The Many Benefits of Hugelkultur

Inspiration Green and Permaculture magazine | Hugelkultur are no-dig raised beds with a difference. They hold moisture, build fertility, maximise surface volume and are great spaces for growing fruit, vegetables and herbs.

Hugelkultur, pronounced Hoo-gul-culture, means hill culture or hill mound. Instead of putting branches, leaves and grass clippings in bags by the curbside for the bin men... build a hugel bed. imply mound logs, branches, leaves, grass clippings, stra!, cardboard, petroleum-free ne!spaper, manure, compost or !hatever other biomass you have available, top !ith soil and plant your veggies. "he advantages of a hugel bed are many, including# "he gradual decay of !ood is a consistent source of long-term nutrients for the plants. $ large bed might give out a constant supply of nutrients for %& years 'or even longer if you use only hard!oods(. "he composting !ood also generates heat !hich should e)tend the gro!ing season. oil aeration increases as those branches and logs break do!n... meaning the bed !ill be no till, long term.

"he logs and branches act like a sponge. *ain!ater is stored and then released during drier times. $ctually you may never need to !ater your hugel bed again after the first year 'e)cept during long term droughts(. e+uester carbon into the soil. ,n a sod la!n epp Holzer 'hugelkultur e)pert( recommends cutting out the sod, digging a one foot deep trench and filling the trench !ith logs and branches. "hen cover the logs !ith the upside do!n turf. ,n top of the turf add grass clippings, sea!eed, compost, aged manure, stra!, green leaves, mulch, etc...

Hugel bed in

ntario, !anada "By Travis #hilip$

Hugelkulter from permies.com% Pallets used around periphery &teeped raised beds% -rom . epp Holzer.s Permaculture. epp Holzer recommends steep hugel beds to avoid compaction from increased pressure over time. teep beds mean more surface area in your garden for plants and the height makes easy harvesting. "he greater the mass, the greater the !ater-retention benefits.

'ertical logs Hugel bed dug in clay !ith logs put in vertically, ne)t branches and lots of !ood chips. "op /0 !ill be !ood chips and dirt. "his bed !ill store !ater and give nutrients for many years to come. tra! bale gardens re+uire less soil, less !ater and hold heat. $s the stra! breaks do!n nutrients feed the plants. 1ombining a stra! surround !ith a hugel interior, topped by lasagne layering is an e)cellent idea for an area !ith poor +uality soil.

Hugel bed in ,ntario, 1anada '2une %3( by "im 4urro!s. "im surrounded his very tall hugel bed in pallets5

&heet mulching 'lasagne gardening( is like composting in place. $bove# 6ust a suggestion as to sheet mulching layers. 7itrogen-rich material such as fresh grass clippings or green leaves put right on the hugelkultur !ood !ould help 6ump start the composting process. 1ould also include sea!eed, stra!, dead leaves, leaf mould, etc... "he first year of break do!n means the !ood 'and fungi( steal a lot of the nitrogen out of the surrounding environment, so adding nitrogen during the first year or planting crops that add nitrogen to the soil 'like legumes( or planting species !ith minimal nitrogen re+uirements is necessary, unless there is plenty of organic material on top of the !ood. $fter the !ood absorbs nitrogen to its fill, the !ood !ill start to break do!n and start to give nitrogen back in the process. In the end you !ill be left !ith a beautiful bed of nutrient rich soil. Tree types that work well in hugelkultur# Hard!oods break do!n slo!ly and therefore your hugel bed !ill last longer, hold !ater for more years and add nutrients for more years. 4ut soft!oods are acceptable as !ell, a soft!ood bed !ill 6ust disintegrate +uicker. 8i)ing !oods !ith soft!oods and branches on top, to give off nutrients first, and hard!oods on bottom, sounds like a plan if you have access to multiple types of !ood. 9et the ne!ly decomposing soft!oods at top !ill eat up a lot of nitrogen at first, so compensate for that. (oods that work best# $lders, apple, aspen, birch, cotton!ood, maple, oak, poplar, !illo! 'make sure it is dead or it !ill sprout(. Trees types that work okay#

4lack cherry 'use only rotted(, camphor !ood '!ell aged(, cedar:6uniper:ye! 'anti-microbial:anti-fungal, so use only at very bottom or unless already !ell aged. 1edar should be broken do!n before ne! plant roots reach it(, eucalyptus 'slightly anti-microbial(, osage orange 'e)ceptionally resistant to decay(, Pacific ye! 'e)ceptionally resistant to decay(, pine:fir:spruce 'tannins and sap(, red mulberry 'e)ceptionally resistant to decay(. Tree types to avoid# 4lack locust '!ill not decompose(, black !alnut '6uglone to)in(, old gro!th red!ood 'heart!ood !ill not decompose and red!ood compost can prevent seed germination(. This article was cross-posted rom www.inspirationgreen.com/hugelkultur.html )urther resources ;ant to learn more about huglekultur beds< ;e highly recommend Sepp Holzer's Permaculture, a ground breaking book that !ill teach you all you need to kno!5 '$lso available as an e4ook( '-or = readers, you can buy from 1helsea Green H>*>( Desert or Paradise by epp Holzer '-or = from 1helsea Green H>*>( epp Holzer - The Re el !armer epp Holzer brings hugelkulter to 8ichigan mall-scale hugelkulter in raised beds Ho! to make vertical raised beds for urban green spaces Please help us to continue to post inspiring, practical and cutting edge "eatures online "or "ree # S$%S&R'%'() to Permaculture - download a !R** sample issue and tr# e"ore #ou u#. +lso a,aila le as a digital su scription -"or .ust /012 and +pple and +ndroid de,ices. Help spread the permaculture word... readers, you can buy

Ho! to make hugelkultur raised beds in Permaculture magazine /3 as a pdf