hugelkultur: raised garden beds that don't need irrigation

[paul wheaton]

I've spent a large amount of time overhauling this article on hugelkultur. New pictures, artwork and information. I think that this one article may be the best gateway from "weed and feed" to permaculture. Please, please, please pass it on:

http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/

 

[big brown horse]

Thanks to you, I made my very own hugelkulture raised bed last fall. I finally got to plant some herbs in it this week.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Great idea!! Thanks for sharing, I will try to implement this at my new farm.

 

[Neko-chan]

...

 

[paul wheaton]

Jack Spirko dedicated today's podcast to this. He has a massive audience of something like 25,000:

http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/permaculture-solutions-for-water-needs

 

[MetalSmitten]

yay, thank you! this is a project that we're gonna attempt this fall (after the heat breaks) in our garden area. i dread all the digging but hopefully it'll be worth it.

 

[DesertChick]

Since this method is recommended for the desert, I'll think I'll try this in my raised beds. I can't get anything to grow in them due to the drying wind. I have some chunks of firewood which won't fit in my wood stove and I didn't know what to do with them. I might as well toss them into the beds and see what happens. At least the chunks will be hidden and, who knows, perhaps I'll finally get something to grow in a couple of years.

 

[DesertChick]

I used one of my 4' x 6' raised beds and made a hugelkultur today. First I dug a hole about 18" deep and added some water. Chunks of firewood were placed in the hole and since the wood was really dry, I added more water. I dumped used potting soil on top of the wood and watered again. Since I didn't have sod, I pruned some of my switch grass and placed the cuttings on top of the wood. I covered the grass with potting soil and the the dirt which was initially removed from the bed and watered again.

Since the average annual precipitation is about 5", I'll continue to water the mound 2-3 times a day until Nov or Dec.

 

[Wifezilla]

Thanks for experimenting for us

 

[DesertChick]

I had nothing to lose for trying since I can't get anything to grow in my raised beds due to the wind and heat drying the beds.
My non-SS neighbors are probably wondering what/who I buried!