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Post by lisaann on Jul 19, 2015 16:59:16 GMT -5
Nope, they will just yellow under there and die.
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Post by binnylou on Jul 19, 2015 21:27:19 GMT -5
binny look how wonderful this is: Yes, it is interesting. Doesn't look too difficult. When I presented this concept to hubby, the look I got was of "are you out of your freakin' mind?" I'll have to work on him  |
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Post by kimmsr🕊 on Jul 20, 2015 5:41:46 GMT -5
Generally, no matter the soil type, organic matter in the soil will help retain moisture (sand) or let it loose (clay) and a good mulch will help. In a recent issue of Fine Gardening magazine is an article by two researchers at Michigan State University after a 9 year study of mulch in the garden and they wrote that a mulch at least 4 inches thick was needed to hold moisture in the soil. They also found that plants growing in well mulched soils had higher levels of Nitrogen than plants growing in not mulched soils.
Thin mulches, less than 2 inches, do little for the reasons that a gardener would mulch. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2015 6:42:12 GMT -5
If you are feeling very impatient, hugelkultur may not be for you. Hugelkultur uses waste or less than perfect wood as a sponge. it also makes for a very raised bed. Think a volkswagon graveyard. Folks do add some quicker to decay yard waste, but because the bulk are logs, it is year two before the wood holds enough water to fulfill it true role as a big ol' sponge.
When a hugelkultur bed is well mulched it will need less water than a regular raised bed.
It will be year three or four before you can rototill again, so keep up with mulch.
Logs decay with the help of mushrooms, they, the mushrooms fix nitrogen on their own, so no N stealing takes place.
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Post by octave on Jul 20, 2015 7:28:37 GMT -5
@coppice
I think the article says that after a year you can start growing plants near or around the raised bed.
So if binny can start something now, she'll possibly have a garden bed by next year.
Furthermore: why would anybody till a Hugelkultur bed?
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 20, 2015 7:35:38 GMT -5
the look I got was of "are you out of your freakin' mind?" It's more work than I would want to do either. It looks interesting but it's not for me. |
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Post by tbird on Jul 20, 2015 9:30:18 GMT -5
It's more work than I would want to do either. It looks interesting but it's not for me. These folks are using huge mature trees, so moving those around is hard enough... For me, it is just yard waste - trimmings, saplings, etc. I had a huge tree taken down but didn't know about this yet and they took the wood. They likely made a fortune off it, as the base of the tree was about 6' - you could have made those table tops out of them! But - as I said - I just bury stuff that I'd have to get rid of anyway, so it isn't like it is a bunch of extra work as it disposes of the stuff. |
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Post by binnylou on Jul 20, 2015 9:58:30 GMT -5
But - as I said - I just bury stuff that I'd have to get rid of anyway, so it isn't like it is a bunch of extra work as it disposes of the stuff. We have a pile of firewood that is not being used for heating the house. It's going to rot before it gets used for fireplace/campfire use. I just thought it would be interesting to build a new raised bed and put a layer of this firewood in for the base level. Hubby still isn't buyin' it. |
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Post by tbird on Jul 20, 2015 10:20:54 GMT -5
Hubby still isn't buyin' it. because it is too much work (for him??), or he doesn't think the hugelkultur works as advertized? If it is already aging - the wood, not the DH, lol! - then you are in good shape to bury/set up now and plant in the spring. For my purposes, I always try to get at least 12' - or as close as I can get - of soil on top of it. So I figure that it is like being in a container until the wood gets good. |
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Post by binnylou on Jul 20, 2015 10:35:23 GMT -5
because it is too much work (for him??), or he doesn't think the hugelkultur works as advertized? Because he accepts/ realizes my physical limitations better than I do. I'm still stubborn and wanting to try new things...at this point, I think he would be happy if I quit trying to garden.  |
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Post by tbird on Jul 20, 2015 11:03:08 GMT -5
oh - well whatever you decide on binnylou, good luck! |
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 20, 2015 12:11:03 GMT -5
he would be happy if I quit trying to garden. Well THAT'S not going to happen! |
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Post by desertwoman on Jul 20, 2015 18:50:49 GMT -5
No it's not!
Besides that's how you move beyond physical limitations- by believing you can. One day at a time.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 17:09:19 GMT -5
I do all my garden work with hand tools. And tend to bury bulky wood about a shovel deep. Why till a hugelkultur? I have no idea, but some folks just can't lay off that tiller.
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