Hügelkultur Raised Beds

[Sally PB]

What is it with sandy soil? Some places, it seems like any organic stuff you add "washes" right on through.

When I think of my sandy soil garden, and how un-composty it seems, I then think of my friend's garden. Hers looks like beach sand compared to mine. It improved a LOT the year they got a big load of wood chips and put them on.

 

[gtaus]

What is it with sandy soil? Some places, it seems like any organic stuff you add "washes" right on through.

I spent years adding leaves and grass clippings to my sandy garden in-gorund soil. I saw improvements, but the soil was never great. I saw my plants quickly start off in the sandy soil, but they never really matured well enough to bear good fruit. It was always a struggle to get anything to grow to harvest.

Considering my advancing age, I decided to just build some raised beds and fill them with good topsoil. It made a world of difference for me.

When I think of my sandy soil garden, and how un-composty it seems, I then think of my friend's garden. Hers looks like beach sand compared to mine. It improved a LOT the year they got a big load of wood chips and put them on.

I had already moved on to raised beds with high quality topsoil before I ever heard of Back to Eden systems or using wood chips in the garden to build soil. I did find that I can get all the wood chips I could ever use from our local county landfill. It's a 40-mile round trip for me, but I can load up as many free wood chips I can haul. I have used those free wood chips in my coop as deep litter, my chicken run for composting in place, and as top mulch in some of our gardens.

I'm a big fan of wood chips, although I have never used them directly to amend my in-ground soil. I compost them down and use the compost in my gardens.

 

[fuzzi]

I tried to amend my in-ground garden for years and years, but eventually I learned that it was much better for me to grow plants in a contained raised bed where I could amend the soil in just one place and not go broke trying to "fix" my in-ground soil.

This

I found the best way to make a decent "in ground" bed was to lay down heavy sheets of cardboard, then place leaves on top. I made my day lily border this way, and it took 2-3 months I think.

June 2022

June 2023

 

[gtaus]

I found best way to make a decent "in ground" bed was to lay down heavy sheets of cardboard, then place leaves on top. I made my day lily border this way, and it took 2-3 months I think.

June 2022
View attachment 3699366

June 2023
View attachment 3699368

Thanks. Nice pics. Loved them.

Years ago, I read a book on square foot gardening. One of the issues discussed was the cost of making "Mel's mix" for the raised beds, which was not inexpensive even back then. But the author of the book asked a simple question that really drove it home for me. Do you want to amend your poor soil for years and years and someday have a nice garden, or do you want to invest some money up front today and have a crop to harvest this fall?

Life is indeed short, so I decided to invest in the products to make Mel's mix for my Square Foot Garden beds I had at that time. Indeed, I had great results and food on the table that fall.

But over the years I got introduced to hügelkultur raised beds and using my chicken run compost from my new flock to super charge my raised beds. My results have been even better than using Mel's mix in the raised beds, plus, it costs me a whole lot less since both the wood and chicken run compost are free to me. The low cost hügelkultur raised bed system, using Square Foot Gardening planting and spacing recommendations, has been the golden ticket for me.

 

[fuzzi]

Thanks. Nice pics. Loved them.

Years ago, I read a book on square foot gardening. One of the issues discussed was the cost of making "Mel's mix" for the raised beds, which was not inexpensive even back then. But the author of the book asked a simple question that really drove it home for me. Do you want to amend your poor soil for years and years and someday have a nice garden, or do you want to invest some money up front today and have a crop to harvest this fall?

Life is indeed short, so I decided to invest in the products to make Mel's mix for my Square Foot Garden beds I had at that time. Indeed, I had great results and food on the table that fall.

But over the years I got introduced to hügelkultur raised beds and using my chicken run compost from my new flock to super charge my raised beds. My results have been even better than using Mel's mix in the raised beds, plus, it costs me a whole lot less since both the wood and chicken run compost are free to me. The low cost hügelkultur raised bed system, using Square Foot Gardening planting and spacing recommendations, has been the golden ticket for me.

I had Mel's book. That and some Rodale books gave me ideas to work with.

 

[gtaus]

I had Mel's book. That and some Rodale books gave me ideas to work with.

I actually got a hardcover first edition of Mel's Square Foot Gardening from our local Thrift Shop. They had a box of books set out on a table for free. I picked that one up as soon as I saw it. Lots of good ideas.

 

[fuzzi]

I actually got a hardcover first edition of Mel's Square Foot Gardening from our local Thrift Shop. They had a box of books set out on a table for free. I picked that one up as soon as I saw it. Lots of good ideas.

I had a Rodale pamphlet booklet, How to Make Compost in 14 Days. It had a lot of info in a small form. I lost it on one of our long distance moves

 

[Sally PB]

I had a Rodale pamphlet booklet, How to Make Compost in 14 Days. It had a lot of info in a small form. I lost it on one of our long distance moves

https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/2010/05/08/hot-compost-composting-in-18-days/

This might be close enough...? The only caveat is the physical labor involved.

 

[fuzzi]

https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/2010/05/08/hot-compost-composting-in-18-days/

This might be close enough...? The only caveat is the physical labor involved.

That's basically the same information as the booklet. Thanks.

For my first compost pile I bought a section of beach/sand/snow fence 4' tall and 10' long. I set it up so the ends met, making a cylinder. I hooked the ends together loosely.

Then I added alternating layers of dry/carbohydrate matter and hot/protein matter, watering if it was dry. Once the pile was about 3' tall I raked the topmost matter out to the edges so there was a slight dip in the middle of the pile to catch water. Then I watered it, wet but not flooded.

To turn the pile I would unhook the fence and reassemble the cylinder next to the pile, then fork the pile back into the fencing cylinder. That would mix the pile and add oxygen without getting too complicated.

When we made a long distance move I left the fence behind, and in our new area wound up using a section of farm fence that had been discarded. It worked fine. As long as your pile is around 3' diameter and 3'-4' tall the compost should decompose well.

My compost would steam...

 

[Sally PB]

My compost would steam...

Yes! I've seen my compost pile steam on a spring morning.

Making compost in April makes me feel like I'm gardening before it's time to plant. Well, anything but the tough stuff like lettuce and peas and spinach. And kale.

We get a nice sunny day, and I want, actually want to go out and flip my compost from one bay to another. Winter in Michigan will do that to me!