Comments on: The Art and Science of Making a Hugelkultur Bed – Transforming Woody Debris into a Garden Resource

By: David Braden

David Braden — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 01:22:12 +0000

We have been experimenting with a hybrid of sheet mulching and hugelkultur. It appears that the bigger the woody material the less of the carbon is “biologically available” so nitrogen draw down does not seem to be a problem. We finish all our beds with manure on top of the carbon and then make path ways with wood chips. Pictures here:

http://www.organiclandscapedesign.org/content/sheet-mulchinghugelkultur-0

By: david cameron

david cameron — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:40:37 +0000

to Bee Winfield & others-I’m planning to do a pilot with used carpet waste to create contours, water-slowing & absorbing humps, and possibly even as bottom layer of hugelkulture mounds sited on old existing asphalt parking lot. Yeah I know, pure organic growers will worry about residual chems in the carpet. I’m not much of a purist-more interested in getting rid of carpet that in our province clogs the landfills and finding cheap available local things that work for quickly regenerating life on abandoned municipal & industrial properties.

By: thom foote

thom foote — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 03:37:51 +0000

Regarding the size of the beds, I am planning to make 4′ x 16′ garden boxes on top of and around the Hk mounds. I also plan to make 4′w x 16′l x4′h raised bed Hk mounds for squash, potatoes etc. Will this length adversely affect the performance of the Hk mounds?

By: Bee Winfield

Bee Winfield — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:05:20 +0000

Pricklefarmer, sounds really exciting what just sprung out of your head. Hope you manage to try it out and please let us know how it goes. I have been wondering for a long time how easiest to create water speed humps in the landscape on contour ,on steep hills where swales would be a major earthwork undertaking. I am thinking bundles of sticks piled up against stakes and covered with topsoil dug from just below and thrown up over the sticks or logs which would barricade it from falling back down. Then mulch and plant to hold it all in place. You’d end up with nifty access paths of subsoil on contour and a raised bed. I have been doing this for the last few days using tagasaste we planted last year in rows on contour. Cant wait to plant and see what happens. I will report with photos soon.

By: Merewether

Merewether — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 10:19:50 +0000

Is a good way of using sticks and branches that would otherwise go to waste.

By: Dave Whitinger

Dave Whitinger — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:01:56 +0000

We have published an introductory article about hugelkultur raised beds to our website. It has lots of pictures and a nice step by step directions on how to do it. The article can be seen at: http://allthingsplants.com/articles/view/dave/96/

We will have many more articles coming that touch on practices of permaculture and we hope to introduce permaculture to a much wider and more “mainstream” gardening audience.

By: Pricklefarmer

Pricklefarmer — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 23:03:03 +0000

I’m imagining a sloped area of ratty regrowth (eucalypts are somewhat alleopathic but not enough to kill the process, I think) cleared and material knocked into swales and mounded with a bit of the topsoil between rows of woody waste then planted with legumous fodder crops (lab lab, pidgeon pea, lupins, lucerne) on top and carboniferous fodder crops (mangonels, jerusalem artichokes, daikon, burdock, comfrey) between. Then alternate pigs and goats in folds over it. Legumes solve the nitrogen drawdown, beets and other roots chisel-plough the soil between swales, goats and pigs get biodiverse permaforaging. Erosion mitigation, runoff capture, reduced need for mechanical mulching land sculpting and ploughing. Pigs and goats fertilize, plough, cut each other’s parasite load and reduce the need for imported feed. Later grown a canopy of tagasaste ect to further increase fodder diversity and land stability. Straight off the dome but what do you think?

By: kate kerivan

kate kerivan — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 17:16:40 +0000

We are a small berry farm having just cleared 10 acres of 2nd growth trees. Rather than stump to plant berries, we want to know how this method would work for a commercial planting of elders, aronia, etc. IF the stumps are left in the ground. Concerned about not being able to cultivate between rows of hugelkulturs and concerned about regenerating stumps/goldenrod etc. within and around proposed beds. Anyone having planted in a clear cut woods using this method to make beds? It would be great not to stump and destroy texture, microrganisms, etc. but it has to be able to be maintained and be able to pick berries….thanks for any suggestions. We are organic growers, so no herbicides.
Kate

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 10:55:28 +0000

Should gum tree wood be placed into a hugelkultur bed? Also will this work in dry climate like dry parts of country victoria? In that climate will additional watering be necessary? If so any idea how often?

By: Tomas Wilkinson

Tomas Wilkinson — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 19:40:36 +0000

Great inspiration. I’ve been puzzling over how to sustain my herd of redworms in their compost bins through the winters when I am away in Costa Rica. They seem to set cocoons in the Fall that hatch in the Spring, but this year I will put deadwood on the bottoms before turning the piles over. The generated thermophilic heat may provide support for a longer time and help more adults survive.
Gracias