I've been doing some research on hugelkultur and have plans to make several raised veggie beds using this method..
"Hugelkultur is nothing more than making raised garden beds filled with rotten
wood. This makes for raised garden beds loaded with
organic
material, nutrients, air pockets for the
roots of what you plant, etc. As the years pass, the deep
soil of your raised garden bed becomes incredibly rich and
loaded with soil life. As the wood shrinks, it makes more tiny air pockets - so
your hugelkultur becomes sort of self tilling. The first few years, the
composting process will slightly warm your soil giving you a
slightly
longer growing season. The woody matter helps to keep nutrient
excess from passing into the ground water - and then refeeding that to your
garden plants later. Plus, by holding SO much water, hugelkultur could be part
of a system for
growing garden crops in the desert with no irrigation."
Leaves, twigs & fallen limbs are abundant in my yard due to the many trees mostly in the backyard. Usually we pile them up and burn them but this is certainly a much better alternative. I took advantage of the nice weather the other day and made one bed.
This is the bed filled with limbs, twigs, leaves & some rotting logs.
Compost from the chicken yard....leaves, hay, chicken poop and worms.
I spread the compost in the bed , watered it down and will cover with mulched leaves. I am using my son's mulching push mower but it took an attitude yesterday....ran for awhile, sputtered then died...darn mower. Hubby promised to look at it this evening when he gets off work so that project is delayed till tomorrow. Can't wait to get my plants in there!!!
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