Do you want to enjoy fresh herbs throughout the season, but you don’t have a lot of garden space to spare? After all, there’s tomatoes, peppers, greens, onions, garlic, and a wealth of other vegetables taking up precious gardening space. However, you may need less space than you think to design what is called an herb spiral – a space-saving, microclimate-promoting garden bed especially good for growing your favorite herbs.
How to make an herb spiral
Permaculture is a set of principles that promotes self-sufficient food production through smart design considerations. An herb spiral is a good example of permacultural design. Essentially, an herb spiral is a garden bed compactly wrapped into itself. The center of the spiral is at a raised height, and it winds down to ground level. Different herbs can be planted in different parts of the spiral: the top, which will be warmer and drier than the bottom, should feature heat-loving herbs, and the bottom, shadier portions of the spiral can support those plants that enjoy cooler temperatures.
If you want to make your own herb spiral, check out these detailed instructions for more information.
Also very helpful are these two how-to videos for designing an herb spiral. Happy planting!