As a Zone 6b Clay-ite.... hugelkulture in raised and trench beds is our bread and butter. Yes, I have had to bring in additional leaf compost to fill in as mine settles, it is all chill because my township makes the compost and gives it away free. I get a minimum of a pickup load Every March 2nd (because they open that gate every March 1.) Free compost all you can haul is a clay persons dream.
Nice overview! Folks make this idea seem WAY too complicated sometimes, and they often worry a lot about little details that aren't really crucial. In a nutshell, you're just composting wood slowly and letting it hold water for you while it breaks down. Big logs will work, and piles of little branches and brush will work too. Just keep the very basic principles in mind and use what you've got, it'll be fine :)
I've been putting off starting a hugelkultur bed for a long time, mainly because I don't have access to the logs which I know are a massive part of it. I'm now quite glad that a tree came down in my garden, as you've given me the inspiration to start building one! I can see it being an ongoing project in the hope of being able to grow in it next spring. Thank you both!
You can use the same concept with just small branches and brush. It may not hold as much water as big chunks of logs, but on the other hand it will break down and become soil more quickly. Remember what they say about fruit trees - the best time to plant one is ten years ago... but the second best time is right now. The same is true for hugel beds. Don't wait for all the perfect list of materials, just go ahead and get something started :)
@@homefarmgarden6214 you're very welcome! I try to encourage everyone who's doing something to grow, whether it's a full-on homestead or a few herbs on a windowsill.
Thirding that you don't need logs. Just use whatever you've got. Things that fall under "brown material" from a composting point of view will probably remain intact for a few years, especially if buried deeper down (the bulk of decomposers are near the surface of the soil I think). And then you can just keep chop & dropping or adding whatever organic matter you have on hand as mulch.
Going to be beginning a permaculture project in my zone 8 on 4 acres, have some soggy land when it rains, holds water when it rains, going to use hugelkulture mounds starting when it dries out in a few days. May the Lord guide my steps.
We lived in Central Iowa 19 years and they are colder and they have some super deep loamy soil also yellow clay in areas. Thanks Greg for your teaching help Sir. Lady WOW ! for your sunflower and they're blooming as mine are only 5 ft at best but you are the Master Gardener good video. I did start one hullugacultle .I didn't know to first dig into the soil . About 4 season and I had sunflower for building the soil and this season have indertiment tomatoes planted into sunflower dead root ball they are not baby much but doing fair and interesting to see thier produce later. Thanks for your teaching it's helpful Lady 👍
Today looking at the 3 tomatoes out in the back that doesn't get fair water...they are over all better off as of now Getting interesting and trying to be a test and see what they produce they are 3 types so should be fair testing. These are the ones planted in last season sunflower root ball.
I live in a Zone 9, very little frost, 110F for about 100 days straight. Poor dirt to start with. Now I get people looking over the fence asking, " How is that possible?. My answer after 5+ years telling what I do is ask " Do you like to eat?" answered , "Of course". So I just tell them, so do your plant, here in the desert so do the gardens/fruiting trees, I choose to do it with organics. Some even ask, what is organic, " What at one time was something living, not out of a bag or box.. It works for me, similar to what you do Jenna. Just pile it on, even the bale's of hay that get spilled on roadways.
It's a lot of work but you will not be disappointed. So far this year I set up four raised garden beds in the hügelkultur fashion, with four more to come shortly. Also did the same for my long in ground bed. Even though they were just setup this year the results are amazing. And now they will only improve over the years with minimal amending on my part. Good luck with yours!
What a breath of fresh air you are, did one 15 foot row of hugelkulter and planted green bush beans on it, so far so good. I'm in the middle of Michigans lower and temps have been rollercoaster for the whole year.
We love our hügelkulture! It is in its second year, and it is doing great! It truely does hold water better than our other growing spaces. Thank you both for sharing your knowledge and experiences! Great video 😊
I made a raised bed in between the rain this spring. I had heard of filing the bottom with large branches (6" diameter?) that had fallen from a pine tree and a thin layer of clay clods to decrease the amount of fill dirt it. I also added sticks and branches to sort of fill in gaps. I guess that I did something similar on accident. Because the breaking down process removes nitrogen, I planted pole beans. So far, so good.
Excellent video. hugelkulture's a great concept. For the past five years, we've had a strawberry and raspberry bed that's growing over the remains of a neglected, 12-foot-tall Rose of Sharon which we heaped with unfinished compost. Very productive, yet I never have to water. We're also doing a sort-of hugelkulture thing to get rid of 3 large hardwood stumps that were in our backyard when we moved in. From the look of things, they've been there for at least ten years., Three years ago, we piled unfinished compost on them in November, planting squash, cucumbers, and melons into the piles the following spring. Those stumps are now almost rotted away, and I've more-or-less incorporated those small plots into the larger garden.
