New Hugelkultur Bed

So i would like to get your opinion on a hulgekultur bed i just put in. I used some firewood i bought from Vons and i poured some topsoil on top, about a 3 inch layer. So what i was wondering is, since i just purchased the firewood how long until it rots and starts holding water for me so plants can start growing and also is 3 inches not enough depth?

Any advice would be appreciated,

Thanks a bunch

Kenny Garcia wrote:

So i would like to get your opinion on a hulgekultur bed i just put in. I used some firewood i bought from Vons and i poured some topsoil on top, about a 3 inch layer. So what i was wondering is, since i just purchased the firewood how long until it rots and starts holding water for me so plants can start growing and also is 3 inches not enough depth?

Any advice would be appreciated,

Thanks a bunch

Hi Kenny,

I am in a suburban town home setting, so gardening for me is... challenging. My back yard is 22'X15'
I built a raised bed this spring , in a box, 24"w X 24"h X 72"l.

I dug out 10 inches of earth beneath where I was going to place it, and set it aside.

I placed the box over the hole. I lined the inside of the box with 2 layers of 6 mil plastic to protect the box from moisture.

I placed about 300 lbs of loosely stacked timber (from dead trees that were readily at hand) into the box and hole. This had wood, some as much as 8-12 inches in diameter about 12 inches from the top of the box.
I placed one bag of organic compost (from a very good nursery here in Austin) on top of the wood, to help it start to rot. I then tossed an 8 lb bag of bat manure on top of that.
I put the soil from the original hole back on top of that.
Then I layered garden soil mix and more of that compost to the top of the box, amending with 40 lbs of volcanic sand, 2 lbs dried molases, 3 lbs bone and blood meal.

So I have, in my box, at least a foot of soil on top of the wood. I am sure that it is happy decomposing down there, but it is still not providing water from my plants as yet.

I do think that 3 inches of soil on top of your wood is insufficent, I would use at least six inches or a even a foot if it is packed in tightly.I would also amend it heavily to allow for the wood to suck the N from the surrounding soil until it starts to decompose. Eventually, you will get the N back, but not for a while...like several years.

If I understand how all this works, and I may not... It should decompose sufficently to "work" by next spring.

richard

Okay thanks for advice.