How to Build an Herb Spiral
There’s no practical reason to build a spiral-shaped raised bed for herbs, but why not?
This spring, thanks to COVID-19, most Americans find themselves stuck at home. If you’re fortunate enough to have a backyard, it’s a wonderful escape. But what to do with all your free time? Here’s an idea: Grow food. And while you’re at it, you may as well get creative.
Herb spirals were popularized decades ago by the permaculture movement, a subculture focused on communal living and self-sufficiency. There’s a vague notion about saving space (vertical growing!) and creating different ecological niches (south side for son-loving herbs, north side for those that like it a bit more shady and cool, such as mint). But the main appeal to permaculture hippies seems to be the groovy spiral design.
Preparation
You can easily have your own groovy spiral planter. Select a flat location that receives at least six hours of sun. In theory, an herb spiral can be as big as you want it, but typically they’re about 6 feet in diameter. Remove the existing vegetation or smother it with a layer of cardboard so that weeds and grass don’t grow up into the spiral later.
Materials
Bricks, cinder blocks and decorative concrete wall blocks have flat surfaces that make them easy to stack into a sturdy bed. Natural stone is also an option, although you may want to avoid it if you don’t have prior experience with stone masonry, as the irregular surfaces make it difficult to work with. You’ll also need bagged or bulk topsoil. Use the formula for the volume of a cone to determine how many cubic feet of soil you need: (π x R2 x H)/3. The height (H) is typically half the radius (R), although you can go up to the full radius if you want a steeper, more dramatic spiral.
Construction
If you want to get professional about it, spread a bed of paver sand or fine gravel as a base to help you stack the building materials perfectly level (not needed if you’re using natural stone). Otherwise, the finished product might look a little crooked and the blocks may settle unevenly, but this is only an aesthetic issue. Mark the shape of the spiral on the ground with spray paint or flour (three coils is good for a six-foot-diameter bed) and lay one row of stone or blocks along this path. Continue laying additional rows, making each one shorter than the last so that the bed slopes gradually upward as the spiral curls inward. Fill the bed with soil as you build it—no need to use mortar or cement, as the earth will hold the blocks/stone in place. Water thoroughly and then top off the soil after it has settled. Then you’re ready to plant.
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by Brian Barth, Modern Farmer
April 12, 2020
Modern Farmer Weekly
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Thank you for this tutorial but I am bound to point out that Permaculture is not a hippie” sub-culture. It is
A system of design principles using the whole ecosystem approach to agriculture. It’s more efficient and promotes a healthier way to grow food.
I suggest you read up on it before giving misguided information to your readers.
Hi, I would like to introduce my self. My name is Stewart, I am based in the UK. I follow the Modern Farmer for a number of years. The publication is very good. I grow up on a farm, I have run small holdings, self-sufficiency and followed many food growing techniques. We have been following the Permaculture system for many years. I would like to add my few pence worth. Permaculture, is not a hippie way of life. That’s the kind of phrase I would have heard, forty years ago, when I first started to study environmental, ecology. It is… Read more »
SON LOVING SHOULD BE SUN LOVING….IN HERB STORY
There are lots of practical reasons to build a spiral herb garden! you plant the plants so that the more sun loving and heat tolerating you plant on the top and south facing and vise versa for the more water and shade loving plants.
Yes, There is a practical reason for this! …you can fit much more in the same sq foot area as a traditional row garden.
how many stones did you use?