(Taking a little break from Home Dairy Month to talk about gardening today. Look for another home dairy post coming on Friday!)
I’ve always been a pretty basic gardener.
Although I’ve always totally admired what I thought to be the “fancier” methods like raised beds, Square Foot Gardening, or lasagna gardening, but I never thought they were for me… I figured I’d always be a “use a tiller to rip up the dirt each year and plant in normal, straight rows” type of gal.
I’m still licking my wounds a bit– and to be honest, I had a pretty bad attitude when it came time to order my seeds in January.
But, I decided that I needed to not only change my attitude, but also change my methods… So I started researching some of the “fancier techniques.”
When I first heard mention of hugelkultur, I totally blew it off. Not only did the name sound weird and complicated, I was just *sure* it would be way over my head.
So I continued to scheme about how I could scrape up enough extra cash to build about a bazillion raised beds.
Then somewhere along the way, I ran into another hugelkultur article and I finally read it and realized, “Hey! I might be able to actually do this!”
Hugelkultur in a Nutshell
- Hugelkultur basically means “hill culture” in German. I’m sure there is a proper way to say it, but I butcher it with my American accent and just say “hoogle culture.”
- Hugelkultur has been practiced in Europe for a long time and it is considered to be a very sustainable method of gardening.
- In layman’s terms? A hugelkultur bed is just a big pile of rotting wood and manure. And then you plant stuff on top. It’s a permanent bed and gets better with age.
- Over time, the wood decomposes and creates a sponge-like bed underneath. This holds in moisture and produces lots of nutrients.
Why I am Loving Hugelkultur so Far
1. There doesn’t really seem to be a right or wrong way to do it. That is totally my style.
2. It requires less water than other gardening methods. Some sources I’ve read say that they only have to water established beds a couple times per summer. I’m not sure how that would translate to dry ol’ Wyoming, but I figure anything can be an improvement over last year.
3. It uses up stuff I have laying around my yard. Some of the other gardening methods I’ve read about call for special ingredients to be added to beds. That is a deterrent to me because (a) I really don’t feel like driving 40+ miles to buy that stuff, (b) I doubt the stores in our town even carry most of it…
Because of our drought conditions, we can rarely burn brush piles. So, I have had several large, unsightly, piles of tree limbs and branches sitting in my back yard for about 2 years now…
Hugelkultur turned those piles into a valuable resource, as I was able to haul them over to my garden spot and use them as the base for my bed. Hubby even cut down a few old trees which needed to be taken care of. It was like yard clean-up day and build-a-garden day all in one.
I also threw in several wheelbarrow loads of ash/half-burned wood from our burn pit. And it was a great way to use up some of my half-composted manure (I have a mountain of that.)
4. It was totally FUN to build the big pile. Yeah, seriously. I loved that there weren’t really any “rules.” I don’t know why, but I had a blast building the big heap out of our yard “trash.” (Hey, I never claimed I was normal…)
How I Built my Hugelkultur Bed
This article from richsoil.com has wonderfully detailed instructions on building a hugelkultur bed of your own (complete with pics). However, here are the basic steps I took to building my bed:
1. I dug/hoed a shallow trench along one side of my garden. It’s a couple feet wide. The main reason I did this was so I would have some topsoil to place on top.
2. I filled the bed with all of the tree limbs, branches, and sticks I could fine– the more rotted, the better. I placed the biggest pieces on the bottom, and filled in the top with the smaller ones. Raw, unpainted, untreated lumber scraps will work here, too.
3. I hauled 4-5 wheelbarrow loads of ash and half-burnt wood from our burn pit and dumped it on top of the wood (Not a requirement, but I had it, so I figured I would use it.)
4. Hubby used the tractor to dump a LOT of half-composted manure over the whole thing. I loved the fact that it didn’t have to be 100% finished compost. It’s important to have lots of manure or kitchen scraps, since it helps to balance out the wood as it breaks down. (The decomposition process of wood can tie up a lot of the nitrogen in the soil. High-nitrogen items like manure or kitchen scraps help to counteract this.)
5. I threw the topsoil that I had saved back from my trench over the top. It only ended up being a couple inches, but the sources I’ve read thus far say that is o.k.
So, Now What?
It’s still a little too early to plant here, but I have planted a handful of onions, and a couple rows of lettuce and snap peas on one end of the bed.
