my herb spiral and the bees - part 3

How rewarding it is to build an herb spiral! If properly built and oriented, it is a showcase of the advantages of permaculture in a nutshell. Once built, your herbs thrive and need no extra water. Each little plant is situated in the right spot and microclimate to thrive and all you need to do is harvest them fresh just next to your kitchen door. The only thing, I do is to add some mulch just before the frost and to add some grass clippings once in a while. I would love to build a second one next summer, but first some extra tips and feedback. 

My herb spiral: day 1

In previous posts, I wrote about the steps to build one and on the building of my own herb spiral. Once you have all the materials, it is quite straightforward to build one in an afternoon.

The thermal heat of the wall warms up the soil inside and lets your Mediterranean herbs flourish. Therefore, it is important to orientate the herb spiral correctly in relation to those sun loving herbs. The stones I used are not the best: natural stones store and release more heat!

In the meantime, I learned it is even better to situate your spiral on top of concrete or a solid stone base, because - like with most heavy structures - it can start sinking in the soil in the long run. Also, the drainage is even better if build on stones. The only issue then, is how to incorporate a deep water element at the base of the spiral. In my experience, a shallow basin also works. 

My herb spiral: one year old

Finally, I love to observe the activity in and around my herb spiral. Bees, bumble bees, flies, hoverflies, butterflies, dragon flies, grasshoppers, beetles, and damsels go back and fro. The stone wall also acts as an excellent hiding place for little spiders, lady bugs, and other little insects. An ant colony provides some extra aeration and drainage in mine. I have not yet seen any activity in the bumble bee nest, but a big spider installed in front of its entrance might have something to do with it... If I ever want to see some bumble bees in there, I will need to find a way to keep the entrance free from predators.

I hope to have inspired some of you to build your own herb spiral and enjoy the harvest and activity around it!

lessons learned

Quite a lot has happened in the garden since I wrote about it last time. In the meantime, the studies, the workshops, the discussions with my fellow students, the books, and the feedback from nature gave me quite some stuff to think about. I will start with sharing some of the major conclusions so far and then come back to these topics in detail in future posts. 

So, what were the major things I learned from the permaculture design courses so far?

not all methods to protect your land against wind erosion are equally effective

1. How crucial it is to look at the wind erosion happening in most gardens and how to protect your precious top soil.  

2. How to analyse water management and turn the water into life and energy on your plot.

3. How essential it is to feed the life in the soil on a continuous basis and how to protect and cover it in order to let your own plants thrive.

4. How important biodiversity is in establishing a resilient garden with less disease and plagues.

5. How one can imitate and work with nature and even accelerate its processes and turn it into our advantage.

how to harvest water, avoid flooding, and replenish aquifers

6. How important the design is in making life easier for ourselves.

7. How crucial it is to take time to learn from nature and observe small events happening in front of your nose.


I am sure I will find some more lessons learned later on, but these were pretty impressive to me. In between some news from the garden, I hope to elaborate a bit on these findings. I feel like it will be an ongoing process of learning and feedback to and from the garden. 

Looking forward to continue the wonderful adventure in my garden. 

a fresh supply of books waiting for me!

 

my lecture on biodiversity and gardening

It was really great to be invited by the library in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe (Brussels) to provide a lecture on biodiversity and gardening. After one year of stuyding permaculture, I was eager to share some of the things I learned, but I think I was equally thrilled to be able to launch myself that evening as a garden designer !

It is a big step for me, but everything about it feels right! It combines hands on actions to improve our lifestyle and this in harmony with our environment. How to restore the land in its natural abundance and respect ethical principles for people and for nature.

Succession in nature and how to work with nature in your garden

At the lecture, I focused on how to increase biodiversity, how to make your garden more resilient, and how to work less and produce more. I talked about increasing biodiversity through edges and ecosystems, the importance of soil and water management for biodiversity and production, and how to mimic and speed up natural processes in the garden.

How to increase biodiversity with edges

A proper design of the garden is key to make an efficient, resiliant, and productive garden with low maintenance. It is amazing how one can even improve the soil while harvesting an abundance of food. Or how to replenish the underground aquafers as a nice side-effect of your garden project and how to be better prepared for severe climate effects. It was great to share and discuss all this with a nice audience!

Finally, I would like to thank the organizers - and especially Linda - for inviting me! Thank you as well for the book voucher. These are the great books I was able to buy:

looking very much forward to read these!

I really hope I will be able to give similar lectures in the future (in English and Dutch).

my garden design approved

So exicited to have my final work for the permaculture design course approved by Geoff Lawton. I choose our garden described on this blog and worked out a detailed design which I hope to implement in the coming years.

I hope this will lead to many more designs in future, both for people and for nature!

my diploma!

Here is the reason for the long silence on my blog: I went back to study and followed two online courses on permaculture. I finished the first one and got my diploma as a permaculture designer!
 

I am so thrilled about it! I now will be able to "work as a consultant, teacher or designer and restore land to its natural abundance". 

I really look forward to apply the things I learned in my own garden and hope to help others to create a natural abundance :-)