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Raised bed hugels

thomas rubino

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Posts: 6744

Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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posted 2 years ago

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Hi All;
2 years ago I built our first two raised beds with a hugel underneath.
This year I am building two more.
I hand-dug a 6'x 2.5' x 3.5' deep hole where Liz wants her beds.
I filled it with large split wood and added a layer of fill, then a layer of branches covered with fill.
Tomorrow I'll put down a layer of green branches, cover them, and start building my raised box.
More wood will go in the bottom of the box and the rest will be filled with garden dirt.
A second hugel and box will be built next to this one.
Next week I'll get a large load of compost to top up the old boxes and finish filling the new ones.

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Stephen B. Thomas

pollinator

Posts: 1441

Location: Wheaton Labs, Montana, USA

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posted 2 years ago

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I assume you're building more because they're going well for you.

I'm in the planning stages of my own garden operation at Wheaton Labs (for once I'm granted an acre), and I think I want to try this method. I like raised beds, in any case. What's a little more digging?

Best of success on your raised-bed hugels...!

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thomas rubino

master rocket scientist

Posts: 6744

Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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posted 2 years ago

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Hey Stephen;
Well, we love the raised boxes.
I can not say we noticed any improvement last season over normal.
But I think those hugels are just this year really going to start decomposing and sharing the goodness.
Like any good thing, it's worth waiting for!

At our age (60+), the high-raised boxes just make things a lot easier, having the hugel underneath is like the icing on the cake!

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Scott Stiller

gardener

Posts: 1268

Location: North Carolina zone 7

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posted 2 years ago

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This is an outstanding idea. So good that I shared with folks on Instagram. I just wish there was an easy way to post stuff directly from here to there. At this point I’m just sending the link as a DM to people. I don’t normally do that so great job!

Regards, Scott

Deedee Dezso

pioneer

Posts: 432

Location: WV- up in the hills above Huntington Mall

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posted 2 years ago

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A couple years ago, in prep to leave California and fill in a small koi pond, I built my 1st ever hugel raised bed. Large, old tree slabs went in, the koi went in after a humane dispatching, then I layered greens and browns with some dimensional old lumber, straw, and finally topped with soil.
First year I grew alfalfa and flax. 2nd year saw tomatoes, cucumbers and winter squash. I'll be leaving soon, so there's only snap peas and leaf lettuces for spring that are about done.

It's a 4' x 6' bed that is above ground about 18 inches and below ground at least another 18 inches. I've harvested this year 3 or 4 times. A new owner comes in soon. And I'll be headed towards building much longer hugels on 40 acres!

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Cristo Balete

Posts: 1039

Location: In the woods, West Coast USA

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posted 2 years ago

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Living in a Mediterranian climate, no rain for 7+ months in the summer, hugel trenches have worked extremely well for me. They are a long-term setup that is well worth the effort, especially when the wood absorbs moisture and holds it there during a drought.

I first tried mounds, but the rodents moved in and dried out the mounds impossibly, made new openings and wind tunnels. The mounds were really difficult to build, even with the excitement of trying something new. There's no really effective way to put drip lines on a mound with steep sides. Heavy rain often causes erosion. And unless you can climb a mound to pull weeds, care for plants, you have to lean in with your feet kept out at the widest point, not really an ergonomic position for the sake of long-term back care.

Sepp Holzer has a bulldozer, lucky guy, and the mounds are so big they don't seem to have the problems of smaller garden mounds. I am not sure what Holzer says about rodents. Maybe planting poisonous plants, which he recommends, keeps them at bay.

I have learned that even lining the trenches tightly with branches on the bottom, the rodents get past that, so the trenches are not rodent proof. I still plant the edges of the trenches with asparagus and elephant garlic, narcissus and daffodil bulbs, and a few native weeds that the gophers leave alone.

Where I am all the soil is dry by summer, so any watering brings the gophers/voles running. But the growing environment of a hugel trench is by far the most productive.

Mediterranean climate, hugel trenches, fabulous clay soil high in nutrients, self-watering containers with hugel layers, keyhole composting with low hugel raised beds, thick Back to Eden Wood chips mulch (distinguished from Bark chips), using as many native plants as possible....all drought tolerant.

thomas rubino

master rocket scientist

Posts: 6744

Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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posted 2 years ago

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Yesterday we hauled in a yard of compost!
Today I got it ready to unload, amazing the things you can do one-handed!
The boys will be up next weekend and the raised beds are scheduled to be worked on.

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thomas rubino

master rocket scientist

Posts: 6744

Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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posted 2 years ago

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Both boys came out this weekend to help the crippled old man out.
Son number one worked on Liz's raised beds.
He got one box finished and a good start on the next.
Son number two worked with me on firewood.
We got 2 cords cut and moved up to the greenhouse/studio, hoping to get one more cut and moved before he leaves on Monday.
I have broken down and ordered an electric wood splitter...sigh I guess I had to eventually (right John).
It is expected to arrive on Tuesday.

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Carla Burke

Rusticator

Posts: 9195

Location: Missouri Ozarks

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posted 2 years ago

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John got us an electric one, a couple years ago, and I rolled my eyes - until we were sick. Then I was SO VERY GRATEFUL!!

"The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance."~Ben Franklin
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." ~ Plato

thomas rubino

master rocket scientist

Posts: 6744

Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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posted 2 years ago

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A little bit more gets done each day.
Not bad for a one-handed guy!
Two more raised beds to build.
I'm thinking that next spring sounds like a good time to tackle that project.

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For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

thomas rubino

master rocket scientist

Posts: 6744

Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

3617

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posted 2 years ago

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The last box is filled and ready to be planted.
Over half of 1 yard of topsoil to finish filing this one!

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For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

S Rogers

gardener

Posts: 3836

Location: yakima valley, central washington, pacific northwest zone 6b

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posted 2 years ago

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take a look at the lush world of Wheaton Labs' hugelkultur raised bed garden. This year, they've been blessed with abundant water thanks to the new well, allowing them to give their gardens some extra hydration to fortify the soil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roRaRDoObJE

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