Only time will tell if my bed is successful, or if I made some sort of fatal error, but I’m guessing I’ll learn something either way. 😉
I’ve decided that 2013 is going to be my garden-experimentation year, so I have plans to try out several different permaculture techniques. I’ll keep you posted on the progress!
Have you ever tried hugelkultur? Any tips you can pass my way?
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Leah says
This sounds like the method we are trying this year. There’s got to be a better way than having to do all that weeding again and again. I’ll be eager to hear what you think of how it works. There’s a free online video called “Back to Eden” that shows this sort of gardening method. Or it is at least similiar.
Jill Winger says
Back to Eden is a wonderful video! 🙂
David Peterson says
You might find the same demands for weeding with hugelkultur, depending on what kind of soil you use on top. At least you won’t have to stoop as far.
Sweetie Berry says
Jill, loved this post. I am all about your vision and would love help get your word out. Gardening began at our home last weekend, I may support publishing as a strategist on the top container garden books in sales, but the girl is four thumbs down on the past productivity on vegetable gardening! 🙂 Look forward to reading more! Thanks for sharing on Twitter, that’s where I found you! ~Sweetie! @SweetieBerry
Mike the Gardener says
Jill,
This is a great post. I never heard of “hoogle culture” … I would probably destroy the word also with my New Jersey accent, so I will stick to what you call it.
It sounds similar to the practice of lasagna gardening. I am going to have to look more into your method here and give it a go. i am trying new things all the time … straw bale gardening being the newest item. ~ Mike
Jill Winger says
Yes, it is pretty similiar to lasagna gardening, I think. It seems like many of the no-till techiques follow roughly the same method. If you decide to try it, you’ll have to let me know!
Elaine says
That sounds similar to what we watched on the http://www.backtoedenfilm.com movie last night. Definitely some stuff we are incorporating in to our gardening plan.
Jill Winger says
Yes- that is an awesome video– I love it. 🙂
Kaitlyn says
My mom told me about huge versions of these beds that use large tree trunks as the base and are therefore very large piles. She told me that (just like you said) they can get to the point where they are self sustaining and need no additional watering. Excellent article! Thanks!
Jill Winger says
Yes, I’ve seen some pics of massive ones. Maybe someday!
RevAllyson says
I have one hugelkultur bed (btw it’s technically pronounced hoogel kul toor, but I doubt anyone but me would know that LOL.. and I usually say hoogle culture, just like you). I dug a 2 foot deep trench, 3 feet wide (hubby has a backhoe), filled it 3/4 of the way with big logs, then sticks and branches, then lots of leaves and pine needles and such, then on top of all that went the dirt that had been in the hole to begin with. On top of all that I built a raised bed, and put composted soil. It isn’t hunched up like some hugelkultur beds, but it works the same way (and it’s hidden so it looks all neat and purty like my other beds). 🙂 I made it last year and am about to clean it up and put it into use this year, too!
Riversana says
This is a great idea! I always thought they had to be five or six feet high, one of the main deterents for me as I don’t think they’ll look very nice where I want them to go. But if I borrow my neighbor’s backhoe…. I love it!
RevAllyson says
Well, traditionally they’re very tall, and you plant along the sides and top, and would put trees in the ditches between (http://www.permaculturenews.org/images/hugelkultur_diagram.jpg). In our yard it would just look cluttered (though if we had a farm or large piece of land I’d do it!). I thought about it and went over the reasons behind all the various parts of the hugelkultur bed, and decided heck with it, I’d bury mine. 🙂
Jill Winger says
Yes, they can be huge– but since I don’t have room for a giant one, I’m trying a scaled-down version. 🙂
Jill Winger says
I like the idea of digging them deeper so they aren’t so tall. 🙂
Pamela says
Also, since you’re in the desert (as I am), digging a hole for the wood helps it to hang onto more moisture.
Emily says
Jill – I’ve never commented before, but subscribing for a few months. This post is fantastic – I too love to experiment with different kids of gardening, but don’t have the time to get caught up in doing it “just right” and I really don’t like the idea of adding weird chemicals to my dirt. More of an art – get my hands in it, play around, hopefully grow some yummy veggies for hubby and our brood of little girls. We’re city-dwellers, but your site is inspiring and fun to follow! Thanks!
