Hugelkultur an Old Permaculture Technique, Gaining Popularity on Today's Homesteads
On this Homestead journey, I am often intrigued by the ways of the land of other cultures and regions. We can all learn from each other so much, that it makes gardening, homesteading and permacultural living easy. Knowledge is power. So in this post I will delve into the concept of HUGELKULTUR. Read on to learn more.
An old Permaculture technique is Hugelkultur, adopted and established by the Germans, simply explained is the idea of mounds built of alternating layers of soil and logs. The slowly-decomposing wood helps hold the moisture and slowly release nutrients, making it possible to grow abundant vegetation without irrigation.
Hugulkultur beds are established on a “foundation” of wood. Tree trimmings, logs, clean scrap lumber or even entire felled trees can be used to form the base of a hugelkultur raised bed. They have been built up to 6ft tall, and as little as 18" so you be the judge of what your needs are. You may want to build it so that it can act like a wind barrier. When building, you would typically try to keep the sides sloped at about 45 degrees. This will ensure to reduce soil compaction over time and increase soil oxygenation.
When looking for the perfect place to situate your Hugelkultur you want to consider the elements such as sun, wind, and water. If your intending to plant vegetables that require an abundant of sun the plant it facing North to South. The water in your landscape, is the next consideration. Are you placing it in a low lying area where the water naturally flows to, this can create a situation of soggy wood, which we do not want. Wind is the last consideration. Do you want a wind barrier? If you create a large enough mound it will change the air flow dynamics in your yard or garden landscape, and you will have to consider the frost and microclimate environment when placing your hugelkultur. Any wood that is treated, including pressure-treated wood, railroad ties, pallets or painted/stained wood, should not be used.
These are the types of wood that you would typically would not want to try when building your Hugelkultur: Cedar, Black locust, Black cherry, and Black walnut. You may use demolition material woods as long as it is metal free, and not treated or painted. These woods are problematic as they take too long to rot and some hamper the ability for plants to grow.
There are no hard or fast rules or procedures to follow in building a hugelkultur. It is more or less a free flowing form that you create. Here is a great example of one. It is something that you can get creative with, while considering all the elements. Have fun with this and my fellow friends post pictures if you have already built one. I am planning on building one for next season so that I can create a wind break for my fruit bushes. Please share your wealth of knowledge.
Happy Trails
Image Sources:
https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2015/04/hugelkultur/
http://extension.wsu.edu/clallam/waste-reduction-program/composting/hugelkultur/
Crazy how recreating a natural environment provides optimal growing medium! If you do have minimal rain fall, use this technique as swales. Not too mention that you can grow more on less land. Rock on GGC!
Thank you. I agree, real estate is prime space for garden growth and an extension especially with all my fruit tree's, in the way, lol
I've seen swales that meander through a garden like a river bed. Slows run off and puts the water where you need it. Good luck!
I enjoyed this post. My family is looking for a home in the country so we can begin raising some of our own food, and hugelkultur is something that I definitely want to try. I tried to upvote this post, but Steemit wouldn't let me because it is within 12 hours of payout; however, I'll be sure to follow and upvote future posts that I enjoy!
Ooop, I think we have some controversy here on what woods to use! Everything I have read as stated to avoid cedar, black walnut, and black locust as they all take too long to decompose and cause issues with other plants sprouting and even stunts/inhibits growth. Even your linked sources state to avoid those woods. I'm sure you meant to say "try to avoid".
I am so glad you caught that Thank you. Right you are. I was suppose to put wood that you would not want to try. Thank goodness for nice friends like you to put me on the straight and narrow. LOL
Yes, we definitely wouldn't want people to try out hügelkultur with those woods just to fail. o.o Haha. I'm glad I could be here to keep you on the straight and narrow! Haha. :D Would you like me to edit the comment now that it's fixed?
No No it's all good. Thank you for offering. Oh I am Canadian, we always say Thank You.
