Hügelkultur Raised Beds

[gtaus]

After I built my coop, I made some raised beds out of the leftover odd sized roof panels I was using.

Those look like some great metal raised beds. I have thought about making some raised beds that are 24 inches high. Then I would have maybe a foot or more of topsoil to grow root plants in the bed. That would be nice.

Anyways, congratulations on your repurposing of those roof panels and making something useful for a second life. That's a great job.

 

[gtaus]

That bed is just 2’ wide X 6’ long, and 17” high. And we can pick tomatoes from outside the fence as well. The fence is around the whole garden area to keep armadillos and rabbits out.

You have inspired me to consider making some narrower raised beds, and placing them along the chicken run fence. I could grow some vine beans, tomatoes, or something else that might be able to use the fence as a trellis. At the same time, it would provide some shade for the chickens on the inside of the run. I guess that would be a 3-for-1 setup!

 

[DLA]

I have heard that hügelkultur beds are not great for perennials. Because of the rotting wood, the soil level will drop 1-2 inches per year. For some perennials, that would be a disaster. I watched a video of a lady who planted rhubarb in a hügelkultur bed, but it was a failure because the soil level dropped every year, and she could not cover the crowns of the plants without killing them. She advised only to plant annual plants in a hügelkultur bed because of the expected, and desired, drop in soil level each year. With annuals, you just top off the raised bed before planting. She could not do that with her rhubarb and after a few years the soil level had sunk down so far that she had to dig out everything and restart them in a bed that would drop down in soil level.

I only plant annuals in my hügelkultur raised beds. In fact, I don't have any perennials planted anywhere. So, I really don't have any personal experience with them in hügelkultur beds or in-ground gardens.

Would love to hear if anyone plants perennials in their hügelkultur beds and if they are successful or not.

I have one with herbs in it - oregano, mint, thyme, sage. The oregano, thyme and mint spread pretty easily so they aren't really effected if the soil level changes, they're pretty adaptable. The sage is a shorter term perennial but doesn't seem to mind either. It's also a good way to contain something that can get out of control or invasive, like comfrey or catnip (as long as you don't let it go to seed). A more fussy perennial that is sensitive to the soil depth around the crown or roots might not do as well.

 

[Sally PB]

I have heard that hügelkultur beds are not great for perennials. Because of the rotting wood, the soil level will drop 1-2 inches per year. For some perennials, that would be a disaster. I watched a video of a lady who planted rhubarb in a hügelkultur bed, but it was a failure because the soil level dropped every year, and she could not cover the crowns of the plants without killing them. She advised only to plant annual plants in a hügelkultur bed because of the expected, and desired, drop in soil level each year. With annuals, you just top off the raised bed before planting. She could not do that with her rhubarb and after a few years the soil level had sunk down so far that she had to dig out everything and restart them in a bed that would drop down in soil level.

That makes sense. My perennial beds are: Egyptian Walking Onions, Black Raspberries, and a large bed of asparagus. The latter is on the flat area of my garden, at the end of the raised bed area. Oh, I have some rhubarb at the far end of the garden; I forgot about that. It's also on a flat area. One of the hugelkulter trenches is about 4 feet away.

I didn't notice if the trenches had sunk. I'll look again in the spring. Hmmm... I probably won't be able to tell anyway. I just hauled several piles of leaves down to that part of the garden this fall.

Feed the soil from the top and the bottom.

 

[1cock2hens]

I had blueberry bushes and sage growing in an hugelkulture bed for several years, I also grew tomatoes in the same bed.

I think most people aren't filling in there hugel beds enough while building them and that's why there is so much settling. I fill all gaps with cardboard, leaves, compost, and manure then let set for 2 years before planting in them. I don't notice much settling after the first 2/3 years.

I'm building my biggest yet. It's 5ft tall in the center 6 ft wide and probably 30ft long, it's crescent shaped. I purposely left 2 cavities in the bottom and I'm attempting to make an animal shelter/ hugelkulture bed. Dogs and chickens have been taking turns using it lol

 

[gtaus]

I think most people aren't filling in there hugel beds enough while building them and that's why there is so much settling. I fill all gaps with cardboard, leaves, compost, and manure then let set for 2 years before planting in them. I don't notice much settling after the first 2/3 years.

I am sure all that makes a big difference. If you don't fill in all those gaps, the soil will fill in the cavities and you will have lots of settling. I also add an organic layer of material above the wood, which I am sure decomposes that first year. Sounds about right after the first 2 years the settling should be a lot less. But I think most of us build a raised bed and plant in it right away. At least I do.

 

[1cock2hens]

I am sure all that makes a big difference. If you don't fill in all those gaps, the soil will fill in the cavities and you will have lots of settling. I also add an organic layer of material above the wood, which I am sure decomposes that first year. Sounds about right after the first 2 years the settling should be a lot less. But I think most of us build a raised bed and plant in it right away. At least I do.

The first time I read about hugel beds was probably 10 years ago and everything i read said that it should sit at least a year. You are not meant to plant in them the first year. People are just impatient and it creates issues with stuff like settling which wouldn't be an issue if people could just wait.

 

[gtaus]

The first time I read about hugel beds was probably 10 years ago and everything i read said that it should sit at least a year. You are not meant to plant in them the first year. People are just impatient and it creates issues with stuff like settling which wouldn't be an issue if people could just wait.

Interesting. Everything I have found on YouTube in the past 5 years that I have used raised beds just builds them, fills them up with material, and immediately put in plants.

I pack all my voids with wood chips and add an extra layer of organics on top of the wood, then the top 6-8 inches I put in fresh top soil mixed with chicken run compost mixed 1:1. I have fantastic results even that first year. As the soil in the hügelkultur raised bed drop 1-2 inches per year, I just top it off with fresh compost.

And yes, I am certainly impatient. At my age, I don't want to wait 2 years to start planting in a bed. At any rate, I have great success with planting in my hügelkultur raised beds in that first year.

 

[TooCheep]

Sounds about right after the first 2 years the settling should be a lot less. But I think most of us build a raised bed and plant in it right away. At least I do.

This is just good info to know. I'm building my first hugel raised bed this next year. I'll try to make sure the soil is pre-settled as best I can, but I'll just understand that settling is a risk and will concentrate on annuals the first two years. With that bit of knowledge, it isn't hard to adapt.

 

[1cock2hens]

Interesting. Everything I have found on YouTube in the past 5 years that I have used raised beds just builds them, fills them up with material, and immediately put in plants.

I pack all my voids with wood chips and add an extra layer of organics on top of the wood, then the top 6-8 inches I put in fresh top soil mixed with chicken run compost mixed 1:1. I have fantastic results even that first year. As the soil in the hügelkultur raised bed drop 1-2 inches per year, I just top it off with fresh compost.

And yes, I am certainly impatient. At my age, I don't want to wait 2 years to start planting in a bed. At any rate, I have great success with planting in my hügelkultur raised beds in that first year.

Try to find old hugelkulture literature and very little of it is in a raised bed. generally you should dig a hole and fill it with compost and large branches/ logs ect and build it up several feet so there is a large mound for you to grow on later.

The raised bed / hugel mix style sounds alot like a "keyhole " bed without the keyhole