Field stones are not only a material that is particularly cheap to obtain, they also offer small animals such as beetles, lizards or slowworms a comfortable shelter between the stones. You can also build in an insect roost for wild bees and bumblebees, for example by inserting one or two thick pieces of wood that have been drilled into the spiral. However, such should not have a north-south orientation, but should point east to south.

Field stones are a good basis for the herb spiral

material

Of course, to build a herb spiral out of field stones, you primarily need field stones. You can often get these free of charge from farmers, who have to collect the fields anyway before plowing in summer or spring (depending on the crops grown). Just ask for it - and get help and a sufficiently large transporter, because boulders are very heavy. Do not choose too small, but also not very large specimens: Ideally, these should start at about the size of a man's fist and be easy to transport. You will also need for the layering of the mound:

  • gravel
  • rubble
  • Stone debris (e.g. broken bricks)
  • smaller boulders
  • Sand gravel
  • mature compost
  • as well as various plant substrates from nutrient-poor to nutrient-rich

building instructions

And this is how the fieldstone spiral is built:

  • Using a wooden stake, string and stick, mark the outline of the herb spiral.
  • ideally, the herb spiral is about two meters in diameter and 60 centimeters high.
  • Now dig out the top layer of soil to the depth of a spade.
  • First heap up the remains of stone and rubble to form a mound about 50 centimeters high.
  • This is followed by a first layer of earth, which consists of the removed topsoil.
  • However, the turf and other plant and root remains should be removed.
  • The shaping stones are laid spirally around this hill.
  • The now delimited bed area is filled with different substrate with a layer thickness of 15 to 25 centimeters.
  • Starting from below, good garden soil mixed with compost is first applied to the lower zone.
  • Pure, humus-rich garden soil is placed in the middle zone
  • and at the top a mixture of sand and poor earth.

The gaps between the individual stones should be well filled, for example with sand or pieces of wood. The herb spiral can then be planted.

tips

If you want to build a very large herb spiral, you can place some flat field stones in the outer area as stepping stones. This will make it easier for you to access the herb bed later.

Category:

Garden design