Paintboy McCoy

Tabatha,
  I have the same issue with clay soil. I use  raised beds on top of rotting wood and mulch with wood chips, leaves, straw etc.  I rarely have to water even when the temps stay in the 90's for weeks.  My method is a result of a compromise with the dear wife. She thought the true Hugel bed was a wee bit untidy. So we met in the middle and we are both happy. And my tomatoes are to die for. 

I've been think of doing something just like this. I was planning on using cement blocks but the hay looks easier and will be a better insulator. This year when I was taking apart the halloween decoration made of hay, corn stalks and such, I noticed some seeds had sprouted under the hay while it was below freezing.

Now to find an old bubble skylight or 2. 

I'm thinking  that putting trees in between beds is the way to go.  They create shade for plants that need it. They can send roots out towards the beds and will benefit from the juices oozing from the beds to the surrounding area.

my 2 cents

pubwvj wrote:
Not only is there a food surplus but we don't have enough people yet. We need more people. We need more bright minds thinking about the big problem. The problem of how the heck are we going to get off this rock and make backup copies. This rock and even this star system are not safe for us to keep all of our eggs in. We need to fly the coop, to colonize other planets and other star systems, even other galaxies. Something will happen to our dearly beloved home and end life here. Extinctions happen. Don't be part of the next one.

By the way, my math shows we can easily support 50 Billion people on Earth. The problem isn't too many people. The problem is wasteful living by some which is supported through subsidization. If things cost what they should the waste issue would be self resolving.

Have more children. Teach them. Expand the knowledge base. Innovate.

You've got to be joking.

knarf wrote:


Is it sustainable? If everyone in suburban America created a hugelkulture bed, would it devastate our forests?

I think the word sustainable has become a buzz word for the greenies. It's being used to control the sheep. Now we are supposed to question everything we do by asking if it is "sustainable". I know this because the politically correct solution to make any activity "sustainable" is to spend more money. Which always goes against any system being self supporting.


We all know that it would take an act of Odin to get 0.1% of america to use huglekulture.

Well Paul, I like you even more now. 

I would live as frugal as possible. Save every dime I could get my hands on. Then when I had enough go buy some land for cash. Oh that is what I'm doing. 

paul wheaton wrote:


Oh sure, I want it for a lower price, but I want lots of things.  Like pie.  It's good to want things.  Especially pie.

OMG I love pie 

What about patches instead of rows? We quite often find patches of blueberries in the wild and other plants too. Might help with the harvest too.