Herb spiral
The herb spiral or herb snail is a three-dimensional bed in which culinary herbs are grown. The herb spiral is an example of permaculture design . Due to its structure, it enables the location requirements of plants from different climatic zones to be met in the smallest of spaces.
construction
The spiral winds around a pile of stones and rises continuously. The filled soil is increasingly mixed with sand towards the top to make it more permeable.
Seen from below, the herb spiral begins with a small pond on the south side. This creates a humid microclimate. The watercress grows very well here.
The middle part is called the normal zone. The soil here corresponds to typical Central European growth conditions in that it is also still humus, but more permeable than in the wet zone. There are also areas here that are in partial shade. Plants that grow well here are e.g. B. parsley , coriander , tarragon , caraway , oregano or basil .
The upper part of the spiral forms a dry zone. The soil is well drained and poor. The inner structure of the herb spiral ensures good drainage. These are ideal conditions for numerous culinary herbs from the Mediterranean region, such as sage , thyme or lavender .
The transition between these zones is fluid, so that a wide range of growing conditions is covered.
If you want to do something for ecological pest control and at the same time support the pollination of the flowers, you have the option of creating a species-appropriate habitat for animals through the targeted use of nesting aids. A well-known problem is that they have less and less natural habitat available due to the consumption of landscape.
The niche breeder cave is very popular with niche and half-cave breeders. The domestic cat, marten or magpie endanger the population of, for example, the wren and the common redstart. There is a great deal that can be done to protect these songbirds by using caves with predatory protection.
The insect nesting box, placed in the south side of the spiral, offers a habitat for hymenoptera such as wild bees and digger wasps. They are very warmth-loving and will gratefully accept this location. Settling these insects in the garden has the side effect that they regulate the population of "harmful insects" and are important for the ecological balance of the garden. Another effective pest controller, the shrew, is housed in the small mammal rock. Here it is not necessary to pay attention to the orientation towards a certain direction.
For the hedgehog that eats caterpillars and snails you can do something with the installation of a hedgehog den. In the great outdoors he likes to live in hollow tree stumps or in piles of leaves, which he does not often find in the neatly trimmed garden world of our properties.
history
The herb spiral goes back to the Australian Bill Mollison , who received the Right Livelihood Award in 1981 for his concept of permaculture . In the same year he described in a lecture how he invented the herb spiral in 1978 and was inspired by the sand patterns of the Aborigines . In his book Permaculture: A Designers' Manual , published in 1988 , he went into detail on the universal presence of the symbolic spiral shape in nature and in various primitive peoples and added a drawing of his herb spiral. Of all the elements of permaculture, the herb spiral was particularly successful from the start. Countless professional and hobby gardeners around the world have copied it, and it can also be seen again and again at garden shows and in model gardens.
See also
literature
- Erckenbrecht, Irmela: The herb spiral - construction instructions, herb portraits, recipes ISBN 978-3-89566-190-7
- Erckenbrecht, Irmela: How do I build a herb spiral? Gardening Practice Guide ISBN 978-3-89566-220-1
- Erckenbrecht, Irmela: New ideas for the herb spiral - themed spirals, design proposals, variations ISBN 978-3-89566-240-9
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The herb spiral - an element of permaculture . Special issue “News from Permaculture”, messages from the Permaculture Institute eV, Steyerberg. April 1991.
- ^ Mollison, Bill: Permaculture: A Designers' Manual . Tagari Publications, 1988, ISBN 0-908228-01-5 (Eng.)