Dillon Nichols wrote:Welcome to permies!
Hugels are pretty applicable darn near everywhere... unless made of black locust or some other ridiculously rot resistant wood, the wood *will* decay, and decaying wood *will* hold moisture if there is water present.. eventually the wood will be gone and you will have soil. And yes, it's a lot of work, especially by hand.
A hugel is often not a very happy spot for a tree, though, because of all the settling that goes on during the aforementioned decay. The usual advice is not to plant trees in hugels, unless they are old hugels which hace finished rotting and settling. Ie... they have become a mound of lovely soil.
Nothing to say that the hugels and the orchard can't mingle, just not great to plop the trees right in hugels.
Hiring someone with local knowledge to help you do the site design and select the best trees/support plants for your site might be an excellent idea. I would be seeking demonstration sites or locally well-known permaculture designers; these people should have a portfolio, references, and ideally a site of their own..
Perhaps someone will happen along with a reccomendation; the odds would improve if you titled your thread to provide your location!
This is all very helpful. Thank you for responding!
My biggest question is, where do I find someone with local knowledge?
Speaking of hugels, I saw a video about a guy who was enthusiastic about hugels so he built three of them, but a few years (five, maybe?) two of them were very dry and not broken down like he had expected and plants didn't grow on them very well. The third one was often inundated with water from some runoff. That third one was thriving. I've noticed where I live, it seems we have a high water table. Then there are times of the year that are very rainy, which will over-fill the water table and there will be a lot of runoff. Then there are times of the year where it may not rain for way too long and the ground cracks from lack of moisture. I feel like that would make our place ideal for hugels, actually. The other thing about hugels that would be kind of a nice benefit, is that it is very windy here at times and having a high wall might be nice to slow the wind down from where the hugel is.
Thoughts on the orchard in a hugel... I saw a video where a lady put a tree on a thin hugel and then a tall hugel around the tree, which is kind of what I was thinking to do except on a larger scale. A thin hugel on the bottom, plant the fruit and nut trees, tall hugel around all of the trees (not each). Do you know if planting the trees on a thin hugel (as opposed to a tall hugel) would be better for the trees, or do you still think it would be better for the hugel to settle a bit first? If not good, would a good compromise be to plant the trees in the ground and then build a hugel around all the trees?
Thanks again for responding!
~Cheryl~