Love your channel. It has been very helpful with my garden as I’m in same zone. I actually did this method to fill 3/4 of my raised garden beds. Filled them like you did last fall and let them sit all winter then this spring topped them with organic compost and organic raised bed soil. So far my garden is thriving and I’m loving it! Just never knew this is what the method is called! Another thing I learned from your channel! 😊
Thank you for sharing! We have been using hugelkultur as a foundation for all of our new garden beds since reading "Gaia's Gardenin 2016." With these long summer dry spells we keep getting, I can't imagine how badly our crops would have needed water, if not for this amazing permaculture design.
I'm so glad I found this channel and this video! I have an excess of the raw materials to do this! Going to try this method this coming spring as part of my permaculture gardens.
It's great to see there are many ways to grow. I removed a tree from our front yard recently (to replace it with fruit trees)... this meant I had about a 3 foot hole in the ground... so I filled it with branches and covered it up... not sure if it will add much to the soil but considering a lot of what I dug out was clay heavy... it couldn't hurt.
Very interesting to try at some point. Since our garden has limited space in an urban area, the best we do similar to this is adding wood at the bottom of raised beds.
Thanks for the wonderful update, haven’t tried these before but looks compelling! I like that you addressed the nitrogen imbalance, something like this with the nitrogen sink of all that brown material seems like you would need to add a lot of nitrogen early. Thanks again for a great video!
Ooh! You should definitely give one a try at your new place! Regarding the nitrogen sink- it's actually less than I expected when I built mine. I believe a big part of that was due to the fact that I intentionally chose logs and branches that were old and already starting to break down a bit. But it's definitely something folks need to be aware of.
Aphids on peppers = excess nitrogen in their pots. However, in Greg's beds it looks like the opposite, they lack nitrogen. He should apply some algae based fertilizer every couple of days, they will bounce back up. Overall looking at the plants (especially peppers and tomatoes) I would say that all of Greg's beds have a little bit too much carbon mulch/material, and that he needs more green stuff : grass clippings, compost, manure, spent barley... He probably went a bit overboard with wood chips and straw and now he has nitrogen depletion. It will resolve itself in a month or two IF it rains. If it's dry in his area, he should really go ahead and put a bit of liquid organic fertilizer in his watering cans, or just urine.
Sounds about right. If anything I'd rather err on the side of too little N in a pile or bed, because soluble nitrogen is the easiest thing to add. Algae-based, diluted urine, grass clipping tea, fish emulsion, etc etc are all easy to use and you're not likely to burn the plants.
You can see in my other videos that I have been growing cover crops in these beds which I chop and drop regularly. I also add grass clippings and compost as a mulch. The straw you see in this video was just added that day and it’s covering the “green” material underneath. I don’t plan to add any other fertilizers because that defeats the purpose of doing a hügelkultur bed in the first place. Our plants are generally small because I rarely fertilize them in our grow room either. We’ve also had record heat waves and the plants had a late start. And so far this year, these beds have only received rainwater, whether from a storm or from our rain barrel.
@@SomeRoomtoGrow it's for this reason that I don't do hugelkultur. We tried twice in our 1800 m² garden and it doesn't work due to low precipitations (we get less than 600 mm a year). If it doesn't rain, the organic matter doesn't decompose and your plants are stunned. If it does rain, it's too much organic matter and the plants grow out of control. For squashes it's fine, they handle it well, but tomatoes and melons hated it (once it rained and the nutrients leeched out), their leaves were all twisted and weird, and the taste was awful. So, a good mulch in the end is all I need. A hugelkultur bed is immense work, too much work. I would need a whole forest to do my garden. It also doesn't work with fresh wood, you need well rotted wood, which can't be found anywhere for sale, you need to forage it somewhere. I see plenty of people who put fresh or commercial wood in their beds, but it doesn't decompose so it's useless. Hugelkultur fills a very specific need : if your soil is either very poor (like sand or very rocky ground) or constantly water logged (like a swamp). Otherwise, it's just too much work and IMO you're better off with just regular mulching. 5 cm of compost, 10 cm of wood chips, and all veggie gardens work.
As with all things in gardening, there are no absolutes. I've had the opposite experience with hugelkultur beds- everything I've planted in them has thrived. I also have access to all the materials needed and have waterlogged clay soil- so they are an excellent solution for me and I enjoy the work of putting the beds together. If you have beautiful, nutrient-rich, loamy soil I woudn't recommend going throught the trouble of building one. But for folks like Greg and I that struggle with heavy, poorly draining clay soil- they are a great solution.
