The Flying Circus

curious old fart

Well-Known Member
The Art and Science of Making a Hugelkultur Bed – Transforming Woody Debris into a Garden Resource

Compost, Fungi, Soil Biology, Soil Composition, Soil Conservation, Soil Rehabilitation, Structure, Water Conservation, Water Harvesting — by Melissa Miles August 3, 2010


Wooden debris will decompose faster,
(and be transformed into a resource)
when hugelkultur techniques are
employed.

Used for centuries in Eastern Europe and Germany, hugelkultur (in German hugelkultur translates roughly as “mound culture”) is a gardening and farming technique whereby woody debris (fallen branches and/or logs) are used as a resource.
Often employed in permaculture systems, hugelkultur allows gardeners and farmers to mimic the nutrient cycling found in a natural woodland to realize several benefits. Woody debris (and other detritus) that falls to the forest floor can readily become sponge like, soaking up rainfall and releasing it slowly into the surrounding soil, thus making this moisture available to nearby plants.
Hugelkultur garden beds (and hugelkultur ditches and swales) using the same principle to:

  • Help retain moisture on site
  • Build soil fertility
  • Improve drainage
  • Use woody debris that is unsuitable for other use
Applicable on a variety of sites, hugelkultur is particularly well suited for areas that present a challenge to gardeners. Urban lots with compacted soils, areas with poor drainage, limited moisture, etc., can be significantly improved using a hugelkultur technique, as hugelkultur beds are, essentially, large, layered compost piles covered with a growing medium into which a garden is planted.
Creating a hugelkultur garden bed is a relatively simple process:
1. Select an area with approximately these dimensions: 6 feet by 3 feet
2. Gather materials for the project:

  • Fallen logs, branches, twigs, fallen leaves (the “under utilized” biomass from the site). Avoid using cedar, walnut or other tree species deemed allelopathic.
  • Nitrogen rich material (manure or kitchen waste work well and will help to maintain a proper carbon to nitrogen ratio in the decomposing mass within the hugelkulter bed).
  • Top soil (enough to cover the other layers of the bed with a depth of 1 – 2”) and some mulching material (straw works well).
3. Lay the logs (the largest of the biomass debris) down as the first layer of the hugelkulter bed. Next, add a layer of branches, then a layer of small sticks and twigs. Hugelkultur beds work best when they are roughly 3 feet high (though this method is forgiving, and there is no fixed rule as to the size of the bed. That is where the “art” comes in!)
4. Water these layers well
5. Begin filling in spaces between the logs, twigs and branches with leaf litter and manure of kitchen scraps.
6. Finally, top off the bed with 1 – 2” of top soil and a layer of mulch.
The hugelkulter bed will benefit from “curing” a bit, so it is best to prepare the bed several months prior to planting time (prepare the bed in the fall for a spring planting, for example, in temperate northern climates), but hugelkultur beds can be planted immediately. Plant seeds or transplants into the hugelkulter bed as you would any other garden bed. Happy hugelkulturing!

  • :peace: cof
 

whodatnation

Well-Known Member
Thanks allot cof! What a good reason to put off the giant pile of limbs I got piled up! :-). The lot of it,,, beautiful. Like classical music.
 

whodatnation

Well-Known Member
Day 38~ 12/12
Going alright :eyesmoke:


A lil orang because.
SB



BP
I said fuck it, shoved the camera down there and one shot from the hip no scoped nuged shot the blue pit right in the colas...




Close up






So from bottom to top we got BP colas, then the middle SB colas, and then the top SB colas. This one is a middle cola.





And what we all like most,,, top colas :weed:











Oh, and this happened too.











:peace:






100_5253.jpg100_5266.jpg100_5267.jpg100_5265.jpg100_5263.jpg100_5262.jpg100_5259.jpg100_5258.jpg100_5255.jpg100_5249.jpg
 

curious old fart

Well-Known Member
That's one of those ideas that you run across that have multiple benefits and I'm still trying to figure out how many uses - and beds I need to prepare. .........................................:peace: cof
 

Swamp Thing

Well-Known Member
OH MAH GAWSH! HA-BAH HA-BAH... HA-BAH.... GIMME-DAT!

Lookin great dude. Thanks for sharing. Sorry havent been around much... working my balls off and I hate it
 

F.M.I.L.Y

Well-Known Member
Do you have an assistant helping you with all veggies and buds? Or are you doing this all solo? Everything is looking bomb bro!
 

supchaka

Well-Known Member
Let me ask the obvious burning question on everyone's mind! Why didn't you grow more weed outside? I have my own assptions ill keep to myself for now :)
 

whodatnation

Well-Known Member
It was never really a plan to grow outside in the begging of the season, or ever, I was too scetched out. After I had the two ladies now left over I couldn't bring my self to toss em... I convinced myself that one tiny spot may be okay and the extra bud would be awesome,,, plus Iv always wanted to grow outside. Well I got comfortable and one thing led to another. I'll try and do a small spring, summer, and fall canna garden next year..... SMALL :shock:
 

whodatnation

Well-Known Member
1 clove garlic
1lb pepper
1\2 green tobacco laeve
steep screen and mix
2tsp lemon juice
2tsp aloe gel
1 gal water
(1 egg white can be added for more longevity)
would like to try the mint and cloves
I sprinkle cinnamon on the ground

Saved in me files :-) thanks
 

whodatnation

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the cool link :-) I'll get back to it but dor now I'll tell you I compost just about everything including the hair and vacuum waste :-) I ment to mention the vacuum waste when I emptied it last week but yeah I learned about it from a random youtube vid...
Here we go. Im so glad I remember these things... how? idk. thank baby fsm
[video=youtube;Wge_1U9NfX8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wge_1U9NfX8[/video]

^ second youtube search attempt,,, I like to think Im good at finding things on the net sometimes, its been about a year or more since I seen that vid.
I didnt fuss with all the stuff he did, I just dug a pit in the compost pile threw it in and covered it.... just like with everything else.







Another note, heres a curious concoction Im working on at the moment. Soaking sugar trim in scotch (double yum yum there,) for 30 min then blending it into a fatty fat ass banana peanut butter fudge milkshake. Hopefully it will knock me out. Will post a pic or two soon.

:peace:
 

method2mymadness

Well-Known Member
I figured u knew half or all of that I would of never thought of some finger nails and shit I could c roadkill as I've used chopped up fish parts and whole fish
 

ghb

Well-Known Member
Where is the meat
well they look like some beef tomatoes maybe. but seriously if i eat that, especially stoned it would just make me hungrier lol.

edit: have you made pickles yet? those cucumbers look like a prime candidate!
 
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