I ordered my wife Zach's new book for Christmas and we've loved it, especially the pictures! As an engineer I want to make sure I understand the construction of them, specific to the outer trench. Zach recommends to dig a 12" wide by 6" trench around the border that doubles as a foot path. This seems like a great idea as it would also double as a water holding feature (kind of like a micro swale/moat) if filled with wood chips, gravel, or other media. Which got me to wondering about the orientation in the landscape; if planning a row of multiple permabeds is there a significant benefit from being installed on contour, or am I over analyzing this?
I also wanted to ask if there are any pros or cons to laying down a layer of small to medium size branches when initially digging the bed and mixing in the compost, kind of like a micro hugelkultur feature. Love to hear thoughts on this idea.
