TL/DR: My chickens got to my new hugelkultur bed and I don't know what to do before I lose this growing season, too!
I have been here for almost four years and worked my way up to a Hugelkultur bed, I tried to make mine 3' tall (using only woman power here!) BUT, as you'll see, I had a hard time getting enough soil and the chickens loved digging out all the worms and critters out of the compost layer. In September 2021 I almost died - literally - spending 6 weeks on bedrest as our hospitals were overwhelmed and my husband was providing round-the-clock care. 4 weeks in PT to be able to walk out of my house. It was January before I could "clean up" my chickens' coop and the fall garden chores didn't get done. My hens went from rotating patches to free range - and destroyed my new, true hugelkultur bed. Somehow, my volunteer peach tree (that I found in the chicken run last year!) is surviving! We recently had an Alder tree cut down and I want to make REAL 4' hugelkultur beds this year. . . and I have already lost much of the starting season!
My Dilemma: Do I dig up this bed and start over with my new alder logs, transplanting the peach tree? Do I make it longer, with the peach-tree in the middle? Do I just leave it as-is and 'redo' the chips/compost/soil?