Sorry one thing i didn't understand was what is a "hugel".
Sounds like some have similar weather as were, seasonal wet/dry season with incredibly bad storms and also a big bag exotic weed problem. Mikea I am especially at odds with.
I havent thought of biochar before, I like it and will add it for soil, but i dont think it would work better than raw sticks because same problem arise with labor and making it small.
I have had good result laying branches and sticks in my pathways that I walk on in the gardens. Sticks and limbs laid out flat, in contact with the soil, will begin to compost quickly in a humid climate. By the time a year or two goes by, they are broken up and half composted and I rake them up into the planting beds to either side
I have also start this, works good. but like mention above i think wood sticks are not enough because weeds grow through the spaces easily. on our farm we can have it flat plowed and brown and in 1 month the entire thing, including up to 15' trees, will be literally covered in weeds. mostly vines, grasses and a few night shades and legumes. Sometimes i wonder if our soil is a good percentage seed by volume.
right now in very important spots we use a good quality black plastic weave sheeting that holds up in the sun for years (8 and counting). but even that some plants grow right through it. plants are amazing.
i am hesitant about using things like cardboard because this country has very poor record for pollution and contamination. thats the entire reason i am farming now, to eat clean. but slash is what i normally do. i practice the "slash and mulch" system religiously and my other farm went from anaerobic clay farm that would dry and could not even get the shovel depth in. now there is 1-2 feet of quality soil you can dig with your hands and also a good 3-12 inch layer of composting organic stuff. very lovely dirt now and it smells so good. but that was accomplish by letting weeds grow and i mow them down, for 5 years. this farm is veggie farm too and cant let weeds do that here.
but i do notice even a solid compacted 1 meter layer of dead grasses and weeds, leafy wastes, they are rotted and growing weeds in about 3-4 months, very rapid. This why i think wood may be my
answer, at least take a few years.
i just found another option, and looking for opinions. here when storms come (this season now) there are lots of trees down, landslides etcs. people here take big trucks and collect them and often make sawdust for industry. I am wondering, these trees mostly being park, street, mountain or farm trees, would that sawdust be appropriate for my purpose? or
should it really be chips with bigger air pockets? I was also wondering if you think there would be high levels of pollution in the trees, lots of heavy metals float around here in sprays. If you guys think this would be good, i can at least get this. not cheap but hopefully well suited?
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