Hügelkultur Raised Beds

[gtaus]

I mulched my tomato bed heavily last year. I watered it regularly, after checking to see if the soil was moist. I don't think it was lack of or uneven watering, TBH. I will be very interested in what MSU says about my soil.

In all my hügelkultur raised beds, I top off the bed with about 6-8 inches of a mix of high-quality topsoil and chicken run compost 1:1. That is what the "guy" at our local nursery recommended for me to do. I had very little blossom end rot in my tomatoes last year. The few tomatoes that did have blossom end rot got tossed into the chicken run. The chickens don't mind.

Since I use so much chicken run compost in my raised bed gardens, I have had great yields and have not bothered to get the soil tested. I wonder if each raised bed would have different results? In any case, if it ain't broke, I'm not going to try to fix it! As long as I get good results, I'm OK with not knowing soil specifics in my raised beds.

 

[Appalachickens]

The person most likely to see anything back here? The delivery driver for UPS or FedEx. The mail carrier only comes back to any of us with a package; the mail boxes are 1/4 mile away, where the county stops being responsible for maintenance.

That said, I suspect a mail carrier (not the current one) might have been responsible for a break in at our old farm house right after it became ours.

That's unfortunate. We can see our mailbox and package bin from the house if you step outside or by the outdoor camera.

 

[akroberts1085]

I started filling my big raised bed but I haven't been able to get around to making any of my pallet beds. I'm still trying to figure out in my mind how I want to make them look. It's supposed to rain tonight or tomorrow morning so I'll be stuck inside. I would prefer to be outside doing anything with the garden but mother nature has her own temperament so I just have to go with the flow.

 

[gtaus]

I started filling my big raised bed but I haven't been able to get around to making any of my pallet beds. I'm still trying to figure out in my mind how I want to make them look.

Well, everyone has different tastes when it comes to looks. You can google search pictures of raised beds to get a lot of good ideas. For myself, my preferred pallet wood raised bed is what I call my pallet wood raised bed v2.0...

There are several advantages to the v2.0 design. Notice that the outside 4X4 foot 2X4 framing is using the complete pallet wood stretcher with the notches. That makes it faster to put together with no cutting. The corners are then filled in with scrap 2X4 pieces that are 16 inches tall. That ties the outside framing together and sets the height of my raised bed.

Then I add the pallet wood planks, cut to 16 inches max length, on the backside of the 2X4 framing. When filled with soil, it pushes the sidewall planks out into the 2X4 frames. I will not have any sidewall blowouts that you will eventually get if you put the sidewall planks on the outside of the frame.

Also, because I use the 2X4 framing on the outside, I can actually use shorter pieces of pallet planks down to about 10 inches because I just fasten them behind the 2X4's. That allows me to use up a lot of shorter scrap pieces of lumber if I want.

As far as looks, I try to stagger a light wood, then a dark wood, then a light wood.... I think it looks pretty good, but obviously I am biased in my project builds.

One thing I started doing last year was dumping my scrap pallet wood cutoffs into the hügelkultur layer of my raised beds...

Wood is wood. Usually, I use logs in the bottom and fill in with the smaller scraps of pallet wood cutoffs to fill the voids. In any case, it's a great way to get rid of smaller pieces of wood that I don't plan on using for anything else.

Dear Wife wanted to grow some Asian Bitter Melons which climb up a trellis like cucumbers. So I found some reclaimed 2X4's and built a trellis frame...

I later added some 2X4 wire fencing for the plants to climb up on.

It's supposed to rain tonight or tomorrow morning so I'll be stuck inside. I would prefer to be outside doing anything with the garden but mother nature has her own temperament so I just have to go with the flow

Well, I understand about being stuck inside the house. Tonight's low is going to be about -24F. Today's high forecast is +3F. All I can do is watch YouTube videos and maybe get some more gardening ideas for this spring.

In any case, I look forward to seeing what you build for your raised beds. Please post some pictures when you get a chance.

 

[akroberts1085]

Well, everyone has different tastes when it comes to looks. You can google search pictures of raised beds to get a lot of good ideas. For myself, my preferred pallet wood raised bed is what I call my pallet wood raised bed v2.0...

View attachment 4049008

There are several advantages to the v2.0 design. Notice that the outside 4X4 foot 2X4 framing is using the complete pallet wood stretcher with the notches. That makes it faster to put together with no cutting. The corners are then filled in with scrap 2X4 pieces that are 16 inches tall. That ties the outside framing together and sets the height of my raised bed.

