Hügelkultur Raised Beds

[gtaus]

ITs still 60 more pages of information than you have here and a very good source

Again, thank you for that link. I hope some people will check it out for its information.

I have attempted to start a new thread on this subject with new information I shared that I found on YouTube. I have not meant to offend anyone in a post that was started 8 years ago. Nor did I wish to continue to defend this new thread and postings on this subject of hügelkultur raised beds, the terminology currently in use, and why I just did not add to an older existing post even though it has not been commented on in over 3-1/2 years. It's just not productive conversation and throws a wet blanket on the conversation for those who may want to follow this new thread.

Let's move on to a more productive conversation that helps people. I would love to hear what experiences people have with their hügelkultur beds and what they find works best for them. Well, that's what I would like to focus on.

 

[gtaus]

One of the advantages to raised beds, in general, is that the raised beds warm up faster than the ground. This makes a big difference for me because I live in northern Minnesota and if I had to wait to grow some plants in ground, then it would be mid-June before I could start my garden.

On a different thread, someone asked me about my experience growing tropical bitter melons in my hügelkultur raised beds. I don't think I would have any success trying to grow bitter melon in the ground where I live. Anyways, here is a little bit of that conversation....

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Yes, there are different kinds of bitter melon. I only know the ones we grew this summer. The ones we grew were pretty darn bitter to my taste.

What I liked, or could tolerate, was some of the bitter melon cut into smaller strips and adding a small portion of it to our soups. In limited quantity, it added a nice little kick to the soup. Fortunately, Dear Wife has a pretty good understanding of what I might like and can dial back the native ingredients so as to not overpower my American taste sensibilities.

Dear Wife prefers to cook up a big mess of bitter melon, stir fry style, with eggs and a bit of pork, salt and pepper to taste. She loves it. It's way too strong for me. She can eat that as a side dish, or even a main dish along with some rice, of course.

Frankly, I was happy to try to grow some of the bitter melon out in our [hügelkultur] raised bed garden for Dear Wife. We live in northern Minnesota zone 3b and the bitter melon we had is considered a tropical fruit. I did not know if I could get anything to grow, but we had a good harvest. Enough, in fact, to share with some of her other Filipina girlfriends. A taste of home halfway around the world for the girls.

Next year, I will be trying to start some bitter melon plants inside the house in late winter, to give additional weeks head start for the plants. Our growing season is just much shorter and cooler than that bitter melon plant would prefer. So, anything I can do to help it might improve the final harvest.

For those not familiar with bitter melon, here are some pictures I took this summer...

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I personally think that the hügelkultur wood, which acts as a giant sponge, helps to keep the moisture level in the soil in the raised bed more consistent. I imagine that the native soil of this tropical plant is plenty wet all growing season. A "normal" raised bed, without all that wood in the bottom, would drain out and dry out fast.

Also, I think the raised beds warm up a good 2 weeks earlier than our ground does. Given a short growing season where I live, 2 or more weeks advantage makes a big difference.

 

[DuckLady]

We have a short growing season where I am as well. I will be nagging asking my husband to help me build these raised beds in the spring.
This thread is great. Thanks for starting it!

 

[Sally PB]

My neighbor is the first person who ever mentioned hugelkultur to me. Her garden is a flat surface, and she has "hugel-ized" it by sections. She was AMAZED at the difference it made.

When I first looked it up, I saw all the hills ("hugel" means hill) and thought it would be a great way to make more surface area to plant on, if you didn't have much space.

 

[fuzzi]

My first raised bed kit, from 2022. I read about Hugelkulture but didn't have many sticks. I used dead stalks from the flower beds of the year before. Worked well enough.

Preparing the bed before winter (Nov 2022):

Turnips and carrots (Nov 2023)

It works for me.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

My first raised bed kit, from 2022. I read about Hugelkulture but didn't have many sticks. I used dead stalks from the flower beds of the year before. Worked well enough.
View attachment 3698143

Preparing the bed before winter (Nov 2022):
View attachment 3698145


Turnips and carrots (Nov 2023)
View attachment 3698148

It works for me.

Whats with the watermelon Halves?

 

[TooCheep]

Nothing magic. Just more organic material to break down and become worm food. The watermelon won't be "hugel", but will still contribute organic matter to break down and feed the living organisms in the soil. You can bury lots of organic matter that way.

The "hugel" part is generally buried wood that will slowly rot, become soft and spongy and absorb water when available and release water when the bed is dry.

 

[gtaus]

My first raised bed kit, from 2022. I read about Hugelkulture but didn't have many sticks. I used dead stalks from the flower beds of the year before. Worked well enough.

Those are some nice-looking raised beds. I like the concept of those kits where you can simply slide the wood into the 4X4's and, presto, you have put together a raised bed!

I have 3 acres of wooded lot, so I always have old logs to cut up and put into a hügelkultur raised bed. Using any organics in the base of the bed would serve to fill up space and provide some Hugel-like benefits. Obviously, larger wood logs would just last years longer then sticks or dead stalks in providing that sponge like water retention. But I say use what you have first and foremost. Glad to hear that it worked for you.

 

[gtaus]

When I first looked it up, I saw all the hills ("hugel" means hill) and thought it would be a great way to make more surface area to plant on, if you didn't have much space.

Yes, I have seen pictures of Hugel mounds that are almost 6 feet tall, with plants growing all up the sides. If you have limited space, that would certainly be one way to increase your square footage for planting.

I decided to build my hügelkultur raised beds because they complimented my existing raised bed gardens. Also, I work alone so I don't want to be moving any big, heavy logs - like 8 foot long.

If I had a tractor I think I would like to move some big tree trunks into the base of a Hugel mound. Then I would build a taller mound for planting. But 8-inch-tall rounds is about all I want to be slinging around these days and that works perfect for the raised beds I build.

 

[gtaus]

Just more organic material to break down and become worm food. The watermelon won't be "hugel", but will still contribute organic matter to break down and feed the living organisms in the soil. You can bury lots of organic matter that way.

Before I got chickens, I practiced trench composting. Just dig a trench alongside a row of plants, fill it with kitchen scraps and other organic matter, cover it back up with the soil, and in a few months the worms will have turned it into soil. Worked great for me.

You could certainly do that in a raised bed if you wanted.

Now that I have chickens, we feed all our kitchen scraps and leftovers to the girls. They eat the food, break it down into chicken poo, which gets added to the litter in the chicken run, and makes the best chicken run Black Gold compost.