@@nicolasbertin8552 that's a really extreme example. 600mm/23" of rain per year is going to be a serious challenge no matter what gardening techniques you use. The general requirement for a veg garden is an inch of rain per week. In your conditions, you WILL have to provide water one way or another, there's just no way around it. One or two exceptions outside the norm do not disprove the general rule. I'm sorry it doesn't work in your specific conditions, but it works pretty well for a whole lot of other people.
Good info. I am leaning on using hugelkultur for a raised bed next spring. I rescued what looks to be a cattle/animal water tub from the trash a week ago. Its about 4'x2.5' and about 32 inches tall. I normally do sip's for containers, but there is about a 18 inch limit for water to wick up, and there is a tiny bit of rust in the bottom. I dont want to fill it all with potting soil, way to expensive. Logs, branches and leaves sound like a good base after drilling some holes in the bottom.
I'm constructing a few large hugelkultur beds in the next few weeks. I'm planning on using horse manure (herbicide-free) in lieu of topsoil and letting it compost over the winter, along with a cover crop that can handle the hotness of the manure. I'm hoping the manure can help with the nitrogen greed of the wood and brush.
Wow your beds look amazing! We did two 4x4 raised beds this way, prepped last fall. They plants in them are doing great! I did not know you never need to water them, though! I am in western PA and get plentiful rain usually so I am trying no watering for sure!! Thanks for the video! I like watching in a similar growing region!
Thanks! And I'm very glad to hear your plants are doing great! I wouldn't say you never need to water them- that was just my experience last year. Though if you typically get plenty of rain, I suspect you could get away with it! I'm wondering how mine will fare if my current weather continues- it's unusually hot & dry here. But I've not watered yet this year and they're still doing well! Best wishes for a great growing season!
If your plants are established they don't need that much watering. I haven't been watering my cherry tomatoes, which are in a hugelkultur bed, and I'm in Southern Ontario, which has been in a semi-drought (only 3.4 inches in the past 2 months - normal would be 6 inches). The tomatoes, which I transplanted only 5-6 weeks ago, are now 4ft tall and each have two clusters of marble sized fruit on them, so they seem to be doing quite alright.
I've never tried this but it's great to see it done....( me I'm skeptical about this method when I first saw it...) as long as it work for those who want to try that great....ut seems alot of work....
My kale and bib lettuce did pitiful. I tossed most in the compost bin. I did save four bib lettuce and transplanted in another bin and brought in the hose in a sunny window. I hope I can revive them so I can have a fresh salad for once! Idk…I’m trying. If not, I’m replanting for fall. It’s been hot here in zone 6b
(German) Hügelkultur... (English) Hillgardening... (French) culture sur butte. Yu can make it strait on a very flat area with trenchees between every "Hügel". Or better : follow the curves of denivelation / levels on yur area. Even when yur area is almost flat. Evacuate excess of water is.. Should be an obsession. And keep it in a reserve...for future use when weather is a littl bit too dried. Regular climate is a key of success.
Thanks for sharing this. This has me wondering if some wood (maybe 20% of the available space) would help with water retention in cloth pots. They drain well, to well during hot weather.
When I put in 6 raised beds 2 years ago, I dug down about 16" to hardpan and put in a hugelkutur base of logs and leaves up to ground level before adding a compost, manure, soil, peat moss mix. The raised beds are only about 12" high, but do need a lot of water. I was hoping the logs would cut down on the water. Did I do something wrong? If nothing else, the 12 tons of clay I dug out did make a nice pad where I produce bio char.
Hmmm... it doesn't sound like you did anything wrong! What type of wood did you use? I wonder if that can make the difference? Mine is primarily hickory, with some oak and maple.
@@TheTrock121 Hmmm... I wouldn't think 12" would be too much. I'm going to do a little more digging, if I come across any potential explanations, I'll let you know!
Could logs be used where fill dirt might be the typical recommendation? I need to backfill a retaining wall about 3 feet high, and simultaneously have a large douglas fir tree that needs removed. I'm in a wet climate and always see these mounds built on or near the surface so I'm not sure if thats a convenience or necessity
I've been thinking about this Linda, and I don't think it would be a good thing to use for a retaining wall. I'm afraid things would shift & settle too much.
Hi Jenna, Having a cucumber beetle problem 😠 and in one of your videos you mentioned using kaolin clay. Do you use straight up kaolin clay or a different product? Thanks for your time😊
I use a product called surround. The kaolin is processed into a finer powder than normal kaolin clay, allowing it to be mixed with water and pumped through a sprayer. I’m not sure if surround has a patent on this process, but I cannot find any other kaolin clay products that are fine enough to use for this application.
I've seen so many contradicting opinions on pines. Some folks claim you should not use them, as the tanins and sap are not ideal, they are slow to break down and can inhibit microbial activity. Some folks claim they are perfectly fine to use, even claiming they've had excellent results using pine. I have not personally used it, so I can't offer an answer from experience. I will say that I have used walnut (which is supposed to be a big 'no no' due to its allelopathic qualities) mixed with other woods and have had no issues. It was also partially rotted when I started, which helps.
I've not had any worse issues in this bed than in my regular garden beds. Dealing with flea beetles on the eggplant primarily, but I can't say I've ever had issues with earwigs (knock on wood).
gardening makes no sense to me. I was always taught not to plant on top of wood chips because it robs the soil of nitrogen. But yet when I buy potted shurbs the nurseries use a mix of half pinebark and half soil. And this video is showing something similar. traditional garden advice would of been to make a compost pile with all that organic stuff and let it rot for a year then put it in your garden.
It's actually advised NOT to use wood chips in a hugelkultur system. It’s common to think that if woody material like logs, branches and sticks make a good base for a hügelbeet, and that if the ultimate goal is the breakdown of all this woody material, that woodchips and sawdust would make and even BETTER base. However, using things like chips or sawdust can actually cause HUGE issues with nitrogen immobilization. This is due to the larger surface area of the smaller pieces of wood. Putting the surface in contact with soil creates a buffet for bacteria that breakdown wood cellulose and hemi cellulose. But these bacteria also need nitrogen, something wood has little of, so bacteria pull it from the surrounding soil. Eventually when the breakdown is finished, they will release it again- but during the process, which can last years, we refer to the nitrogen as being ‘tied up’. Logs- due to the smaller relative surface area have less issue with nitrogen tie up, and instead tend to rely on fungal networks, which are more efficient with nitrogen than the bacteria are.
Just wondering why you are growing caster oil plants which are deadly poisonous and are a noxious weed as they grow rampantly and cant be used as 'chop and drop'?
This far north they are not a noxious weed as our season is not long enough for the seed to fully mature. Definitely NOT advisable for folks further south to grow them. I started growing them in hopes of repelling moles (which doesn't seem to work) and continue to grow them because I enjoy their looks. Plenty of poisonous plants have been grown in gardens through history. Just keep them away from curious children and pets.
Fair question. We actually had a shallow trench here that my husband had scooped out with a Bobcat. A couple seasons later I finished digging it out by hand, as some of it had filled back in and it wasn't deep enough to begin with. Given the option, I wish I always had some kind of tractor scoop or bobcat on hand to do this kind of work. I've hand dug all of my other hügelkultur beds and it's a lot of work!
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Check out Greg's (Some Room to Grow) video here: ruclips.net/video/RRQz-FZv4zg/видео.html
As a Zone 6b Clay-ite.... hugelkulture in raised and trench beds is our bread and butter. Yes, I have had to bring in additional leaf compost to fill in as mine settles, it is all chill because my township makes the compost and gives it away free. I get a minimum of a pickup load Every March 2nd (because they open that gate every March 1.) Free compost all you can haul is a clay persons dream.
Nice overview! Folks make this idea seem WAY too complicated sometimes, and they often worry a lot about little details that aren't really crucial.
In a nutshell, you're just composting wood slowly and letting it hold water for you while it breaks down. Big logs will work, and piles of little branches and brush will work too.
Just keep the very basic principles in mind and use what you've got, it'll be fine :)
Yes!! Exactly!
I've been putting off starting a hugelkultur bed for a long time, mainly because I don't have access to the logs which I know are a massive part of it. I'm now quite glad that a tree came down in my garden, as you've given me the inspiration to start building one! I can see it being an ongoing project in the hope of being able to grow in it next spring. Thank you both!
You can use the same concept with just small branches and brush. It may not hold as much water as big chunks of logs, but on the other hand it will break down and become soil more quickly.
Remember what they say about fruit trees - the best time to plant one is ten years ago... but the second best time is right now. The same is true for hugel beds. Don't wait for all the perfect list of materials, just go ahead and get something started :)
@@dogslobbergardens6606 that's great advice, thank you!
@@homefarmgarden6214 you're very welcome! I try to encourage everyone who's doing something to grow, whether it's a full-on homestead or a few herbs on a windowsill.
Couldn't have said it better than @DogSlobber Gardens! And best of of luck on your new hugel bed!
Thirding that you don't need logs. Just use whatever you've got. Things that fall under "brown material" from a composting point of view will probably remain intact for a few years, especially if buried deeper down (the bulk of decomposers are near the surface of the soil I think). And then you can just keep chop & dropping or adding whatever organic matter you have on hand as mulch.
sure are nice looking plants growing on it.
