Of course, you can also build your herb spiral out of stones - but wood is an equally suitable material, as it is reversible, in contrast to solid walls, and is therefore also suitable for rented gardens. In addition, wood fits into the garden very quickly and then looks like a component that has always been there.
A wooden herb spiral is best laid out in a square shape
Which types of wood are suitable for a herb spiral?
However, not all types of wood are suitable for building a herb spiral. Softwoods in particular, such as spruce or birch, are cheap to buy, but rot very quickly. For this reason, you should use the initially more expensive but much more weather-resistant types such as larch, Douglas fir, sweet chestnut or oak. The most weather-resistant wood in Central Europe is robinia, a very dense and heavy wood. Robinia wood is the first choice when it comes to buildings with direct contact with the ground. Wickerwork is also interesting for the construction of a herb spiral, but it requires special protection against moisture.
Wood protection against rotting
Wood rots very quickly if it is not processed properly, especially if it is exposed to external weather influences and constant moisture through direct contact with the ground. Various wood protection measures can prevent or slow down this process, both structurally and chemically. The boards used for the herb spiral should be lined with pond liner where they come into contact with the soil. On the other hand, coating with chemical wood preservatives should be avoided, because their toxic ingredients get into the herbs - and from there into your body.
Build, fill and plant a herb spiral out of wood
You can build a simple wooden herb spiral as follows:
- First, unpack the measured area about ten centimeters deep.
- Fill them with gravel and sand.
- A cone-shaped layer of building rubble is placed in the middle.
- Now insert boards or planks oiled with wood preservative glaze into the floor in a snail-shaped manner.
- The rubble cone should be right in the middle.
- Cover the boards with pond liner until they are later filled.
- Now fill in gravel, sand, gravel and substrate depending on the location.
- Finally, plant the spiral.
tips
A small pond or water trough is part of a complete herb spiral. However, this should be as far away from the wood as possible.