Laurie Brunson Altieri says
Thank you for sharing, step by step! I am really looking forward to hearing “the rest of the story.” 🙂
treatlisa says
Yes! I have a hugel bed too! Sounds like many of us are on the same track. I live in the SW and therefore watering is always an issue (although we are 7000 ft). I have high hopes for my hugelkultur bed that I built last Fall. I positioned it where it takes advantage of the runoff from our barn (East side) in a bit of a low area. Lots of big logs at the base and branches etc. Well rotted manure and soil to cover. It is built up, maybe 4 ft high. I know it is early in the summer but the soil is still perfectly moist from the winter snow! I planted some hardy seeds and blueberries this first year and look forward to the experiment. I have watered the seeds to give them a good start but it is clear that once they get going I shouldn’t have to for a good while. Fun experimenting and look forward to updates on your adventure with this method!
Jill Winger says
Good idea on positioning it to take advantage of run-off… I’m really hopeful– can’t wait to start planting!
Jaimn says
“Hoogle culture” must be the new in-way to garden. Your post is perfectly timed; thank you for sharing. I had read about it at my local extension office, but no one knew what I was talking about at the nurseries. I have shared this with my family so they can at least understand what I am doing when I drag lumber home! 🙂
Carol Samsel says
I’ve been using a combination of this method and lasagna gardening for years….I also tried a few Square Foot Gardening beds too and found they require way too much watering for me. I love my raised beds and everything I grow in them does very well. Even in last years drought the things I grew in those beds did much better than other parts of the garden. I had never heard of the Hugelkultur method until recently…. I had just sort of fell into the process on my mine because our soil has so much dense clay in it and I needed to do raised beds to have anything grow well at all. My Grandmother used to tell me…”If it’s natural and it will rot …used it in the garden :)” and her gardens were always amazing!
Amy says
I’ve read about this… But since I live on a tiny city lot, decided it wouldn’t work for me. Instead I went with a similar idea for raised row gardening… Trenches were dug & Straw is the base instead of trees, with a thick layer of partially composted matter from our composter, covered with the topsoil. So far so good! All my veggies seem to be coming up great!
Jill Winger says
Isn’t it great that there are so many ways to garden!? 😉
Heather says
My husband has been going on and on about huglekulture! It seems to be a really really great way to garden. We haven’t started it yet, but are moving toward getting something like this started!
Jill Winger says
My hubby still thinks I’m crazy, but I’m determined to prove to him that it works, ha!
Wendy P says
I’ve never heard of this before. We’re city dwellers too, with no easy source of manure or much yard to put it in. But I may take advantage of the tree stump that’s been rotting in my yard for years.
Jill Winger says
I bet that tree stump would be a great start!
Pepperminti WInd Farm says
I’m so laughing! I bit the bullet last year and tried to do these “raised” beds (no boards as borders) EXACTLY as detailed in a gardening book- after a few good rains most of them washed away and I had to pound in old fence boards to save the rest. NOTHING ever turns out for me like the picture perfect methods that seem so doable! I CAN DO THIS ONE! We have so many brush piles and trees down from two years of heavy storms. I am so happy to have a purpose for some of that wood and brush. However it’s SUPPOSED to work or look, for me it won’t be quite Hugelkulture but I’ll be happy with Ugleykulture!!
Jill Winger says
Lol– Uglykulture! That’s totally my style. 🙂 My stuff never looks like the picture, either– which is why I’m so fascinated with this method! 😉
Howard says
Jill
Thanks for this article, we have been thinking about starting a new compose pile. I think we will try making your bed.
Carol says
Jill, I’m looking forward to my attempt at hugelkultur since I first read about it here or on your Facebook page! I’m hoping to plant raspberries on mine and some flowers! Height should be a benefit in our windy country, even a few feet of berm height should be a windbreak, then add in the raspberries and it should be quite beneficial. I’ll post about it and link back here when I get it finished! Thanks for the info!
Cathy says
Ok, so I don’t want to rain on the Hogelkultur party, (actually rain would be great, right???!) but there are some challenges to think about in doing this thing in our neck of the woods, at least in the near term. Long term I think things will be fine, because soil equalizes its self out no matter what with regular injections of organic matter. Here in Colorado and also up in Wyoming, the soil is more dry, and alkaline. Wood and wood chips take a long time to compost in this type of soil chemistry, vs. wetter, acidic soils, like Germany and also in the Northwest, where the documentary, “Back to Eden” was made. Two winters ago, a couple friends in my modern homesteaders group watched the Back to Eden movie and tried doing something similar with wood chips with dismal results this year and last. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, and I hope I am WRONG for your garden! Slowly composting wood and wood chips actually rob the soil of its nitrogen, making the soil not very fertile for a few years, UNLESS you add copious amounts of nitrogen to compensate during this time. In the long term, the wood does put nitrogen back into the soil, but while they are breaking down the process robs the soil of nitrogen, which is bad news for garden plants. Additionally, the soil out here is already very alkaline, so you generally want to add soil amendments that push the PH level towards being more PH neutral, which plants prefer. Wood ash actually makes the soil more alkaine, not less because of the lime content in it, so it’s a bad soil amendment to add out here in the Midwest/plains area, although it’s great for areas that have acidic soil. 🙂 Last summer I got my garden soil tested by CSU- it cost $26 and it was well worth it. http://www.soiltestinglab.colostate.edu/ I know you can mail in soil tests, but for those of you who live in different areas, check with your closest university agricultural extention to find a lab near to you for checking your soil. Otherwise you are just shooting in the dark to know what your soil needs.
On a different note, something that is similar but that DOES work in both dry, alkaline soil climates and also wetter, acidic soils is mulching raised beds with old straw, hay, and alfalfa. It doesn’t rob the soil of nitrogen, breaks down more quickly, and keeps valuable moisture in. Similar to lasagna layering, its a process called “No Work Gardening” (got to like the sound of that!) that was first introduced by Ruth Stout, back in the 1960’s, when she was around 70. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Ruth%20Stout
It sure makes gardening WAY easier! I’ve had amazing luck over the last 2 years with it and have switched my entire garden over to it. Keeps weeds to a minimum and this year for the first time since I’ve been gardening the same plot now for 5 years, my garden is loaded with worms.
Maybe I am totally wrong here with my feedback, so please keep us updated with how it goes.
Little Mountain Haven says
that’s a very interesting point, I wonder about the different micro climates and what works where. I imagine the height of the beds might increase wind exposure.. I live the mountains in the west area of Canada, and many people locally practice hugelkultur, there’s even two permaculture design training courses here, but I never thought about whether or not this technique would work in the prairies..
Crazy squirrel says
Mix distilled white vinegar into wood ashes far from the house. It makes organic fertilizer
Little Mountain Haven says
I love that more and more people are turning to permaculture techniques.
I know someone who create a moon garden using the hugelkultur, super neat. we have yet to try it, but as we have a mass amount of rocks underneath we have to built upwards. something we will tackle next year!
Pat says
Hi!
We did this method of gardening back in 2011 and 2012 …This year we tilled it all up and let me just say… We’re going back to Hugelkultur.
Our mound wasn’t as long and narrow as yours. At the time our little garden was several boxes and one mound they all measured about 5 X 5. Let me tell you, we planted cucumbers on top, squash down one side and Tomatoes down the other… the yield was spectacular!
After we tilled…every weed in the world (only slightly an exaggeration) popped up in our garden. Even the Hubby agreed that we will go back to the Hugelkultur mound; and he was the skeptic one at first; but soon after we started seeing corn and potatoes cropping up this year…then came the weeds!
We do have on box out front were we moved the raised beds…and I am relying on Hugelkultur methods in 1 out of 4 boxes… The others have compost and chicken coop clean out in them. But the one box…just didn’t get filled up before we ran out of the good stuff. So… I did just like you. I took the soil out of two 2 ft. rows and filled the space with leaves and dried grass clippings and then replaced the soil (which is kind of sandy in that spot) …but my cucumbers and peas, carrots and lettuce are all doing quite well!
Hugelkultur is used widely in colder climates especially in northern europe, to my understanding; and I wasn’t sure how well it would do in Texas…with drought being a major factor, but I’ve had good success with it.
I enjoyed this post and reading the wide selection of comments!
Pat
Jill Winger says
This is very interesting Pat– thanks so much for sharing your experience! I’m really, really curious to see how this year plays out for us.
Kendra at New Life on a Homestead says
Jill… this is great! I’ve seen this method before, but never knew what it was called or how well it would work. I hope it does fantastically for you 🙂 So much cheaper than spending a ton of money on materials. You’ll have to keep us updated and let us know how it worked for you.
Jill Winger says
Yes– I hope it doesn’t end up being a big flop! We shall see. 🙂
Vivian says
So excited!! I want to try this. I clean the chicken house out several times a year, could use that stuff too, right?
Jill Winger says
You betcha!
Journey11 says
Can’t wait to see how your bed turns out, although it may be a couple years… (Been with you a couple years already, so I suppose I can hang in there a few more to see how this goes. 😉 )
I’ve read about it before and my DH and I were talking about doing a small bed up to host our morel mushroom kit we bought.
I will say too, I planted my blueberries over the site of a long dead tree and encountered lots of decomposing roots. They are loving all of that soft, humus-y soil. I can see how this would work…just like the forest floor.
Jill Winger says
Yes– just like the forest! I’m excited to see how it progresses as well. 🙂
John says
Though its probably too late. You might want to try bio intensive gardening. The double digging method is a labor intensive but very productive way to grow.
Emma Powell says
Sounds a lot like lasagna gardening, which is what I do inside of a square foot 4’x8′ box (the squares really do help in weed management, planting, rotating, it really does work). When i don’t have a box and need a new bed, I put down cardboard and limbs, leaves, etc, then homemade compost on top and start with that mound until I feel like or can afford a new box, but even then I try to make some sort of grid on it. So many of the techniques overlap that once we try a few it makes it easier to combine this and that to something that works: like hugelsquarefootlasagna. No ashes, large limbs, or natural topsoil because we are on alkaline soil here in Texas (topsoil is full of tiny limestone pebbles, very high pH), so lots of compost to get things more acidic.
Jill Winger says
Yes– I’ve noticed a lot of the no-till concepts overlap as well. I love that so many different methods all have the possibility of working!
Marty Roddy says
I have a few questions:
1) can I use bamboo in future hills? I can get plenty of it and it will augment/supplement the other wood I am using.
2) Once I have built the hills and covered them with soil- can I add compost / manure / etc….? How
3) what is the best way to limit water runoff and /or erosion?
Thanks
Jill Winger says
Hey Marty-
1. I have zero experience with bamboo, so I have no idea if it would work– sorry!
2. You’ll want to add the compost/manure layer on top of the wood layer. Then cover that with the soil.
3. You can definitely mulch the top of the mound to help soak up/trap the water.
Hope that helps!
Brigitte says
Thank you! My husband and I were just discussing “to fall garden or not to fall garden” and he flat out refused to spend any more money on soil this year- so I was stumped (oh unintended pun) on what to do for my highly anticipated fall garden. This solves my problem!!! Thank you so much! What a wonderful answer to prayer!
Richard J says
Ive been looking for articles on hugelkultur to send my dad. I started a hugelbed and its driving him CRAZY! He thinks Im hugely wasting my time. I just laugh. Hes been gardening for like 50 years and hes never heard of woody bed gardening like hugelkultur. I love it.
Great article, I hope all goes well.
-Richard
Jill Winger says
Yes– It’s a crazy concept to those who’ve been tilling their whole life! I hope your bed is a huge success!
Julie says
Can you please post an update as to how your hugelkultur bed turned out last year and what you’re doing this year? Thanks!
Jill Winger says
Unfortunately, it was a major flop last year, but I added more compost this year and replanted, and so far, so good. Here is the other method I’m trying this year: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/05/deep-hay-mulch.html#sthash.TwRhNn5m.dpbs
Terry says
Wow, if I’d known about this, I might have tried to make a garden out that sinkhole in our backyard filled with rotting trees and who-knows-what-else that our builder left behind, rather than paying someone to come dig it out and re-fill it with dirt.
We will likely be clearing a lot of young pines in the course of building our new house, so this would be something to set them aside for!
Crazy squirrel says
Be aware that new hugel gardens shrink a lot the first year.
KT says
Now that it has been a few years, can you please post an update on how this type of bed did for you? Are you still using it?
Crystal says
Hi, Could you share how your hugel turned out? I’ve put mine together with old and newer logs, fresh horse manure, leaves, manure again and a big layer of aged compost and soil mix in Oct to be ready to plant in the spring. I’m hoping that is enough time to break down and not create any safety issues!
Cris - Prairie Homestead Team says
You can learn more about Jill’s gardening adventures here: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2015/06/deep-mulch-garden-method.html and here: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2016/08/curled-tomato-leaves.html
She shares the good and the bad in both of these articles and they should help you out a bunch!