1 - 3 Jan 2017
Hugelkultur is a German word describing a type of raised bed that is constructed with rotting wood at its heart. The bed is built in a trench or on aerated ground, on which are laid numerous pieces of cut wood, the older the better, which is then packed round with turf, soil, compost, manure, woodchip, leafmould, in fact, anything that will add nutrients to the soil. The advantage of the wood core is apparently that it will hold water, even in drought, and as it breaks down, will release nutrients slowly and aerate the mound. That's the theory, so I thought I'd try it.
Hugelkultur is a German word describing a type of raised bed that is constructed with rotting wood at its heart. The bed is built in a trench or on aerated ground, on which are laid numerous pieces of cut wood, the older the better, which is then packed round with turf, soil, compost, manure, woodchip, leafmould, in fact, anything that will add nutrients to the soil. The advantage of the wood core is apparently that it will hold water, even in drought, and as it breaks down, will release nutrients slowly and aerate the mound. That's the theory, so I thought I'd try it.
This is a heap of old wood that I discovered in a far corner of our land. Trees and branches cut by the family in the Winnebago when they first moved in.
And this is an area of flat ground near the potato beds, that we covered in sailcloth last year. The area under the sheet mulch has little growth, although the edges have burgeoned with grass clumps.
So I laid the wood in a long row, quite tightly packed,
and then started digging out the grass clumps, turning them upside down on the heap, and edging it with stones. Lots of pickaxing and forking, although luckily the ground is very soft due to the recent rains.
I got this far, and then ran out of time. Going to the UK on Thursday.
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