Hügelkultur Raised Beds

[gtaus]

Hügelkultur Mounds?

I have been busy spring cleaning my yard. I have one section on the side edge of my property that I have been piling up junk wood for a few years. The pile is almost 6 feet high now. Today, I was mowing the lawn and had excess grass clippings that I decided to dump on top of all that junk wood...

Hey, I thought to myself, I think I might add more grass clippings to that pile of wood, then some chicken run compost, and maybe plant some squash in it just for fun! That's kind of how the first hügelkultur mounds were built. The only bad thing is that location is under a lot of trees, so maybe partial sunlight at best. But it might be good enough for some squash plants.

Here is a closeup of the mound in progress...

There is still a lot of work to do before it will be a proper hügelkultur mound to plant in, but if I continue working on it, it might be ready this year. I don't plan on adding anything other than more grass clippings and then chicken run compost. I am not going to pay for more topsoil that I also mix into my hügelkultur raised beds. But I read that squash will grow in 100% compost, so I might give that a try.

If nothing else, the grass clippings and finished compost should weigh down all that wood and maybe speed up the compost process. If not this year, the mound might be ready for next year.

 

[gtaus]

New Hügelkultur Raised Bed with Only 4 Inches of Soil?

I built a new pallet wood raised bed v2.0 last fall and hauled it to the backyard...

Instead of filling the bed with my typical logs, I filled this one with pallet wood cut offs and scrap wood. I had to clean out my garage and I thought using the pallet wood bits and pieces in a hügelkultur raised bed was a better use of all that junk wood than burning it in my fire ring.

My raised beds are 16 inches high. I normally only fill the bed halfway up with wood logs, leaving another 8 inches for soil and compost. But I had lots of junk pallet wood cut offs and keep filling up the bed. I added some salvaged 2X4's for a trellis system.

Since that picture, I replaced that mended 2X4 of the front left with a better board. But it gives you a good view of how I probably overfilled that bed with scrap wood, leaving only 4-6 inches for topsoil. I finished off that bed with about 4 inches of chicken run compost - no soil - and called it done for the year.

But now I am faced with what to plant in only 4 inches of compost. Will anything grow in straight compost and only 4 inches deep? Maybe 6 inches at most in some spots?

According to some information I found online, I should be able to grow squash or beans in as little as 4 inches of soil/compost. So, I think I will have to get some fencing for the trellis and maybe get some pole beans to grow in that bed, and maybe some squash to fill up the rest of the bed. Tomatoes was another option listed, but I already have all my tomatoes planted in other beds.

In any case, the soil level usually drops about 2 inches the first year and 1-2 inches every year after that as the wood breaks down. I'll top off the bed with fresh topsol/compost every year and my raised bed should get better with age.

I have found some old 2X4 inch utility fencing that would work good for a trellis, but not enough. I might have to break down and buy a new roll of fencing. In any case, I will update my progress after I finish that bed. I'm not sure how well anything would grow in only 4 inches of straight compost this year, but I'm going to give it a try.

 

[Sally PB]

I'm not sure how well anything would grow in only 4 inches of straight compost this year, but I'm going to give it a try.

I think squash or beans would do very well! When I've pulled the plants up at the end of the season, the roots are nearly all horizontal, spreading out, and not very deep.

 

[DuckLady]

I love how nice your planters are.

Radishes would work well, if you like radishes. I do and I have been planting a row every week wherever I can get one in. What about peas? If you have a trellis setup, they wouldn't depend so much on a deeper root to support themselves. I have mine planted in a 2' x 1'deep round planter and by the time the soil settled it's pretty shallow. They are 5' high now and pea-ing like mad. I may have planted too many.

I almost have hubby talked (nagged) into building me a box or 4 for next year, or at least helping me with one so I know what I'm doing. I have been hand weeding out there to clear more room for expansion.

We picked our first 2 strawberries yesterday and you would think we were invited for dessert at Buckingham Palace. Each one carefully sliced and served with the tiniest dollop of whipped cream and a Nilla wafer. We have been having radishes for the last month. Next year I want to try adding potatoes and I definitely want more onions and garlic.

I do love this time of year.

 

[gtaus]

I think squash or beans would do very well! When I've pulled the plants up at the end of the season, the roots are nearly all horizontal, spreading out, and not very deep.

I planted some Zucchini in that bed this morning. Although it might grow just fine in 4 inches of compost, I built up some mounds in the bed and transplanted the plants into the mounds. So, there will be 6-8 inches for the roots immediately in the mound and maybe only about 4 inches in the rest of the bed.

If you look hard enough, you can see that I added fresh compost into mounds in the above picture. The drier 4-inch-deep compost in the bed is a lighter shade of black and the mounds with the darker fresh compost is about another 4 inches above the surface level.

Radishes would work well, if you like radishes.

Yes, I do like radishes. Thanks for the suggestion. I also have some green onions that I still need to plant somewhere. I have another elevated planter where I put in some lettuce, so maybe that is a good place for the radishes and onions. Make it a salad planter, so to speak.

 

[DuckLady]

@gtaus So if you don't mind a stupid question....what size and type of screw do I need to go buy to make a pallet raised bed? I am going to try my hand at it next week while hubby is out of town. And how many for one bed?

 

[gtaus]

@gtaus So if you don't mind a stupid question....what size and type of screw do I need to go buy to make a pallet raised bed? I am going to try my hand at it next week while hubby is out of town. And how many for one bed?

Well, I can give you an estimate on what I use to make my 4X4 foot pallet wood raised bed v2.0 design, if that helps.

I use long screws for the top and bottom 2X4 frames because I am screwing into end grain wood. I use two 3 or 3-1/2-inch screws per corner on the frame, or 16 long screws total for the top and bottom frames.