Heheheh. I'm okay with that! :)
My neighbor has a couple raised beds that mimic a hugelkultur setup, with big chunks of wood and branches filling up most of the beds. Here in the wet Pacific Northwest, the wood breaks down pretty quickly - certainly less than 5 years. So she has had to add a lot more soil and organic matter, including more wood, to her beds over time. But her plants grow well!
You must be close to a large body of water perhaps an ocean. Have you seen the size of the Red Pines out in British Columbia? They cut holes in them to walk through. Tree's out there just GROW really well, wonder if it has anything to do with the salty air. Replacing the wood over time is yes a bummer especially if it is every few years. Thanks
The trees are big out here, alright! I have a sequoia in my yard that's too big for 3 people to reach around. Conifers do a lot of their growing in cool temperatures, that coincide with our rainy seasons, including warm days in winter. So they have a long growing season , much longer than the deciduous trees.
I love the idea of hügelkultur, but I have yet to put it into ral practice. THOUGH. I did put some logs into my strawberry planter! So far the strawberries seem really happy. Though, I have yet to get any. Haha. Stupid creatures keep eating them!
We're going to make raised beds and put in wood and logs and stuff in them to create hügelkulture that way!
I determined that the creatures eating my strawberries were the lovely birds, so I bought bird netting.
I have a half assed net thingie on mine, but I just haven't taken the time to fix it up proper. But they are doing well otherwise!! Haha.
Amazing i have never earing about that,Hugelkultur, i think you should uses bamboo combined with other kind of wood because bamboo is very easi to get and it would be destroy in around 5 years
And for my it would be great and you could duplicate your land.
I would uses it for planting some ipomea batatas for do batatas in honey or bake.
Right now i have a little plants of this, it hugelkultur could make a good experiment
Thank you for learn us some interesting information that we uses in every of our garden or land.
Here in El Salvador similar form is uses for create an artesanal bakery the procces is similar only change that you uses soil with water for cover the wood and when it is finish you fire the wood and wala you have a nice artesanal bake for make bread. It is make in the kitchen of farm.
Thanks a lot, as you if woul have time i try.
Thank you for responding and your suggestions. Up here in Canada Bamboo is not so easy to get, we have to buy it, imported. LOL
Ohhh so sorry for bamboo, it is dificult i guess, but you should find similar plant i think.
Here in our country it is a little easy to get, for example in my case, around ten years ago i want a specific kind of bamboo bambusa giganteus, but i do not get it because were a little extrange.
For this reason i visited a place in a mountaint and cut s roots of bamboo yellow wild and
Planted the best in a specific place a beautiful places for growing and we put water and care it
And other bad pieces of root very hurt we put it between a rock and forget it.
You do not believe me but this bad root are growing very nice in this moment and the other die :( we very sad for it because the place were bamboo are growing was not seleccting, but the nature don think only growing.
Excuse for my history about my bamboo plant but people laugh when y say it is not a bamboo programer, it growing alone.
I love the plants in my parents yard, i am experiment a lot.
Please check my photos about our garden in this moment do not upvote only check the photos it is spanish because i want to explain the procces, i would be pleasure if see my lovely plants in yard. :) thanks a lot take care.
https://steemit.com/spanish/@galberto/las-plantas-no-se-mueven-solas-de-como-me-converti-en-el-transportador-de-plantas-para-mi-y-mi-vecindario
Thank you, for the education.
Thank you too for a beautiful information about another cultures in garden practice :)
I have tried one bed with hugelkultur this year. It is looking quite promising.
We have a lot of fallen wood about so if it works I will try more.
Well good for you. I would love it if you could snap a picture of what you have built just so the others can see different methods of assembly. I am going to build one this fall after my father takes a big pine tree down on my property that was struck by lightening. Thanks for sharing
Dear thanks
to your post i try to building a hugelkultur, it was amazing the process, we make it in two parts, it is for plants camote ipomea batatas,
I would like to you see it, thanks for the inspiration.
Best regard
Here the post
https://steemit.com/spanish/@galberto/como-hacer-un-hugelkultur-para-no-volver-a-regar-las-plantas-en-20-anos-parte-1