Going to be beginning a permaculture project in my zone 8 on 4 acres, have some soggy land when it rains, holds water when it rains, going to use hugelkulture mounds starting when it dries out in a few days. May the Lord guide my steps.
Best of luck!!
We lived in Central Iowa 19 years and they are colder and they have some super deep loamy soil also yellow clay in areas. Thanks Greg for your teaching help Sir.
Lady WOW ! for your sunflower and they're blooming as mine are only 5 ft at best but you are the Master Gardener good video.
I did start one hullugacultle .I didn't know to first dig into the soil .
About 4 season and I had sunflower for building the soil and this season have indertiment tomatoes planted into sunflower dead root ball they are not baby much but doing fair and interesting to see thier produce later.
Thanks for your teaching it's helpful Lady 👍
The sunflowers I started this year from seed and tranasplants are nowhere near blooming yet- I was really impressed with these volunteers!
Save a few seeds they might be more cold resistant and worth something
Today looking at the 3 tomatoes out in the back that doesn't get fair water...they are over all better off as of now
Getting interesting and trying to be a test and see what they produce they are 3 types so should be fair testing.
These are the ones planted in last season sunflower root ball.
I live in a Zone 9, very little frost, 110F for about 100 days straight.
Poor dirt to start with.
Now I get people looking over the fence asking, " How is that possible?.
My answer after 5+ years telling what I do is ask " Do you like to eat?" answered , "Of course". So I just tell them, so do your plant, here in the desert so do the gardens/fruiting trees, I choose to do it with organics. Some even ask, what is organic, " What at one time was something living, not out of a bag or box..
It works for me, similar to what you do Jenna. Just pile it on, even the bale's of hay that get spilled on roadways.
This is awesome! I love to hear success stories like this!
Love the collaboration!
Thanks, Laura!
You have me convinced, doing hugelkultur next season
It's a lot of work but you will not be disappointed. So far this year I set up four raised garden beds in the hügelkultur fashion, with four more to come shortly. Also did the same for my long in ground bed. Even though they were just setup this year the results are amazing. And now they will only improve over the years with minimal amending on my part. Good luck with yours!
Absolutely agree with Plombo#5!
What a breath of fresh air you are, did one 15 foot row of hugelkulter and planted green bush beans on it, so far so good. I'm in the middle of Michigans lower and temps have been rollercoaster for the whole year.
Why thank you! Glad to hear your beans are doing well!
Thank you both for sharing these garden suggestions ✌️👍
Most welcome!
We love our hügelkulture! It is in its second year, and it is doing great! It truely does hold water better than our other growing spaces.
Thank you both for sharing your knowledge and experiences! Great video 😊
Thank you! Glad to hear from another hugel fan!!
I made a raised bed in between the rain this spring. I had heard of filing the bottom with large branches (6" diameter?) that had fallen from a pine tree and a thin layer of clay clods to decrease the amount of fill dirt it. I also added sticks and branches to sort of fill in gaps. I guess that I did something similar on accident. Because the breaking down process removes nitrogen, I planted pole beans. So far, so good.
Excellent video. hugelkulture's a great concept. For the past five years, we've had a strawberry and raspberry bed that's growing over the remains of a neglected, 12-foot-tall Rose of Sharon which we heaped with unfinished compost. Very productive, yet I never have to water. We're also doing a sort-of hugelkulture thing to get rid of 3 large hardwood stumps that were in our backyard when we moved in. From the look of things, they've been there for at least ten years., Three years ago, we piled unfinished compost on them in November, planting squash, cucumbers, and melons into the piles the following spring. Those stumps are now almost rotted away, and I've more-or-less incorporated those small plots into the larger garden.
I'm so glad to hear it's working well for you too!
Love your channel. It has been very helpful with my garden as I’m in same zone. I actually did this method to fill 3/4 of my raised garden beds. Filled them like you did last fall and let them sit all winter then this spring topped them with organic compost and organic raised bed soil. So far my garden is thriving and I’m loving it! Just never knew this is what the method is called! Another thing I learned from your channel! 😊
Thank you so much, Sarah! And very cool that your gardener's intuition led you to this method without even knowing it was a 'thing'!
Beds are doing awesome Mrs. Jenna. Thanks for the info on growing the Hugelkultur way. Stay safe my friend and have a wonderful week!
Thank you! You too!
This was fun! Looking forward to more updates on these as they mature over the years.
Absolutely!
