Soon I'll be moving out to a house with a small garden (So far Ive only had plants in my balcony)!!!! Im planning on doing a herb spiral I hope its not too difficult for a begginerish. Do youve any tips?
I think herb spiral will be perfect and beautiful for your small garden! i think you absolutely can do no wrong there because no matter how you make it, the plants will locate some soil, put their roots trough and grow and be beautiful and delicious. I've never made one so I can't give you tips, but I've seen other people do them, the only problem they had was random weeds making themselves look like herbs, competing with their plants. Or some herbs growing so big they needed trimming because they were competing with other plants too much.
Good luck with your herb spiral and give us updates! And for those who didn't know what herb spiral is, here's some pictures:
If you plant your herbs like this, you can plant more of them in smaller amount of space, limit how much space they're allowed to take, add diversity to your gardening space and make it easier on yourself when you're trying to harvest them - less leaning down if they're high up in the spiral. They're also very beautiful. It's like a whimsical little raised garden.
Finally built our herb spiral, which was a lot of lugging of big rocks but definitely worth it, so happy with how it turned out, I still need to get a few more herbs to plant up, and I'm going to eventually have them all in the coco liners (except mint, as it goes crazy) because they rot down but I'm leaving things in pots now so I can move them around to see where they thrive
[ID: An illustration of an herb spiral. The spiral is a clockwise circle outlined in stones with plants in four colored regions. The top region is red, with Rosemary, Thyme, and Oregano. The east section is orange, with Parsley and Chives. The southeast region is yellow, and holds Basil, Lavender, and Sage. The northern region is blue, and holds Cilantro and Dill. The spiral ends in a Frog Pond. Text to the right of the image reads as follows. Mediterranean Top (in red): Windy and Sunny; Susceptible to drying out; Great for Mediterraneans. Delicate East (in orange): Exposed to gentle morning sun; Ideal for delicate plants. Sunny Southeast (in yellow): A great home for your Sun-lovers. Low North (in blue): For shade and moisture preferring plants; A great opportunity to flow your spiral into a small pond. End ID.]
I've decided in 2022 that I'd like to have some practice in making permaculture structures and taking care of a garden that isn't scattered between indoor containers. I've had some small luck with a homemade raised bed in 2020, but this year I have access to a larger raised bed that's already constructed for me.
This post will have detailed image descriptions, as there is technical information in the diagrams and notes I've included.
[ID: a pencil diagram on lined paper of an herb spiral. The ruled lines are vertical on the page, and the metal spiral binding of the notebook is at the top of the image. The four sides of the garden are labeled with the cardinal directions, with South at the top. Clockwise from the top, the plants are Thyme?, Rosemary, Oregano, Mint, Chamomile, Chives, Lavender, Calendula, Sage, and Basil. A panel labeled "25 inches" extends vertically from the top center of the garden bed into the middle, dividing the top and bottom of the spiral. A panel on the top right of the bed is labeled "30.5 inches," a panel on the right of the bed is labeled "50 inches," and a panel covering the bottom three quarters of the bed is labeled "69 inches." End ID.]
Essentially, I've settled on a rectangular half-spiral that works with the fence already in place around the bed. I'll be detailing my research with photos and my notes under the cut!
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
So, what do I need to consider when making my herb garden?
I'm in a small space. I am in an apartment, and we're lucky enough to have access to a shared backyard. I've already gotten permission from my landlord to use the raised bed, along with some bricks left behind in it.
I'm in an arid, high-altitude climate. I was raised in the Northeast, and my mother's gardening advice is for that climate. I'll need to make sure I'm careful with my plant research.
I'm on a budget. I'm trying not to spend tooooo too much money on this project. My roommate's hardware store discount will help!
I'm disabled. I'm a spoonie, and some days I do need my cane to walk. I want to be able to access my herbs easily and safely, but I also need to be cognizant of what I'm capable of when building the bed. I will likely have help from my partner, and possibly my roommate.
I have limited free time. I do work from home, which is a massive boon to my personal projects this year. However, it's a full-time job, and I'm still responsible for the pets during the day, along with feeding myself, and any applicable chores around the home. I need to have a solid timeline to approach this project and get the plants in the ground on time.
SOURCES
I reviewed several YouTube videos and blog posts (which is so much, I know). I'll go into more detail on what I learned from each video, but here's who I consulted:
Work With Nature - How to Grow Food!: This is how You build a Herb Spiral! A charming video by a German permaculture group. They had a group of six or so people working on this structure, which is the only one I've included here to add the frog pond option!
GrowOrganic Peaceful Valley: DIY Herb Spiral. This nice lady has a large garden in California, and two "strong young people" to help her build her spiral. The website for this farm indicates there are over 60 staff members at the company at peak.
The Citystead: Herb Spiral | Urban Permaculture. Gives "stay at home dad vibes" according to my roommate. He gave me the idea to do a rectangular half-spiral in a raised bed. Don't let your mint go like that though, sir!
