Eric Dohnert

Thanks

Would you bother with the Hugelkultur in addition to adding 12" of soil on top?

Hi,

I want to create a 25’ x 25' Permaculture mandala garden in my Philadelphia backyard (Zone 7a), but I have poor clay soil.

Since I want to improve the soil immediately, I don’t mind spending money to have a lot of new soil delivered and dumped on top of the clay.

Would this be appropriate?

If so, then what type of soil?:  Compost? mushrooms soil? or a Mix with top soil?
(Of course, each island of the mandala garden would have slightly different soil depending on what was planted there. For example, certain herbs prefer sandy, rocky alkaline soil.)

On the other hand, since I’m familiar with sheet-mulching & Hugelkultur, would it be best for long-term soil health h7 stability if I dug 12” down, put a weed barrier, then a layer of pebbles for drainage, then a layer of branches/small logs of apple & maple wood, then some old leaves and compost, then dump 6-12” of mixed soil on top ,then some much?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi,

I want to create a 25’ x 25' Permaculture mandala garden in my Philadelphia backyard (Zone 7a), but I have poor clay soil.

Since I want to improve the soil immediately, I don’t mind spending money to have a lot of new soil delivered and dumped on top of the clay.

Would this be appropriate?

If so, then what type of soil?:  mushroom soil or a Mix with top soil?
(Of course, each island of the mandala garden would have slightly different soil depending on what was planted there. For example, certain herbs prefer sandy, rocky alkaline soil.)

On the other hand, since I’m familiar with sheet-mulching & Hugelkultur, would it be best for long-term soil health & stability if I dug 12” down, put a weed barrier, then a layer of pebbles for drainage, then a layer of branches/small logs of apple & maple wood, then some old leaves and compost, then dump 6-12” of mixed soil on top, then some mulch?

Any advice would be appreciated.