Thank you for sharing! We have been using hugelkultur as a foundation for all of our new garden beds since reading "Gaia's Gardenin 2016." With these long summer dry spells we keep getting, I can't imagine how badly our crops would have needed water, if not for this amazing permaculture design.
Couldn't agree more- they've been a lifesaver through the dry spell I'm having now AND they saved my plants when we were flooded this spring!
Loved seeing the before and afters of each bed
Thanks
Thank you Jenna.
You're welcome!
Love hugelKultur method. I always use a hybrid approach when replacing my dilapidated raised beds.
Nice! I've got some raised beds that are going to need replacing soon, thinking of doing the same.
Right on!
👍
You are a very hard worker!!! I just thought my garden was doing good! You took the wind right out of my sails LOL!
But I love the work!
I'm so glad I found this channel and this video! I have an excess of the raw materials to do this! Going to try this method this coming spring as part of my permaculture gardens.
Wonderful! I'm glad to hear it!
It's great to see there are many ways to grow. I removed a tree from our front yard recently (to replace it with fruit trees)... this meant I had about a 3 foot hole in the ground... so I filled it with branches and covered it up... not sure if it will add much to the soil but considering a lot of what I dug out was clay heavy... it couldn't hurt.
That was a great idea!
Very interesting to try at some point. Since our garden has limited space in an urban area, the best we do similar to this is adding wood at the bottom of raised beds.
It's a great technique for raised beds as well! For folks that fill their raised beds with purchased soil, it cuts quite a bit of that cost.
Thanks for the wonderful update, haven’t tried these before but looks compelling! I like that you addressed the nitrogen imbalance, something like this with the nitrogen sink of all that brown material seems like you would need to add a lot of nitrogen early. Thanks again for a great video!
Ooh! You should definitely give one a try at your new place!
Regarding the nitrogen sink- it's actually less than I expected when I built mine. I believe a big part of that was due to the fact that I intentionally chose logs and branches that were old and already starting to break down a bit. But it's definitely something folks need to be aware of.
I will definitely be giving this method a try. Thanks for the inspiration!
Glad to hear it! I hope you love it as much as we do!
We do the same thing in our raised beds.
Glad to hear it- hope it's working well for you!
Great video! Very helpful 👍
Glad it was helpful!
Aphids on peppers = excess nitrogen in their pots. However, in Greg's beds it looks like the opposite, they lack nitrogen. He should apply some algae based fertilizer every couple of days, they will bounce back up. Overall looking at the plants (especially peppers and tomatoes) I would say that all of Greg's beds have a little bit too much carbon mulch/material, and that he needs more green stuff : grass clippings, compost, manure, spent barley... He probably went a bit overboard with wood chips and straw and now he has nitrogen depletion. It will resolve itself in a month or two IF it rains. If it's dry in his area, he should really go ahead and put a bit of liquid organic fertilizer in his watering cans, or just urine.
Sounds about right. If anything I'd rather err on the side of too little N in a pile or bed, because soluble nitrogen is the easiest thing to add. Algae-based, diluted urine, grass clipping tea, fish emulsion, etc etc are all easy to use and you're not likely to burn the plants.
You can see in my other videos that I have been growing cover crops in these beds which I chop and drop regularly. I also add grass clippings and compost as a mulch. The straw you see in this video was just added that day and it’s covering the “green” material underneath. I don’t plan to add any other fertilizers because that defeats the purpose of doing a hügelkultur bed in the first place. Our plants are generally small because I rarely fertilize them in our grow room either. We’ve also had record heat waves and the plants had a late start. And so far this year, these beds have only received rainwater, whether from a storm or from our rain barrel.
@@SomeRoomtoGrow it's for this reason that I don't do hugelkultur. We tried twice in our 1800 m² garden and it doesn't work due to low precipitations (we get less than 600 mm a year). If it doesn't rain, the organic matter doesn't decompose and your plants are stunned. If it does rain, it's too much organic matter and the plants grow out of control. For squashes it's fine, they handle it well, but tomatoes and melons hated it (once it rained and the nutrients leeched out), their leaves were all twisted and weird, and the taste was awful. So, a good mulch in the end is all I need. A hugelkultur bed is immense work, too much work. I would need a whole forest to do my garden. It also doesn't work with fresh wood, you need well rotted wood, which can't be found anywhere for sale, you need to forage it somewhere. I see plenty of people who put fresh or commercial wood in their beds, but it doesn't decompose so it's useless. Hugelkultur fills a very specific need : if your soil is either very poor (like sand or very rocky ground) or constantly water logged (like a swamp). Otherwise, it's just too much work and IMO you're better off with just regular mulching. 5 cm of compost, 10 cm of wood chips, and all veggie gardens work.