Heirloom Permaculture & Preparedness: Why A Permaculture Herb Spiral? | Micro Climate Gardening. This lady actually already built her herb spiral a while ago, and maintains it after some neglect in this video. Has mint woes 3: Emphasizes the micro climates created by an herb spiral.
RESULTS
Here are my conclusions thus far:
[Image Description: a photo of a lined spiral notebook. The page is titled "Herb Spiral: What did I learn?" End ID.]
The spiral will need to settle for two months after it is built. I caught this from the GrowOrganic video, and this actually works well for my timeline. I can plan the bed and gather materials in February, build the bed and start my seeds indoor in March, and have the bed ready for planting after the last frost date in May.
Cardboard on the bottom of raised beds. From the Citystead video. To keep weeds out and support healthy soil development. I'm not sure if I can pull this off, since I'll need to dig out all the existing soil to get to the bottom of the raised bed as it stands right now, but it's good to know.
Layers of soil & coarse stones to encourage drainage. This came from several videos, but essentially, to both cut down on the amount of soil and compost I'll have to use, and to make sure the spiral drains properly, I'll need to add some coarse gravel and large stones. This will also help the spiral keep its structure. The top of the spiral, where the Mediterranean plants grow, also should have some sand and compost mixed in.
Can make a rectangular spiral with wood (or bricks). This is really the entire conclusion of the Citystead video: you can modify the structure as needed for your space, especially if you don't have several people to help move the rocks a larger structure necessitates. I'm still going to try to hit the three foot height recommended by the Work With Nature video and other sources, as detailed a bit below.
Mint needs to go in its own pot or it can take over the spiral. Two of the four videos I watched included gardeners bemoaning what mint can do once it gets loose. The Heirloom Permaculture video's spiral had been almost entirely overtaken by the mint! Mint spreads via its roots, so even embedding the pot in the bed is risky, but I'm honestly only going to be in this apartment for a year or two and can let the next tenants tackle the mint ;) Plus, like my roommate said: I don't see how more mojito supplies are a problem!
6' square & 3' tall is optimal size. As I said above, this came from the Work With Nature video, and was reiterated in the Heirloom Permaculture video. You want your spiral to be large enough that the appropriate micro climates form, as each of these herbs thrive in different conditions.
Half-spiral or curve can also work. This is mostly a restatement of the fourth point, but the traditional structure isn't required! This project is partially an experiment on how well this method of making an herb spiral will go, hence the documentation.
PLANT RESEARCH
But wait! That's not all the research we'll need to make this garden successful! We need to hear about... the plants!
[ID: a small lined notebook with a messy list handwritten in pen. It is titled "Plants to Grow This Year" in all caps. Below the title to the right, a note reads, "Start indoor, transplant after frost." Several plants are listed, but those selected with a star and underline are: Oregano, Basil, Rosemary, Sage, Calendula (which is crossed out, then circled), Mint, Chives, and Chamomile. Those not selected are Nasturtium, Yarrow, Peppermint, and Roses. Below the list in all caps reads "Last Expected Frost," with some information scribbled out, then the words "Late April / Early May?" The latter date is circled. Below that reads, "Around May 5th: Tomatoes in Ground after no frost...; Around March 10th: Onions & potatoes." Below reads "Herb Spiral" in all caps, with some descriptions scribbled out. End ID.]
I looked at several lists of herbs to include in spirals, then narrowed my list to what I was familiar with and comfortable starting. I left off Nasturtium, Yarrow, Peppermint, and Roses for either being unfamiliar, a duplicate, or more complicated than I wanted to get into. I did originally have some plans for tomatoes, onions, and potatoes, but decided to focus just on herbs this year.
I'm not including screenshots to keep a handle on the amount of images, but I found an app for Android called Planter that allows me to track the best indoor start dates and transplant dates for the herbs I want to put in my garden. It was fairly simple to manually add the Calendula flowers, and according to that app and my own research, all my plants can be started indoors between March and April, then transplanted in early to late May.
I've started herbs indoors before, and usually keep in containers or transfer to a larger outdoor pot, so starting my seeds indoors this year should be simple! I already have all the seeds, and have been collecting paper towel and toilet paper rolls to use at the very beginning. Plus, we already have grow lights from past indoor gardening experiments.
BED STRUCTURE
So, with an idea of what plants I want to grow, I need to figure out where to put them. The second image in this post shows my finished plan, but how'd I get there?
[ID: A small ruled notebook with notes and diagrams. The top reads "Garden Notes" in all caps. There is a numbered list, where the numbers correspond with raised beds in a diagram of a backyard below the list. The diagram is labeled with the cardinal directions, with North at the top. Bed #1 is the small back bed, and has a length of 8 feet and 2 inches, a width of 1 foot and 1 inch, and a depth of about 19 inches. Bed #2 is the large left front bed, and has a length of 69 inches, a width of 50 inches, and a depth of about 6 inches. Bed #3 is the large right front bed, and has a length of 84 inches, a width of 50 inches, and a depth of about 6 inches. The bottom diagram is of Bed #2. It is split into four equal sections, each measuring 34.5 inches by 25 inches. End ID.]
