Hello,
I'm a trainee in the Lewis County Master Gardeners program here in Western Washington. The program has three demonstration gardens that are open to the public. At one of these gardens I would like to create a large hugelkulter bed. Photos will be taken of the construction of the bed and there will be informational pamphlets made up in a container beside the bed for the public to take home and read and possibly be inspired to create their own
hugel bed. Since this is not only my experiment, but also a demonstration to share new knowledge with the public I want to make sure to create a functional bed that is truly self composting and
irrigation free. Here is what I was thinking of doing. Any advice or knowledge you have gained from you own experiences is welcomed.
- My Hope is to make a bed that is close to 7 feet tall so that is can possibly last the whole summer without watering. I planned to dig a trench about 2 feet deep therefore my bed would only be 5 feet above ground.
- Alder is my
wood source. I cut down a few
trees last year and they have been laying in the woods exposed to the elements since that time. All the limbs were cut off at the time I fell the tree.
- I thought I would use the large diameter logs for the lower 2/3 of the bed and as I near the top use the smaller diameter limbs and branches which I assume will decompose at a faster rate.
- Next I planned on putting the sod onto the bed upside down. Hopefully the grass will provide some more nutrients and Nitrogen to the mix. Maybe I'll even add some fresh grass clippings on top of that.
- The rest of the soil from the trench will be added to the pile at this time followed by a layer of
compost. (Maybe I
should mix the compost and soil a bit then add it to the bed?)
Other ideas or options:
- I've thought of inoculating the logs in the bed with some variety of
mushroom.
- I have access to a large pile of oak and maple leaves that I could possibly incorporate into the pile.
- I have
straw, would that be beneficial to add?
- I've thought about planting cover crops on it the first year to help build up the soil and balance the Nitrogen levels. Maybe I could even plant one round of buckwheat, chop and drop it, and then plant some squash, pumpkins etc.
Does anyone see any major no nos in the plan I described above? Are there more things I need to incorporate or take away? Should any compost materials and/or fertilizer be added between the logs as the bed is being made. I don't know much about mushrooms, is it a good idea to inoculate my logs? I thought maybe it would help speed up the decomposition process. What about planting the first year? Is the cover crop idea a good one? If I were to plant veggies are there any recommendations?
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