management of wind and water flow to create the ideal garden in a limited amount of space.
The spiral is a natural form that provides an efficient method for managing space, storing and sorting. Using the natural universal design of a spiral, the forces of gravity and water flow are utilized to their fullest allowing for proper drainage downhill. Herbs that thrive on drier soils live at the top, whereas those needing more moisture reside at the bottom where water collects. This form allows for planting of a widely diverse number of plants, and creates natural, sunny and shady areas — a perfect miniature microclimate landscape environment. The herb spiral as a permaculture form that allows you to create your own ecosystem and become self sufficient. The format can be adapted to large gardens if space is available.
Stone or block building materials allow for retention of heat and insulate plants in colder weather or at night, while acting as the backbone for the structure. Collect water at the bottom and have a small fish or frog pond or even a bog and grow edible water plants. An herb spiral can be built even on a concrete foundation and filled with the richest biodynamic, organic earth to support any plants included.
The spiral should always be built to move in the direction of water drainage in whatever hemisphere it’s located in — for example, in the Northern hemisphere, water runs off in a clockwise direction and the opposite is true for the Southern hemisphere. This allows for optimal positioning of the pond at the bottom and reduces evaporation. The spiral can be built as a round or oval shape to take advantage of the movement of summer sunlight.
15 REASONS TO BUILD AN HERB SPIRAL FOR YOUR PERMACULTURE GARDEN
1. Maximize growing space to grow more food.
2. Multiple microclimates available for optimal plant growth.
3. Healthier plants where growing needs are met and companion planting is easy to reduce insect problems and foster beneficial plant relationships for better growth.
4. Aesthetic garden focal point.
5. Maximizes space even in very small areas on top of concrete or in high-rise buildings.
6. Harvesting access is easy and all plants are effortlessly accessible.
7. No bending, everything is at waist height — hooray!
8. Save money by growing your own food.
9. Eat organic, using heirloom seeds and avoid pesticides and genetically engineered seeds.
10. Reduces maintenance, little weeding and easy to turn and mulch.
11. Manage water amounts and use natural forces to perpetuate the growing season.
12. Reduce building costs when you use local available materials.
13. Use drip irrigation or a small sprinkler for easy watering and irrigation.
14. Create a bio-diverse habitat for creatures who come to visit.
15. Build an herb spiral to grow medicinal herbs to avoid Big Pharm drugs.
