• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Carla Burke
  • Nancy Reading
  • John F Dean
  • r ranson
  • Jay Angler
  • paul wheaton
stewards:
  • Pearl Sutton
  • Leigh Tate
  • Devaka Cooray
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • thomas rubino
  • Matt McSpadden
  • Jeremy VanGelder

Wood orientation in a hugel

 
pollinator
Posts: 351
Location: S. Ontario Canada
29
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I seems to me if we're trying to move moisture from ground level to the top of a hugel pile it would be better to orient the wood vertically instead of horizontally.
The natural pathways in the wood that move water up and down the tree should work in a similar manner while wicking ground water to the top of the pile.

What say ye??
 
Posts: 9002
Location: Victoria British Columbia-Canada
707
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
My average length is about 5 ft. Easy to lay down, difficult to stack on end. Should be fine for short wood. A small mound could be built first, then long material leaned against it in near vertical position.

There is a saw mill near me. I should suggest that they stand the logs up, to save space. 😂

My excavator built piles probably contain some vertical chunks.
 
pioneer
Posts: 549
Location: North-Central Idaho, 4100 ft elev., 24 in precip
60
9
hugelkultur fungi trees books food preservation
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I plan on building some vertically oriented hugel mounds this spring to test this theory out against my conventional horizontally constructed mounds. It won't be for another couple seasons before we know for sure, but the logic seems sound and worth experimenting with. I plant on using the post hole auger on the tractor to make a kind of barricade style spine (sinking poles three or four feet deep and about the same out of the ground) then building up soil and wood on either side until I get them covered and ready to plant.
 
Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you? Give us some privacy tiny ad.
GAMCOD 2025: 200 square feet; Zero degrees F or colder; calories cheap and easy
https://permies.com/wiki/270034/GAMCOD-square-feet-degrees-colder
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic