The name of the site, the herb spiral, comes from the fact that I have, a number of times in the past, used the herb spiral as a means of quickly getting my herb garden re-established.

My life has involved my moving location from time to time and, consequently, each time, I have had a need to quickly get my herb garden up and going again. The herb spiral has served this purpose well. It is extremely efficient in terms of the amount of product you get for a given area and, because the soil is built up and contained in the way described, drainage is effective, which is essential for growing herbs.

Last spring was a case in point and we recorded our herb growing activities. Of course the spiral can contain vegies as well, there aren't any rules about what you can plant. Having said that, it it wise to keep herbs such as mint and oregano away from the spiral (you'll note there is none in ours) as their roots are somewhat invasive, and can take over. Also the fennel wasn't a good idea, it's best kept separate, for a number of reasons.

Another great thing about the spiral is that, once each herb is established you can easily transplant it (you don't have to) to a more desirable spot in the garden by simply carefully removing a brick and scooping it out, with roots and soil undisturbed, with a flat spade. I have successfully transplanted herbs they say are hard to transplant, like fennel, dill and coriander, this way.

Anyway, read about my herb spiral and see if it suits your purpose, particularly if you want to get a herb garden up and going quickly from scratch. The links to the right will give you more growing tips on each herb bearing in mind that my own experience is influenced by the fact that I live in a part of the world with virtually no winter and, therefore, I have less first hand experience of wintering procedures.

Ian