Screwing into the end grain of the 2X4 framing is a relatively weak joint. To make the bed much stronger, I add a couple of 2X4's vertically in each corner and secure them to the frame from the inside using 2-1/2 inch screws, about 10 per corner, or 40 for the whole bed.

In my raised bed design, the sidewall planks are inside the 2X4 frames, so I just use 18-gauge brad nails to hold the wood in place. The real holding power comes from the soil inside the bed which pushes the sidewall planks into the framing. No need for me to use anything more than brad nails, but I have a brad nail gun which makes the job easy for me. If you don't have that option, you would need to use short screws or nails, about 1 inch long. Let's estimate maybe 10 sidewall boards and using 4 screws or nails per board. That would be another 160 short 1-inch nails or screws.

I just use inexpensive drywall screws that I buy at our local Fleet store by the pound. They will most likely outlast the wood on the raised bed before the screws rust out. So, I don't think you need to buy the much more expensive deck screws.

If you want to go old school, you can use the nails that you probably have saved after breaking down the pallets. That would save some money, but you have to spend your time straightening out bent nails. Nothing wrong with that, but I just prefer to use new screws for my builds because it is so much faster.

I hope that helps you get an idea of what you might need for your project. At one time, I estimated my hardware cost for my raised beds was less than $5 per 4X4 foot bed. But I use those cheap brad nails for the sidewalls, and they cost almost nothing.

After almost 5 years, these pallet wood raised beds v2.0 are still holding up very well. None of the wood has rotted out and the frames are holding together with no blow outs. Of the 8 raised beds I have in the garden, I have only replaced a few sidewall boards that warped, but that is an easy repair with this design. The pallet wood is lasting longer than I had hoped for, and for the cost, I don't know how you can beat the price.

 

[DuckLady]

Oh thank you!

I’m making a list.

Since I’m old, we’ll likely go with the less expensive screws. I tried taking a pallet apart today. The genius who assembled it drove the nails in at an angle so it wasn’t a pleasant experience. On the plus side, my barrage of texts to my husband from the shop of
“Where’s your crowbar?”
“Do we have any wood screws?”
“Where’s your round handheld saw and which hand do I hold it in?”
“Is there a drill attachment for screws around here?”

Along with the clatter of a pallet being dropped and hammered on outside the back door brought him out asking “What the HELL are you up to now?”

Upshot- he offered to help me build garden boxes.

 

[old commando]

Hügelkultur Mounds?

I have been busy spring cleaning my yard. I have one section on the side edge of my property that I have been piling up junk wood for a few years. The pile is almost 6 feet high now. Today, I was mowing the lawn and had excess grass clippings that I decided to dump on top of all that junk wood...

View attachment 4130951

Hey, I thought to myself, I think I might add more grass clippings to that pile of wood, then some chicken run compost, and maybe plant some squash in it just for fun! That's kind of how the first hügelkultur mounds were built. The only bad thing is that location is under a lot of trees, so maybe partial sunlight at best. But it might be good enough for some squash plants.

Here is a closeup of the mound in progress...

View attachment 4130952

There is still a lot of work to do before it will be a proper hügelkultur mound to plant in, but if I continue working on it, it might be ready this year. I don't plan on adding anything other than more grass clippings and then chicken run compost. I am not going to pay for more topsoil that I also mix into my hügelkultur raised beds. But I read that squash will grow in 100% compost, so I might give that a try.

If nothing else, the grass clippings and finished compost should weigh down all that wood and maybe speed up the compost process. If not this year, the mound might be ready for next year.

Hügelkultur Mounds?

I have been busy spring cleaning my yard. I have one section on the side edge of my property that I have been piling up junk wood for a few years. The pile is almost 6 feet high now. Today, I was mowing the lawn and had excess grass clippings that I decided to dump on top of all that junk wood...

View attachment 4130951

Hey, I thought to myself, I think I might add more grass clippings to that pile of wood, then some chicken run compost, and maybe plant some squash in it just for fun! That's kind of how the first hügelkultur mounds were built. The only bad thing is that location is under a lot of trees, so maybe partial sunlight at best. But it might be good enough for some squash plants.

Here is a closeup of the mound in progress...

View attachment 4130952

There is still a lot of work to do before it will be a proper hügelkultur mound to plant in, but if I continue working on it, it might be ready this year. I don't plan on adding anything other than more grass clippings and then chicken run compost. I am not going to pay for more topsoil that I also mix into my hügelkultur raised beds. But I read that squash will grow in 100% compost, so I might give that a try.

If nothing else, the grass clippings and finished compost should weigh down all that wood and maybe speed up the compost process. If not this year, the mound might be ready for next year.

looks good to me , i been doing this kinda stuff for 30 years if that pile been there years be some might fine stuff down bottom ,, i think wood ash helps , wood ash is easy , just go light it off sometime , wildlife loves these wood piles and as far as planting go out and put some potholes in there , you know , couple gallons planting soil and seeds ..gallon , half gallon , quart , pint .. i like fancy gourds squash is good

 

[gtaus]

Along with the clatter of a pallet being dropped and hammered on outside the back door brought him out asking “What the HELL are you up to now?”

Upshot- he offered to help me build garden boxes.

Dear Wife has her ways to get me involved in her projects without directly asking me as well.

At any rate, building a pallet wood raised bed is not rocket science and I think you could learn how to use the basic tools in no time if that's what you want. I have lots of good tools, saws, and years of experience working with wood, so I can build a pallet wood raised bed in little time. As with anything, the first one always is the hardest and you learn while doing, making the next one much faster.