So I’m making my first Hugelkulture mound and it’s a pretty big one probably 30‘ x 40‘ and my big question is, is there anything I shouldn’t put in like a diseased log or ants? An answered to these two questions and anything else that I shouldn’t put in there would be very helpful, thanks in advance
Nice pic! Looks like a big job. Sorry not a hugl expert at all so can't answer your questions in any reliable way. But I put everything organic in my little ones, rotted wood, fresh, old hard wood, leaves and weeds and sticks and old boards. Tends to make a good chipmunk habitat!
While there are some species of trees that are not the best material to incorporate into a Hugel (Black Walnut, Eucalyptus, Black Locust) nothing is jumping out at me from your pile. 'Infected' trees just mean there are microbes that are already processing the wood turning it into nutrients in my opinion.
I hope it's obvious enough to not dump anything toxic in there like motor oil or chemicals. Mesquite is another wood to try to avoid using. From the looks of the soil I would suggest mixing a lot of animal manures & leaves & grass clippings & small sticks into the soil before carefully filling all the empty spaces between the logs with it. The less voids left after construction the better off the hugel will be in the long run. I wouldn't worry about a few ants. The ants are going to do what ants do anyway.
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