Herb Spiral - permaculture

[GeekAngelsEU]

No evidence from me,I was using common sense, I rely a lot on that. I was just thinking that generally speaking ink impregnated cardboard is not up there high on my ' consume ' list. It is a observation not a slam. The design and practicality of your spiral is excellent and attractive to the eye.

[tiowey]

evidence?

[GeekAngelsEU]

I am not so keen on using ink impregnated cardboard for this kind of job. Its qualites as shown are excellent but surely its chemicals will leech

[tiowey]

@GeekAngelsEU evidence of harm?

[jammatoonarmy]

was it built completely by eye, or is the spiral built to geometric dimensions?

[tiowey]

@jammatoonarmy by eye, but please build something large enough to require architectural scale planning

[demerc]

Don't the plants sink in the higher areas, after the straw settles?

[tiowey]

@demerc yes, it must be maintained, and eventually the plants will outgrow the soil alloted for them, and straw, while great for temperature and moisture control does not have adequate nutrition to allow plants to provide as much produce as they could. It depends on how hard core you want to get with it. you can fill it all full of soil if you want and get more than you could if it was just flat, (i would think, although i have admittedly never done it)

[Kazzzzzo]

Nice, but I miss the soil on top of the moulch ;-(

[chyrd]

so this is made strictly with straw and very little compost/soil just around each plant?

[tiowey]

@chyrd I prefer to put a lot of soil to make sure it has the nutrients it needs. but if you want to fill a lot of garden space and don't feel like buying a million dollar worth of plants, it is and easy way to get a pretty gardening lawn presence in an afternoon, if you have a bunch of bricks, stones, or safe garbage.

[Jefferdaughter]

We recently learned that the rejected bits of fleece from the shearing of sheep, alpacas, llamas etc - the parts that are too coarse and/or too dirty to use for spinning or felt - makes great mulch. It does a good job of supressing weeds, allows the soil to 'brethe', lets water through, and is excellent for protecting soil from extreme swings in temperature. Some like to use a layer of a more traditional mulch on top, for appearance.

[tiowey]

@Jefferdaughter that's a great idea, I can't wait to try it!

[crisolsan]

GREAT VIDEO. PLEASE ESPREAD THE IT

[tabletopphoto]

And straw as a growing medium doesn't create deficiencies?

[tiowey]

@tabletopphoto i like to use more soil and organic fertilizers

[Jefferdaughter]

Tiowey - thankf for the reply. I am not aware of any specific research - but was merely asking if anyone readling this knew whether chemical residues from the cardboard and paper were present.

I am aware that they are often used in gardening - and aware that significant amounts of non-environmentally friendly chemicals ARE used in the manufacture of paper and cardboard.

Thanks again for a great demo vid.

[Peripatetic1618]

look up the Kraft paper pulp process and the bleaching process of paper.

[711shamonkey]

@Jefferdaughter plain cardboard and newspaper have unfriendly chemicals? I wouldn't be surprised, but please do share your source of information. thank you!

[Jefferdaughter]

@711shamonkey - As Peripatetic says, info is readily available on the chemical- intensive process of making cardboard and paper from trees. (Much more chemical intensive than making paper from plants like cotton or hemp - great for the chemical companies but hard on the environment.) I have not seen data on how much of this is left in the paper & cardboard.

[Jefferdaughter]

How 'organic' is the cardboard? In other words, does it have chemical residues that we may not want to be taken up by plants that we eat?

[tiowey]

the use of (not shiny or very colorful) cardboard and paper are a common practice in gardening, whatever leftover residues that are not broken down by the microbes or plants i think are negligible, but feel free to present research that says otherwise

[MrNobodyNothing]

@Jefferdaughter

Hoe organic is your momma?

[tiowey]

@MrNobodyNothing she decomposes, and is made of organic compounds

[tiowey]

@Jefferdaughter please show evidence of harm

[allymetoo]

Excellent Idea.

[tezcatlipoca17]

what do you do before you put the cardboard down?

[tiowey]

put down kitchen scraps and water the area

[RonPaulHopeForUSA]

I would love to see a video of what that herb garden looks like now!

[tiowey]

weirdly enough it get's continually dismantled and reassembled for education purposes, like that temple in China

[88simran]

have you played with EM-1(effective microorganisms) and bokashi to increase microbial activity and nutrient breakdown/availability

[garthmarenghii]

sweet

[soulrebel888]

Im trying to get some of the locals in rural china to get some of these, and the next season i plan to make. But can someone tell me some of the benifits, oint for point.

[tiowey]

@soulrebel888 it is a way to get the benefits of terracing towards the sun on a flat surface. it allows for a variety of plants based on sun needs. If one is making an herb garden primarily for looks and buys plants instead of growing them from seed, it is a quick way to have a pretty garden in an afternoon. it's a fun reason to get the family or friends or neighborhood together, it looks nice. if made of hard enough soil, water distribution gets interesting

[precisionbones]

nice

[BEACHSURF]

SPELLING MISTAKE : Spirial?!

[tiowey]

this spiral is rial herby! (thanks)

[tiowey]

@BEACHSURF hahahaha

[X5ARA]

Fantastic video, thank you!

I now know what's wrong with my herb spiral, I'll have to rebuild it :)

It's more videos like this that we need. Simple, straight to the point and easy to follow!