my hugelkultur goof-up - next steps?

May 01, 2016 14:13:10

I built my first hugelkultur bed with what was on hand, not a lot of wood but a lot of brush (several layers, small branches/twigs, cardboard, leaves, dirt and mulch on top. Then I planted. This is my experimental bed so I was just planting for pollinators. I put some dill, parsley, chamomile, rosemary, sweet pea and then some of my California native plants, coyote mint and native fuschia, oh and native strawberries. I sowed some sunflower seeds and milkweed seeds.

At first everything looked great. Seeds started to pop up. Bug activity increased. It has been planted for a little over a month now and I don't think anything has grown at all. I am starting to think that I don't have enough dirt on top. I am not sure if I should just let it go and see what happens or move the plants and add more dirt and start over. Any thoughts?

May 01, 2016 14:15:08

In a dry climate, hugelkultur will dry out and growth will cease, in my experience.

May 01, 2016 14:28:38

Well I just went out there and stuck my finger in the bed all around it is still damp. Stuff is still alive. Maybe I just expected too much growth in the first month?
And I found a strawberry forming on one of the native strawberry plants so that is good. Maybe I just need to be patient and remind myself that the main purpose of these first few beds is just to build soil.

May 01, 2016 16:03:57

It's possible there's a lack of nitrogen because of all the small sticks, etc. So you might want to try diluting urine and sprinkling that around. I think people recommend 1 part pee to 10 parts water.

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