eric kampel

Keyhole gardens are where you build a compost pile in the middle of a raised bed or hugelbed to keep it warm in the winter and to provide nutrients and worms, etc. Pretty cool idea.

http://www.inspirationgreen.com/keyhole-gardens.html

We have built 2 hugelkultur beds 3 feet in the ground and 3 feet above. So from the surface, they look like raised beds, but 3 feet under them is filled with wood and organic material. I am hoping this will retain moisture even more than a hugelbed entirely above ground. I'll let you know how they produce next year. Winter is coming.

How tall are the cliffs you were talking about? Any rock screes on the property?

Does the wood in the hugelbed need to be big logs or can it be lots of brush and sticks? Does this affect the moisture retention or anything else? I just started one and have been throwing sticks, paper, food scraps our animals won't eat, grass clippings and anything else organic in it before I cover it with dirt. This one will be 3 feet in the ground and 3 feet above.

You can get free pallets in Missoula all the time. I have built all kinds of things out of them including 2 work benches in my garage that are very strong.

Our climate sounds similar. 10 inches of rain per year, windy and dry. I am going to dig some hugelkultur beds all the way into the ground 6 feet deep, dump the wood and leaves in, and cover. That way the wind won't be driving against the side of the bed. Plus I think by burying the bed into the ground, I'll get a little more heat from the earth since I am not in southern CA, I am in Montana.

I am going to do some in the ground and above the ground and observe the differences.

http://www.skokomishfarms.com/

This guy bought a few hundred acres and subdivided it into 40 acre parcels. When you buy a parcel, your homestead can be on 5 acres, the other 35 acres you own is part of a large group farm. If you work on the farm part of it, you can get food from it. If not, you have to pay for your food. Paul, you could do something similar. Not necessarily selling parcels, but offering room and board in exchange for work and innovation on the farm.

Paul, we need to get Rob out here to do a megalith moving workshop. I would pay. The biggest stone I have dealt with thus far in my wall in Stevi is 1000 lbs.