I went into the backyard and measured the available raised beds. The one best suited to my needs is about 5.75 feet by 4.2 feet, labeled Bed #2 in my diagram. Beds 2 and 3 are technically the same bed, but there is a wooden divider between the two halves. The back of my yard is north, and the house is on the southern side. Originally, I was going to have the highest point of the spiral in the upper left quadrant, but I determined that makes the most sense for the sunny east portion of the spiral.
[ID: a spiral lined notebook. The text at the top reads, "Need: 2 x 4 in lengths: 25 inches, 30.5 inches, 50 inches, 51.75 inches." There is some scribbled addition on the side. The bottom diagram shows Bed #2, with wooden walls segmenting the top three sides of the upper right quadrant. The middle and right wall are labeled "2 feet;" the top wall is labeled "2.5 feet." A shape that looks like a curved teardrop begins with its widest point in the upper right quadrant, then curves and thins clockwise into the lower left quadrant. The teardrop is labeled "Gravel & Bricks/rocks." End ID.]
Now, this is subject to change as I think about lighting/temperatures and get a hold of actual materials, as with all projects. I think what I'm going to end up doing is building a mound of gravel, rocks, wood, and food scraps like the teardrop shape in the diagram above, using more stones and bricks to build up the rightmost wall, and use wood for the middle and top dividers. Then, I'll fill in with dirt.
[ID: a drawing in a lined spiral notebook. Text at the top reads: "A: 24" = 2'; B: 11.5" = <1'." There are other figures and math scribbled on the side. The top drawing is of a garden bed from the side. To the right of the drawing, a bracket extends vertically from the top to the bottom, and is labeled "A." A second bracket to the left of the first extends vertically from the top to halfway down the bed, where the fence ends, labeled "B." A third bracket in the center of the bed, labeled "C," is also labeled "2.5 feet." The second image below is a three-quarter view cross-section of Bed B. There is a 3D rendering of a wooden panel in the center, labeled "25" x 24" x 2" ~ 2' x 2' x 2"." The bed has dirt sloping down from the center, clockwise down to the left side. There are scribbled lines to the right of the bed that indicate where bricks and rocks will go to hold the dirt in place. There is math on the bottom. End ID.]
This is a very rough drawing of what I'm going for in 3D. I doubt it will actually come out this neat, but that's what I think I can pull off.
[ID: an image of a lined spiral notebook. There is a drawing of a wooden panel, labeled "3'" on its left and right sides and 25" on its top. Columns are sectioned off on its left and right sides, each labeled "4 inches" at the top. Each ruled line represents one 2x4 section, and 6 of the 8 reserved lines are filled in. A table to the right of the drawing has a column for # and a column for Size, indicating there are 2 sections at 3' x 2" x 4" and 7 sections at 25" x 2 " x 4" needed. There is math scribbled below and tally marks that determine that 4 ten foot 2x4s are needed. End ID.]
The actual bed walls will be put together by cutting and assembling some 2x4s into the panels needed. I added the lengths I needed together, then determined how many ten foot 2x4s that worked out to be. Two panels of the size in the above image means four planks!
ROUGH MATERIAL LIST
But what will I need to do that?!?! Here's what I'm thinking so far. Items indicated with a * are items I already own. This material list is only for the bed, since I have seeds and materials to start them with already, save the soil.
Wheelbarrow
Shovel*
Kneepads*
Trowel*
Sturdy clothes, shoes, and hat*
25 cubic feet of bed materials total: 13 cu ft dirt, 8 cu ft wood, 9 cu ft gravel
Seed starting mix
Wooden panels measuring 25" x 30 " x 2" and 30" x 30" x 2", which can be made from 4 10' 2x4s.
Wood saw*
Electric screwdriver*
Wood screws
Bricks & stones currently in garden*
Watering can*
Compost and appropriate food scraps
Tarp*
So that's pretty good news for my budget. I've estimated the dirt/bed materials will cost me around $90 with my roommate's hardware store discount, plus another $10-$20 for the wood and screws. The wheelbarrow will be expensive for an item I'll likely only use a bit, so I'm considering whether or not that's necessary.
And that's where I'm at right now! I have a materials list and a plan! I'm going to be keeping this blog updated semi-regularly under the tag "#herb spiral adventure 2k22" for my own ability to look back on this project, but also in case anyone else is looking to do something similar in an urban garden.
Today's progress on my herb spiral. Transplanted my herbs that were being choked in their pots; hopefully that rosemary revives. Between top pink flags are cilantro seeds, and between the bottom are bunching onion.
All herbs were collected from my personal gardens, friends’ gardens, or or from my neighborhood. Much of this material was pruned from perennial herbs or trees, which ultimately allowed for new, vigorous growth. The only plants that were seriously harmed (killed) for this project were annual “weeds”.
Herbs were arranged in the exhibition space to demonstrate the drying process. The combined aroma of the variety of plant compounds effectively diffused throughout the gallery, thus influencing the experience of visitors.
