I just built my first hugelkultur bed on our property in North Carolina. I used 2 8 foot logs for the base, and then added smaller logs, limbs, and sticks. I built it as an experiment, as we will be moving there and building in 5-6 years. Since the soil there is very clay rich, it sounds as though hugelkultur would be excellent in helping to fulfill my homesteading dreams. If I can figure out how to upload pictures, I'll show its progress.