Grow your own

Here is a compact and attractive way to grow up to 50 herbs - Create a Permaculture herb spiral and plant herbs and medicinal flowers

I collected all the used bricks and gravel I could get my hands on to construct the base of my herb spiral. I purchased the curved planter stones for the visible level because I like beauty as well as function, but all of the hidden structure is recycled material from remodels.

Here is the initial photo, with a few key plants in place. Check back in late Spring for progress photos.

Key features:

• Oriented N-S, with the back to the north and the front getting winter sun, the right side getting morning sun.

• Place Mediterranean plants at the top and front, and hardy temperate plants at the back.

• The water feature is an in-ground plastic garden tub with a small solar powered pump that keeps it circulating. Waterlilies and mosquito fish to come

• The soda bottle is connected to a thin soaker hose and is used for fertilizing with worm compost tea. I have rain barrels nearby. You can also have a sprinkler up the center and a circular rainfall spray.

• The base is cardboard, gravel, garden cuttings and wood chips, then compost, then layers of coffee grounds, soil and mulch.

My thanks to the following web sites for excellent how-to information:

• How to build a Really Fine Herb Spiral!

• Balcony Garden Web

• How to build a herb spiral

• Maps of what to plant from Pinterest - Map 1, Map 2

• Permaculture principles of a herb spiral

Check these pages for more Grow Your Own ideas: