Hügelkultur: The $0 DIY Raised Bed Method
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Date: 2024-05-24
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Comments and reviews: 20
epic_gardening
I will say I have several beds that I've done this method which grow and produce amazing results the only complaint I have I live in a region where it's extremely hot during the daytime in the later part of the summer and it's even been a scorcher out to wear a lot of my plants are suffering from the heat already, these beds if they're not let Set after put together and watered repeatedly and let sit in the elements for a while they put off a lot of heat and the have a tendency in hotter climates to wither the plants were the plants have spots on the leaves because they're magnesium deficient. So just take a quarter of a cup of Epsom salt and throw it in your bed and work it in really good and make sure you add bone meal. Other than that just be careful if you're in the hot climate but the colder climates this is perfect because you can always put screen over it put plastic over it and grow into the later fall early winter season because the composting from the beds in the worms moving through your boxes create heat and we'll keep the heat trapped inside the plastic.
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I will say I have several beds that I've done this method which grow and produce amazing results the only complaint I have I live in a region where it's extremely hot during the daytime in the later part of the summer and it's even been a scorcher out to wear a lot of my plants are suffering from the heat already, these beds if they're not let Set after put together and watered repeatedly and let sit in the elements for a while they put off a lot of heat and the have a tendency in hotter climates to wither the plants were the plants have spots on the leaves because they're magnesium deficient. So just take a quarter of a cup of Epsom salt and throw it in your bed and work it in really good and make sure you add bone meal. Other than that just be careful if you're in the hot climate but the colder climates this is perfect because you can always put screen over it put plastic over it and grow into the later fall early winter season because the composting from the beds in the worms moving through your boxes create heat and we'll keep the heat trapped inside the plastic.
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8thcelisabeth
I made a hugelkultur in my back yard a few years ago. Made a video digging in at the two year mark. I was expecting moist soil but it was still poorer quality, very dry soil, worse than all the yummy soil snacks I added at the build. My hypothesis is that because we were in a drought for years 1-2 (and 3) of the hugel, there was not enough moisture for the bed to retain in the first place. I did hand water, I had to, but nothing is as effective as a soaking rain, in my experience. This summer would be year 4 of the hugel, I should dig again and see if the bed quality has improved at all. I will say that even though it hasn't met my expectations, it does grow food, I still plant on it, so it has value.
Great video, very helpful, I hope more people try a hugel. Still glad I tried it. If I had room, I would do another, just to get rid of the yard waste.
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I made a hugelkultur in my back yard a few years ago. Made a video digging in at the two year mark. I was expecting moist soil but it was still poorer quality, very dry soil, worse than all the yummy soil snacks I added at the build. My hypothesis is that because we were in a drought for years 1-2 (and 3) of the hugel, there was not enough moisture for the bed to retain in the first place. I did hand water, I had to, but nothing is as effective as a soaking rain, in my experience. This summer would be year 4 of the hugel, I should dig again and see if the bed quality has improved at all. I will say that even though it hasn't met my expectations, it does grow food, I still plant on it, so it has value.
Great video, very helpful, I hope more people try a hugel. Still glad I tried it. If I had room, I would do another, just to get rid of the yard waste.
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wcouch8
My grandpa was born in Germany around the turn of the last century. Placement! He had them run along the hill to capture the water to make a series of terraces. He dug the ditch like you did, then he built a fire in the ditch. That followed by punky wood that was no longer good for burning (like 2 yr old firewood, leafy stuff/field cuttings/compost, then we kids poured on buckets of water (old school, . repeat with medium wood, repeat with tiny wood, finish with top soil removed from ditch. His beds were very high! It has been years, but I remember the first year being as tall as me as a kid. First year was a cover crop. His rows were maybe 20' long. They were not so tall when I grew up, but they were still terraces after 30 years.
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My grandpa was born in Germany around the turn of the last century. Placement! He had them run along the hill to capture the water to make a series of terraces. He dug the ditch like you did, then he built a fire in the ditch. That followed by punky wood that was no longer good for burning (like 2 yr old firewood, leafy stuff/field cuttings/compost, then we kids poured on buckets of water (old school, . repeat with medium wood, repeat with tiny wood, finish with top soil removed from ditch. His beds were very high! It has been years, but I remember the first year being as tall as me as a kid. First year was a cover crop. His rows were maybe 20' long. They were not so tall when I grew up, but they were still terraces after 30 years.
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veryberry39
I'm hoping to build a couple of raised beds this autumn/winter, and want to put wood in the bottom. But my question is: how big a concern are termites I can't imagine that being buried under a foot or two of dirt would kill them. I don't have any wood of my own, so I was thinking I could probably check for free stuff. But I also don't want to bring pests in! For reference, im in central Texas. I just attended a compost workshop last weekend, and one of the other participants said when he stopped for free mulch, a city employee even told him there was a good chance it had termites.
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I'm hoping to build a couple of raised beds this autumn/winter, and want to put wood in the bottom. But my question is: how big a concern are termites I can't imagine that being buried under a foot or two of dirt would kill them. I don't have any wood of my own, so I was thinking I could probably check for free stuff. But I also don't want to bring pests in! For reference, im in central Texas. I just attended a compost workshop last weekend, and one of the other participants said when he stopped for free mulch, a city employee even told him there was a good chance it had termites.
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francestaylor9156
My raised beds have to be very tall because they are on a slope. I built them to be 32 tall to deal with the steep slope we had. So the bottom of the beds are all logs. And I put sticks and wood chips to fill in the gaps. Then I have 16 of raised bed potting mix. I'm going to add the native clay back with the logs for my next beds since settling is pretty significant each year. I should dig down to see what the logs look like now that it's been 3 years.
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My raised beds have to be very tall because they are on a slope. I built them to be 32 tall to deal with the steep slope we had. So the bottom of the beds are all logs. And I put sticks and wood chips to fill in the gaps. Then I have 16 of raised bed potting mix. I'm going to add the native clay back with the logs for my next beds since settling is pretty significant each year. I should dig down to see what the logs look like now that it's been 3 years.
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GeorgiaGrowGuy
Logs need exposure to light and the organisms that live at the surface of the soil to decay. Logs can become waterlogged and create disease problems, they reduce the amount of oxygen in your soil, other than occupying space they do nothing beneficial. Throw a log in your compost pile and see how long it takes to break down, now think of it being in soil and doing the same thing only at 1-2% of that pace. Don't bury logs folks.
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Logs need exposure to light and the organisms that live at the surface of the soil to decay. Logs can become waterlogged and create disease problems, they reduce the amount of oxygen in your soil, other than occupying space they do nothing beneficial. Throw a log in your compost pile and see how long it takes to break down, now think of it being in soil and doing the same thing only at 1-2% of that pace. Don't bury logs folks.
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bdctrans70
I loved my Hugel beds. I had them for about 12 years until they were wiped out during the flood of 2019. They were a great way to a variety of crops with flowers helping with pollination. If you can find the space, materials and time to build these, by all means do. Many HOAs and townships are not allowing these in yards because of a Lack of uniformity and an eyesore. Please check to see if you can build these in your yard.
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I loved my Hugel beds. I had them for about 12 years until they were wiped out during the flood of 2019. They were a great way to a variety of crops with flowers helping with pollination. If you can find the space, materials and time to build these, by all means do. Many HOAs and townships are not allowing these in yards because of a Lack of uniformity and an eyesore. Please check to see if you can build these in your yard.
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LittleKi1
My 2nd year LARGE hugelkultur bed is blowing my first season no-till beds out of the water. It's shocking. The garlic and sweet onions I have going on it look like they want to go to the state fair. But it did take a full year for it to really get going on the fertility. But I do have a tall Birdie's bed I was trying to figure out how to fill. I'm totally going to fill the bottom half with wood, which I have!
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My 2nd year LARGE hugelkultur bed is blowing my first season no-till beds out of the water. It's shocking. The garlic and sweet onions I have going on it look like they want to go to the state fair. But it did take a full year for it to really get going on the fertility. But I do have a tall Birdie's bed I was trying to figure out how to fill. I'm totally going to fill the bottom half with wood, which I have!
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Wellbaby94
I used this concept on a much smaller scale last fall to fill up Rubbermaid storage containers that my neighbor gave me. We were trimming back an Althea (Rose of Sharon) bush and I took advantage of all those sticks and trimmings. Imagine my surprise this spring when dozens of Althea babies began sprouting in my containers among the carrots and onions!
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I used this concept on a much smaller scale last fall to fill up Rubbermaid storage containers that my neighbor gave me. We were trimming back an Althea (Rose of Sharon) bush and I took advantage of all those sticks and trimmings. Imagine my surprise this spring when dozens of Althea babies began sprouting in my containers among the carrots and onions!
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BigboiiTone
The thing that gives me pause from trying this, is concern the fungus would get out of control. I've had problems with that before and am always seeking to have well-draining soils. I'm not completely closed minded to this technique but am wondering if anyone has any experiences using this and was fungus a concern for it
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The thing that gives me pause from trying this, is concern the fungus would get out of control. I've had problems with that before and am always seeking to have well-draining soils. I'm not completely closed minded to this technique but am wondering if anyone has any experiences using this and was fungus a concern for it
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carriecreates1207
This was very interesting and informative.
We had a bunch of tree limbs come down a few months ago after a heavy wind storm, we have them in our burn pile.
We have 2 acres in Houston.
Can the wood ash be used in this type of Hugelkultur
Thank you, I always learn a lot from Jacques!
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This was very interesting and informative.
We had a bunch of tree limbs come down a few months ago after a heavy wind storm, we have them in our burn pile.
We have 2 acres in Houston.
Can the wood ash be used in this type of Hugelkultur
Thank you, I always learn a lot from Jacques!
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emkn1479
So cool I need to do this. We have a decently large wooded property, so there are always decaying trees around if we go looking. I’m guessing that sod we lift to expand flower beds would also be good to add I used some in the bottom of some huge pots to cut down on container soil.
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So cool I need to do this. We have a decently large wooded property, so there are always decaying trees around if we go looking. I’m guessing that sod we lift to expand flower beds would also be good to add I used some in the bottom of some huge pots to cut down on container soil.
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casperb4707
hey Jacques en Erik, i was watching an old video of you building a garden voor kehlani and wonderd why you always buy bags of soil. Here in the Netherlands if you want to buy it in bulk you can get a bigbag full with the same soil for a cheaper price and without the waste.
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hey Jacques en Erik, i was watching an old video of you building a garden voor kehlani and wonderd why you always buy bags of soil. Here in the Netherlands if you want to buy it in bulk you can get a bigbag full with the same soil for a cheaper price and without the waste.
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hilpri
We had a huge jungle of apple, fig, and ceanothus branches to get rid of and used this method in our raised beds last year. Its amazing how fast that all breaks down. And it was so easy to turn the beds this year. I think the pet rats' beddingade the veg extra spicy
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We had a huge jungle of apple, fig, and ceanothus branches to get rid of and used this method in our raised beds last year. Its amazing how fast that all breaks down. And it was so easy to turn the beds this year. I think the pet rats' beddingade the veg extra spicy
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Ashenkaniku
This was so cool! Especially the digging into the dirt 6 mo. later, to see what stuffs looked like underneath. I appreciated the step by step process for sure, but the explanations for why steps were taken, even the simple stuff, was really useful. Thanks you!
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This was so cool! Especially the digging into the dirt 6 mo. later, to see what stuffs looked like underneath. I appreciated the step by step process for sure, but the explanations for why steps were taken, even the simple stuff, was really useful. Thanks you!
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Derek_Kryzanowski
I used this method in my raised beds before i even knew it was a thing, it just made sense to me. I didnt quite use large logs but i filled half my raised beds with old leaves and lilac bush trimmings. Its been 2 years and everything is dirt now
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I used this method in my raised beds before i even knew it was a thing, it just made sense to me. I didnt quite use large logs but i filled half my raised beds with old leaves and lilac bush trimmings. Its been 2 years and everything is dirt now
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BigboiiTone
I had no idea it would be so special to see wheat growing in an actual garden. These days, wheat is usually something you see on tv at large agro-corp facilities. It was beautiful seeing a small field of it growing like it might have in past times
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I had no idea it would be so special to see wheat growing in an actual garden. These days, wheat is usually something you see on tv at large agro-corp facilities. It was beautiful seeing a small field of it growing like it might have in past times
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jollymontube
thanks, Jacques. I have lots of invasive Holly that I'd like to cut down and repurpose, but don't want to essentially just plant them in a hugel mound. Is there any danger of Holly logs sprouting under the mound Thanks.
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thanks, Jacques. I have lots of invasive Holly that I'd like to cut down and repurpose, but don't want to essentially just plant them in a hugel mound. Is there any danger of Holly logs sprouting under the mound Thanks.
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bertarnoldo5199
I threw in a 5-7 year old log into a very large stainless steel planter. I threw soil conditioner on top of the log and a toooon of potting soil on top. I planted my tomatoes and peppers in here. I’m hoping for the best!
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I threw in a 5-7 year old log into a very large stainless steel planter. I threw soil conditioner on top of the log and a toooon of potting soil on top. I planted my tomatoes and peppers in here. I’m hoping for the best!
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kimpaynter
Oh my gosh thank you so much for taking the time to do a video like this. I’m sure it has been hard not to peek into that dirt. After seeing this. I feel like I would just love to do this to my entire yard super impressive
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Oh my gosh thank you so much for taking the time to do a video like this. I’m sure it has been hard not to peek into that dirt. After seeing this. I feel like I would just love to do this to my entire yard super impressive
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