7 foot tall hugelkultur with a fifth of the effort

I didn't know I was doing it right, but as a 77 yr old, there was no way I was going to dig then fill with logs. plus I don't have the equipment.
That was only serendipity on my part, though: I had a bunch of red oak that had the wilt and I could not sell that wood because it would have contaminated some other property.
I can't quite claim that it's a hugel yet because I have very little soil on it, although as the bottom logs/brush rot away, it should almost qualify in a few years.
But you know what: I have a great double wind break and critters are coming to live in the (very) long piles of timber/ brush.
I'm not growing anything it it yet but I'm tossing old seeds in it and on it. So staghorn sumac is growing in it now and also false indigo.
I have solved the double problem of not being able to keep snow and rain from draining away into the ditch that's along the road and also, as I was saying I have a double wind break. In some areas, I can no longer see through, and it's impressive enough for the deer to go around.

Whats wrong with filling a trench? I have built some nice lazy beds with soil and manure but now im thinking of turning them into hugel beds. Should I just place wood on top of current raised bed and cover with soil. My main goal is to increase moisture retention. This summer has been hot and dry here.

Johnny Shea wrote:Whats wrong with filling a trench? I have built some nice lazy beds with soil and manure but now im thinking of turning them into hugel beds. Should I just place wood on top of current raised bed and cover with soil. My main goal is to increase moisture retention. This summer has been hot and dry here.

Nothing wrong at all I think. Many people in hot climates do a version of sunken hugel beds. I'm doing 'mini hugel' raised beds. My wood is mostly quite twiggy, so probably won't last very well, but I'm hoping it will both improve drainage and moisture retention for me. I have plenty of rain on Skye, but very shallow soil, so it doesn't take long for water shortage to become an issue. It may be easier for you to put the wood in between your beds and turn the soil from the beds onto them (I'm just wondering wher your extra soil will be coming from).

Thanks for your reply. Im still figuring out how to incorporate Hugelkultur into my garden. I have some extra  topsoil in a pile I could use. But actually I believe this is the only weakness of hugelkultur, I.e. you need some extra topsoil ( though in reality there is probably lots available if you source it off site)
I am currently playing with the idea of using manure and compost to cover wood as I have them in plentiful supply.