Working with hugelkultur gardens for perennial plants and season crops

My overall impressions of using hugelkultur beds for growing both perennial plants and seasonal crops is positive. If you have ready access to the required materials as well as time and energy to construct the mounds then I thinks it is well worth it. Especially if you are also interested in adding some dimension and texture to the shape of the land.

Initially, at least with our construction approach, the best place for growing is along the edges where the mounds blends back into the original ground level. But as the whole lot breaks down and the air pockets collapse and disappear the consistency and usability gets more uniform.

Weed control

During the construction phase we simply scraped a layer of topsoil from the uphill side of the log mound and used this to cover the pile of logs. Because this soil still had living grass, which promptly regrew in its new location on the mound, we had a weed problem from the very beginning. Using heavy mulch and crops such as potatoes that required digging we were able to remove the grass reasonably quickly. However, in hind sight, it would be sensible to kill the grass first or immediately after construction with something physical like weed matting.

If you like to plant things in rows (which would work well enough along the length of the mound) and wish to weed between the rows with some kind of tool such as stirrup hoe, then you may have some difficulty working on the angled sides of the mound. We tend to use a blanket / broadcast seeding approach where we cover the entire face with a selection of compatible species. This generally leaves little room for weeds and requires some thinning as plants develop.

Chickens

Because our chickens get to roam freely through much of the garden areas we have had to develop some techniques to work with their tendency to scratch around in freshly disturbed soil. Two similar approaches are serving us well. After spreading seeds and covering with a thin layer of straw mulch I either lay down wire netting or cover the area with tree trimmings that are heavy enough to stop the birds moving them. The protection either stays in place until the plants are big enough to be safe or until the area is ready to be replanted.

Chickens tend to scratch material down hill and so if they have access to loose soul on the mounds they can flatten them out. However their action (and manure) all help to break up the soil and woody material which can quickly be raked back into shape.

Perennial plants

The fruiting plants (feijoas, almonds, apricot and plums) and support trees (mainly tagasaste and Italian alder) that we have planted so far have done exceptionally well.

Having witnessed on many occasions how the roots of perennial plants love to penetrate and burrow through decomposing wood I can see how hugelkultur is ideal for these long lived plants.

 5 pictures - click to enlarge

Hugelkultur gardens in summer

Hugelkultur gardens in summer

Details   Every year, since their construction, our hugelkultur raised woody garden beds have been improving in performance. While waiting for the perennial plantings to establish we have been gardening with seasonal crops including maize, pumpkins, tomatoes, salad, cucumbers and of course lots of beans. Modest additions of straw mulch, trenched in pig manure, compost tea and all plant residues are contributing to the overall fertility of the beds and on occasion where I have exposed the wooden core while digging it is clearly breaking down into a crumbly organic 'compost'.
Date   February 18, 2018
Tags     garden  hugelkultur  2018  summer 

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Raised woody swale / hugelkultur construction

Raised woody swale / hugelkultur construction

Details   We used the opportunity of having a small excavator on site recently to construct 5 wood filed raised growing mounds on contour.
This technique is often called hugelkultur and exploits the ability of rotten wood to absorb and hold amazing quantities of water which is later made available to plants growing nearby.
The end result was 5 mounds about 7 meters long and half a meter high, each packed with a full trailer load of rotten willow logs and a wheel barrow of pig manure.
An assortment of fruit trees and berry shrubs has been planted along side in various locations to capitalise on the moisture, slow release of minerals and micro-climate effects of wind, shelter, sun and shade.
Date   July 25, 2014
Tags     swale  digger  water  hugelkultur 

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Hugelkultur 101

Hugelkultur 101

Date   February 03, 2019
Details   A hot dry summer like this reminds us of the value of hugelkultur and retaining soil moisture. So, with the help of our young and energetic French helpers we threw together another log mound garden using rotted willow sourced from the nearby stream.
  1. Dig a hole
  2. Pack in the logs and any other surplus organic matter trying not to have too many air pockets
  3. Cover it over with the dirt from the hole
  4. Stop and have a beer
  5. When favourable weather returns add seeds and plants or just let nature do its thing...
Tags     hugelkultur  zone2 

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garden  hugelkultur  2018  summer