"On your own" hugel-type thing

Not a true hugel mound, I'm calling it a "fertility catch".  I built it from a neighbor's tree that broke off in a wind storm.  It's in the shape of an L on a low corner of my property where some of my gardens are.  I'm thinking I'll pile grass clippings and what-have-you against it, as well as it trapping soil, leaves and other debris that may otherwise run off.  We just had a giant storm, and it did exactly that, so yay!  I'm thinking this will act somewhat like a hugelmound eventually.  I will probably continue to add broken limbs and things to it.  I just had a really big white pine come down last night in another storm, so it will be added as well.  I would like to see it get to 4 feet or so eventually, but I'm not going to spent any large amount of time on it, just add branches here and there and let it develop as it likes.  It should also work well as a home for small critters before it fills with soil and rots down too tightly.

Good job Todd! That's the only hugel-like thing that I make out here in the desert. Sticks laid on contour in low areas to slow the flow of water and soil off the mountain. A single storm can leave behind a gravel bar many feet thick.

When life gives you tree limbs, make hugel-things!

Easy and practical!

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:Good job Todd! That's the only hugel-like thing that I make out here in the desert. Sticks laid on contour in low areas to slow the flow of water and soil off the mountain. A single storm can leave behind a gravel bar many feet thick.

I got the idea partly from a post of yours where you talked about that.  I think Marco was the one that mentioned making small ones of these in various places, so I have the two of you along with some simple observations of a small amount of runoff on my land to credit for this idea.

It's a little misleading in the picture because I took it from the uphill side, but the row is a couple feet deep in some places and I tried to lay it out as level as I could by eye-balling it.  I'm anxious to see how it evolves.

Beautiful!

I have built many a hugel type thingie on my property which slopes considerably, almost like a bowl with a steep edge going up. If I didn't create these "thingies" then the water would pool against that edge. Thought about just digging down and going for broke with a pond, but being in the woods, we are already plagued with biting flies and mosquitoes, so laying hugels on contour works great to slow the flow. Since we have a ton of mature Oaks, some 20 of them, digging swales was out of the question anyway. This works great.

When I plant anything I create one of these on the downhill slope to catch runoff and keep the water for the various trees and plants in place. It doesn't work as well as a swale with a big water lense or anything but it definitely helps.

Keep on going!