Hey Phil, how would you handle a...er....neglected hugelkultur?

Hello Phil,

None of us would ever neglect our hugelkulturs. All mulched and never a stray plant I'm sure.

BUT, let's say a "friend" were to let nature take her weedy course for several years.

Suppose this "friend" was interested in reclaiming the woody foundation for it's glorious original purpose.

I know there are garden experts and hugelkultur mavens, but In *your* expertise, what knowledge could you contribute to this reclamation process?

Thanks!

Matthew,

I've seen some weedy hugelkultur. I think it's fairly common. In my opinion, hugelkultur works best with perennial plants, shrubs, and trees. It makes sense that woody plants would grow well on top of wood. I think it becomes a mess when there is no mulch applied to the hugel mounds and they are only planted to annuals. So hand weed, hoe, or cover with black plastic to kill the vegetation, and plant a mini-food forest on the hugel mound and mulch it. I hope this helps. Thanks for the question.

Phil