Then I add the pallet wood planks, cut to 16 inches max length, on the backside of the 2X4 framing. When filled with soil, it pushes the sidewall planks out into the 2X4 frames. I will not have any sidewall blowouts that you will eventually get if you put the sidewall planks on the outside of the frame.

Also, because I use the 2X4 framing on the outside, I can actually use shorter pieces of pallet planks down to about 10 inches because I just fasten them behind the 2X4's. That allows me to use up a lot of shorter scrap pieces of lumber if I want.

As far as looks, I try to stagger a light wood, then a dark wood, then a light wood.... I think it looks pretty good, but obviously I am biased in my project builds.

One thing I started doing last year was dumping my scrap pallet wood cutoffs into the hügelkultur layer of my raised beds...

View attachment 4049009

Wood is wood. Usually, I use logs in the bottom and fill in with the smaller scraps of pallet wood cutoffs to fill the voids. In any case, it's a great way to get rid of smaller pieces of wood that I don't plan on using for anything else.

Dear Wife wanted to grow some Asian Bitter Melons which climb up a trellis like cucumbers. So I found some reclaimed 2X4's and built a trellis frame...

View attachment 4049010

I later added some 2X4 wire fencing for the plants to climb up on.



Well, I understand about being stuck inside the house. Tonight's low is going to be about -24F. Today's high forecast is +3F. All I can do is watch YouTube videos and maybe get some more gardening ideas for this spring.

In any case, I look forward to seeing what you build for your raised beds. Please post some pictures when you get a chance.

I absolutely love seeing your pallet beds. I'm going to start watching more videos on YouTube and see what I can come up with for my beds. I'm also working on trying to figure out how to make a small trailer into a coop. After Penny got attacked it's been hard on her because she won't sleep with the other girls and I want all of them to know that they are safe. I'm also considering doing some renovations around the back shed,(my husband calls it the studio), so that I can keep the girls locked up and just let them out to wander around the area and not get into my garden. So there's much more on my plate than I would like but so is life. You gotta get it done or it's not going to happen.

 

[gtaus]

I absolutely love seeing your pallet beds. I'm going to start watching more videos on YouTube and see what I can come up with for my beds.

Thanks for the compliment. I forgot to mention that it only costs me about $2.00 in screws and nails for each of my pallet wood raised beds. Of course, I have to use my time to get the free pallets, disassemble them, and cut the wood, but that's kind of my hobby these days.

I got my initial ideas on the pallet wood raised beds from YouTube but improved on those designs with my pallet wood raised bed v2.0 build. I have been stuck on that design for a couple of years now because I have not thought of any improvements. It just works for me. I am open to improvements and constantly watch out for new YouTube videos.

I'm also working on trying to figure out how to make a small trailer into a coop.

I built an elevated chicken coop on an old boat trailer. It's a great coop, but it will only ever be useful as a chicken coop. If I had to do it all over again, I think I might build a shed conversion - the idea that I would still have a useful shed if I ever got rid of my chickens.

When I built my chicken coop on a trailer, my idea was to move the coop around my backyard like a chicken tractor. What happened is that I parked it in one spot, and it has not moved in 4+ years. So, I lost all the advantages of having a mobile coop. But instead, I have a much larger attached chicken run that I converted into a chicken run composting system, producing massive quantities of compost for my hügelkultur raised beds. That ended up being more important to me.

So there's much more on my plate than I would like but so is life. You gotta get it done or it's not going to happen.

I'm at that age where I have fewer days ahead of me than behind me. I want to get as much done as I can while still healthy to enjoy my efforts. But nothing happens by itself. So, I appreciate your attitude which I agree with. Make it happen!

 

[akroberts1085]

T

Thanks for the compliment. I forgot to mention that it only costs me about $2.00 in screws and nails for each of my pallet wood raised beds. Of course, I have to use my time to get the free pallets, disassemble them, and cut the wood, but that's kind of my hobby these days.

I got my initial ideas on the pallet wood raised beds from YouTube but improved on those designs with my pallet wood raised bed v2.0 build. I have been stuck on that design for a couple of years now because I have not thought of any improvements. It just works for me. I am open to improvements and constantly watch out for new YouTube videos.



I built an elevated chicken coop on an old boat trailer. It's a great coop, but it will only ever be useful as a chicken coop. If I had to do it all over again, I think I might build a shed conversion - the idea that I would still have a useful shed if I ever got rid of my chickens.

When I built my chicken coop on a trailer, my idea was to move the coop around my backyard like a chicken tractor. What happened is that I parked it in one spot, and it has not moved in 4+ years. So, I lost all the advantages of having a mobile coop. But instead, I have a much larger attached chicken run that I converted into a chicken run composting system, producing massive quantities of compost for my hügelkultur raised beds. That ended up being more important to me.



I'm at that age where I have fewer days ahead of me than behind me. I want to get as much done as I can while still healthy to enjoy my efforts. But nothing happens by itself. So, I appreciate your attitude which I agree with. Make it happen.

Thank you. I wish there were more people with your look on life and giving others the great words to help them get it done. Whatever it is if it seems you just are always encouraging people to do what they might not be sure they are able or handy enough to do. It's definitely going to get done with the Spring garden season peeking around the corner I am definitely going to get busy and make my own raised beds my way. I will definitely be posting pictures for everyone to see. My son has also been trying to get me more pallets for my projects that I have in mind to do. I have a lot of wood that has not been contaminated with any yucky stuff so I'm more than set for getting started I just need mother nature to ease up on the yucky weather.

 

[gtaus]

It's definitely going to get done with the Spring garden season peeking around the corner I am definitely going to get busy and make my own raised beds my way. I will definitely be posting pictures for everyone to see.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Most of my good ideas come from others with just a bit of a twist for my particular needs.

I remain open to new ideas. Well, hügelkultur gardening is not a new idea, but it was to me a few years back. I guess I should say that I remain open to ideas new to me!

 

[Land of Lincoln]

Those are some nice looking pallet beds. I have access to a lot of pallets with my work & the more I see those beds, the more I can see myself making some. Those are really nice.

I’m getting the itch bad to get back into the garden but when I step outside, ol Mother Nature reminds me she’s still and charge & to be patient grasshopper.

I have started a few onion seeds using the paper towel method. I had great success with this method last year for all of my seeds. Have any of you started seeds yet??

 

[gtaus]

Those are some nice looking pallet beds. I have access to a lot of pallets with my work & the more I see those beds, the more I can see myself making some. Those are really nice.

I have had great results using pallets to make raised beds. I started using pallet wood back in the COVID-19 pandemic days when lumber prices went through the roof. Back then, building a small, raised garden bed using store bought lumber might have been as much as $200.00. I was able to find free pallets, tear them apart, and rebuild them as raised beds for about $2.00 in screws and nails. It became a hobby for me and I continue building new pallet wood raised beds every year.

There are lots of different pallet wood raised bed designs. I hope you find one that fits your needs. You can still save a lot of money using pallet wood to make your raised beds if you are willing to put a little work into finding those free pallets.

Have any of you started seeds yet??

I don't start seeds until about the end of March. Like you, I have had success using the paper towel method to sprout seeds. I might try using some fine cloth instead of paper towels this year. I have watched a number of YouTube videos that claim if you use the right kind of cloth, the seeds will not grow into and stick to the material like they will with paper towels.

I start many of my seeds directly into 3-inch net pots....

The advantage to those net pots is that the roots will air prune because of all the slits. The plant will then grow additional roots instead of spiraling around the pot. When you transplant it, the plant has a better developed root system and there is little chance of transplant shock. I have my net pots sitting in a container where I can bottom water all the pots. The water wicks up and feeds the plants as needed. Before, with regular starter pots, I would overwater my starts from the top and kill too many plants. I have never overwatered any of these net pots because the excess water goes out the slits.

I have had much better success with the net pots than other methods, but I know some other people have success with other methods. What plant starter method do you use after your seeds have sprouted in paper towels?

I should also mention that the first year I used the net pots I bought some high quality MiracleGro seed starting mix. Everything grew well, strong and tall plants, and I was very excited about using the net pot method.

Last year, I thought I would save some money and bought an off brand potting mix on sale for my seed starting. It was really disappointing. The seeds sprouted and started to grow, like the year before, but the plants never took off and had stunted growth. After about six weeks, I had to go the store, buy some MiraclGro seed starting mix, and start all over again.

I thought I was going to save some money with that inexpesive potting mix, but I ended up losing almost 8 weeks of work that I never got back!

This year, I'm going to buy the more expensive MiracleGro seed starting mix again from the start. You can't buy back lost time no matter how much money you have. Well, that was my lesson from last year.