As with all things in gardening, there are no absolutes. I've had the opposite experience with hugelkultur beds- everything I've planted in them has thrived. I also have access to all the materials needed and have waterlogged clay soil- so they are an excellent solution for me and I enjoy the work of putting the beds together. If you have beautiful, nutrient-rich, loamy soil I woudn't recommend going throught the trouble of building one. But for folks like Greg and I that struggle with heavy, poorly draining clay soil- they are a great solution.
@@nicolasbertin8552 that's a really extreme example. 600mm/23" of rain per year is going to be a serious challenge no matter what gardening techniques you use. The general requirement for a veg garden is an inch of rain per week. In your conditions, you WILL have to provide water one way or another, there's just no way around it.
One or two exceptions outside the norm do not disprove the general rule. I'm sorry it doesn't work in your specific conditions, but it works pretty well for a whole lot of other people.
Good info. I am leaning on using hugelkultur for a raised bed next spring. I rescued what looks to be a cattle/animal water tub from the trash a week ago. Its about 4'x2.5' and about 32 inches tall. I normally do sip's for containers, but there is about a 18 inch limit for water to wick up, and there is a tiny bit of rust in the bottom. I dont want to fill it all with potting soil, way to expensive. Logs, branches and leaves sound like a good base after drilling some holes in the bottom.
Sounds like an excellent plan!
I'm constructing a few large hugelkultur beds in the next few weeks. I'm planning on using horse manure (herbicide-free) in lieu of topsoil and letting it compost over the winter, along with a cover crop that can handle the hotness of the manure. I'm hoping the manure can help with the nitrogen greed of the wood and brush.
That sounds like a great plan!
Wow your beds look amazing! We did two 4x4 raised beds this way, prepped last fall. They plants in them are doing great! I did not know you never need to water them, though! I am in western PA and get plentiful rain usually so I am trying no watering for sure!! Thanks for the video! I like watching in a similar growing region!
Thanks! And I'm very glad to hear your plants are doing great!
I wouldn't say you never need to water them- that was just my experience last year. Though if you typically get plenty of rain, I suspect you could get away with it! I'm wondering how mine will fare if my current weather continues- it's unusually hot & dry here. But I've not watered yet this year and they're still doing well! Best wishes for a great growing season!
If your plants are established they don't need that much watering. I haven't been watering my cherry tomatoes, which are in a hugelkultur bed, and I'm in Southern Ontario, which has been in a semi-drought (only 3.4 inches in the past 2 months - normal would be 6 inches). The tomatoes, which I transplanted only 5-6 weeks ago, are now 4ft tall and each have two clusters of marble sized fruit on them, so they seem to be doing quite alright.
I've never tried this but it's great to see it done....( me I'm skeptical about this method when I first saw it...) as long as it work for those who want to try that great....ut seems alot of work....
It is a fair amount of work, but I think it's 1000% worth it in the long run... especially if your native soil is less than optimal!
Nice music pick. Ready to hit the club now! J/K ;)
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Nice!
Thanks!
My kale and bib lettuce did pitiful. I tossed most in the compost bin. I did save four bib lettuce and transplanted in another bin and brought in the hose in a sunny window. I hope I can revive them so I can have a fresh salad for once! Idk…I’m trying. If not, I’m replanting for fall. It’s been hot here in zone 6b
Sorry to heat that! I highly recommenend a fall planting- it's a great time of year for leafy greens!
(German) Hügelkultur...
(English) Hillgardening...
(French) culture sur butte.
Yu can make it strait on a very flat area with trenchees between every "Hügel". Or better : follow the curves of denivelation / levels on yur area. Even when yur area is almost flat. Evacuate excess of water is.. Should be an obsession. And keep it in a reserve...for future use when weather is a littl bit too dried.
Regular climate is a key of success.
This is awesome. I like in Ohio same zone and none of my herbs have ever come back. Advice what to plant
Thanks for sharing this. This has me wondering if some wood (maybe 20% of the available space) would help with water retention in cloth pots. They drain well, to well during hot weather.
It's worth a try. Lots of people including me have used a layer of branches etc on the bottom of solid containers, and it helps for sure.
I agree- I love those cloth pots, but wish I didn't have to water so often in hot weather. It would make an interesting experiment!
When I put in 6 raised beds 2 years ago, I dug down about 16" to hardpan and put in a hugelkutur base of logs and leaves up to ground level before adding a compost, manure, soil, peat moss mix. The raised beds are only about 12" high, but do need a lot of water. I was hoping the logs would cut down on the water. Did I do something wrong? If nothing else, the 12 tons of clay I dug out did make a nice pad where I produce bio char.
