Re: permaculture digest: June 17, 2000

["Ava Devenport" <essenheal@iname.com>]

On 06/18/00, "rick valley <bamboogrove@cmug.com>" wrote:

> Herb Spirals: I agree with Toby- a usually very poorly executed idea! Nasty= ,
> weedy heaps studded with obstacles....
> -Rick


Rick:

I don't want to seem totally naive, but exactly what is an herb spiral?

I cultivate my herbs in what I call a back-door garden which consists of a 
mound.  The tallest plants on top (fennel) and then I progress downward and 
around dependant upon the height and the sun/shade requirements of each 
plant.  I also disperse some breakfast radish, heirloom butter lettuce, 
mesclun, swedish kale and corn salad within my bed.  The radish is ready in 
25 days and I replant those beds (2) with another crop of kale and lettuce, 
which are harvestable in 65 days.  I love working in the mound, everything 
is easily accessible and I never have to bend over, except to plant.  All 
the soil from my sunken beds make up the mound.  I use sunken beds for a 
variety of reasons, the 2 main ones being wind and water.  Some of the soil 
I dig out goes around the exterior to protect the plants, whatever is 
leftover goes to the mound.  It all works very well for me.

Blessings,
Ava