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My first Hugelkultur turned into a flachkultur

 
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Location: Winston Salem, NC
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I didn’t take pictures yet but plan to soon. I went out three days ago to dig my first hugelkultur bed and after I dug out the first foot I ran into rocks. The mass of the rocks I removed exceeded the amount of wood I had to put into the mound. I now have a nice flachkultur bed. I also sowed the winter wheat and I think it was just in time. It is getting a little late in the season here in Winston Salem.
 
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Sounds to me like you need to add a lot of leaves, tree limbs, twigs and dirt to build up your mound.

This might help:

https://permies.com/t/hugelkultur-variation

Is this what you ended up with: 1.  Slash Pile Covered with Soil
 
John Ludwig
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Anne Miller wrote:Sounds to me like you need to add a lot of leaves, tree limbs, twigs and dirt to build up your mound.



Thanks for that thread it was very helpful.

My problem is that I ran out of everything, my yard is completely clean and no leaves, limbs, twigs or dirt to be had.

I could have borrowed some from a friend 😁

As a matter of fact, for my next Hugelkultur bed I will have to go to a friend’s house and get some rotten logs from his wooded area he is cleaning up.
 
Posts: 28
Location: Colorado Springs, CO [Zone: 5B/6A]
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hugelkultur fungi building
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John Ludwig wrote: after I dug out the first foot I ran into rocks.



If it were me, I'd just procure more logs and heavy biomass to fill the void. I generally trench around 3' down in smaller berms (3' wide). One thing i've learned doing berms is, never rush the building process. The thing will be there for a long time and it's a pain to remove and reconstruct.
 
John Ludwig
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Tyler Grace wrote:

John Ludwig wrote: after I dug out the first foot I ran into rocks.



If it were me, I'd just procure more logs and heavy biomass to fill the void. I generally trench around 3' down in smaller berms (3' wide). One thing i've learned doing berms is, never rush the building process. The thing will be there for a long time and it's a pain to remove and reconstruct.



Yes, thanks Tyler, , your advice is appreciated and well taken. I really don’t want to dig it all again any time soon.
 
John Ludwig
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John Ludwig wrote:

Tyler Grace wrote:

John Ludwig wrote: after I dug out the first foot I ran into rocks.



If it were me, I'd just procure more logs and heavy biomass to fill the void. I generally trench around 3' down in smaller berms (3' wide). One thing i've learned doing berms is, never rush the building process. The thing will be there for a long time and it's a pain to remove and reconstruct.



Yes, thanks Tyler, , your advice is appreciated and well taken. I really don’t want to dig it all again any time soon.

IMG_7095.jpeg
This is the finished result
This is the finished result
 
John Ludwig
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John Ludwig wrote:

John Ludwig wrote:

Tyler Grace wrote:

John Ludwig wrote: after I dug out the first foot I ran into rocks.



If it were me, I'd just procure more logs and heavy biomass to fill the void. I generally trench around 3' down in smaller berms (3' wide). One thing i've learned doing berms is, never rush the building process. The thing will be there for a long time and it's a pain to remove and reconstruct.



Yes, thanks Tyler, , your advice is appreciated and well taken. I really don’t want to dig it all again any time soon.



I think I will have the soil and branches next year to mound it properly.
 
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