Hmmm... it doesn't sound like you did anything wrong! What type of wood did you use? I wonder if that can make the difference? Mine is primarily hickory, with some oak and maple.
@@GrowfullywithJenna It was a mixture, but primarily maple. Maybe the 12" of soil on top is too thick.
@@TheTrock121 Hmmm... I wouldn't think 12" would be too much. I'm going to do a little more digging, if I come across any potential explanations, I'll let you know!
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I wonder if sowing white clover would offset nitrogen use by decomposition? Warmer winters here
Could logs be used where fill dirt might be the typical recommendation? I need to backfill a retaining wall about 3 feet high, and simultaneously have a large douglas fir tree that needs removed. I'm in a wet climate and always see these mounds built on or near the surface so I'm not sure if thats a convenience or necessity
I've been thinking about this Linda, and I don't think it would be a good thing to use for a retaining wall. I'm afraid things would shift & settle too much.
Which way would you put this in a hill? Parallel or perpendicular?
Hi Jenna, Having a cucumber beetle problem 😠 and in one of your videos you mentioned using kaolin clay. Do you use straight up kaolin clay or a different product? Thanks for your time😊
I use a product called surround. The kaolin is processed into a finer powder than normal kaolin clay, allowing it to be mixed with water and pumped through a sprayer. I’m not sure if surround has a patent on this process, but I cannot find any other kaolin clay products that are fine enough to use for this application.
@@GrowfullywithJenna Thanks! Really appreciate you getting back to me.
Can sappy pine trees be used and their pine cones??
Wondering the same thing! Hopefully someone will let us know :)
I've seen so many contradicting opinions on pines. Some folks claim you should not use them, as the tanins and sap are not ideal, they are slow to break down and can inhibit microbial activity. Some folks claim they are perfectly fine to use, even claiming they've had excellent results using pine. I have not personally used it, so I can't offer an answer from experience. I will say that I have used walnut (which is supposed to be a big 'no no' due to its allelopathic qualities) mixed with other woods and have had no issues. It was also partially rotted when I started, which helps.
@@GrowfullywithJenna
Thank you for your reply. I guess I will do some research. Pine is what I have access to :)
How do you deal with the bugs that eat the plants in this bed? I have earwigs in mine that cause the most problems.
I've not had any worse issues in this bed than in my regular garden beds. Dealing with flea beetles on the eggplant primarily, but I can't say I've ever had issues with earwigs (knock on wood).
How do you deal with deer? Groundhogs?
Rabbits?Racoons?
Fences, dogs, live traps...
gardening makes no sense to me. I was always taught not to plant on top of wood chips because it robs the soil of nitrogen. But yet when I buy potted shurbs the nurseries use a mix of half pinebark and half soil. And this video is showing something similar. traditional garden advice would of been to make a compost pile with all that organic stuff and let it rot for a year then put it in your garden.
It's actually advised NOT to use wood chips in a hugelkultur system. It’s common to think that if woody material like logs, branches and sticks make a good base for a hügelbeet, and that if the ultimate goal is the breakdown of all this woody material, that woodchips and sawdust would make and even BETTER base. However, using things like chips or sawdust can actually cause HUGE issues with nitrogen immobilization. This is due to the larger surface area of the smaller pieces of wood. Putting the surface in contact with soil creates a buffet for bacteria that breakdown wood cellulose and hemi cellulose. But these bacteria also need nitrogen, something wood has little of, so bacteria pull it from the surrounding soil. Eventually when the breakdown is finished, they will release it again- but during the process, which can last years, we refer to the nitrogen as being ‘tied up’. Logs- due to the smaller relative surface area have less issue with nitrogen tie up, and instead tend to rely on fungal networks, which are more efficient with nitrogen than the bacteria are.
@@GrowfullywithJenna thanks that make sense now!
Just wondering why you are growing caster oil plants which are deadly poisonous and are a noxious weed as they grow rampantly and cant be used as 'chop and drop'?
This far north they are not a noxious weed as our season is not long enough for the seed to fully mature. Definitely NOT advisable for folks further south to grow them. I started growing them in hopes of repelling moles (which doesn't seem to work) and continue to grow them because I enjoy their looks. Plenty of poisonous plants have been grown in gardens through history. Just keep them away from curious children and pets.
6:02 did you really dig it yourself? I mean no help from the husband? (just curious, none of my business)
Fair question. We actually had a shallow trench here that my husband had scooped out with a Bobcat. A couple seasons later I finished digging it out by hand, as some of it had filled back in and it wasn't deep enough to begin with. Given the option, I wish I always had some kind of tractor scoop or bobcat on hand to do this kind of work. I've hand dug all of my other hügelkultur beds and it's a lot of work!