Will a Pint Sized Hugelkultur Bed Get the Job Done?

Creating Better Soil - Experimenting with a Miniature Hugelkultur

 

Starting small with a new concept

I garden pretty much the same way that I bake; a little of this a little of that. My family knows better than to ask me for a recipe, their chances of getting something specific are slim to none. Ask any of them about the Green Pepper Pancakes experiment. It shouldn't come as a surprise that I decided to build my first hugelkultur bed in the same fashion in which I bake.






I considered digging a 4ft by 4ft area as suggested in the blog Little House in the Suburbs. However, I am still recovering from a side injury; I decide that digging a hole that size wasn’t a wise idea.

My brother Craig Dahlin introduced me to Paul Wheatons' blog - Hugelkultur: the ultimate raised garden bed. This is a great concept and an article worth reading, however my backyard is already taken over by pots of native plants, so garden space is prime real estate.

Simply Too Much Work

Out of frustration with myself, I packed up the car and took my three small barrels of sticks to our local compost facility. I decide to give up on the idea of applying the peramaculture concept of burying old sticks that eventually decompose into rich healthy humus. It was simply too much work.Then it dawned on me why not try this on a small scale? Not everything in my life needs to be a "50 miler", 30 miles are just as much fun. This is precisely what I did; built a miniature hugelkultur. As you can see from the top right picture that the hole I dug was 1ft deep and 3 ft long. It only took me a few minutes to dig.


 

After adding Dog Wood branches

 Using What You Have

I had several Dog Wood branches that I had to trim after last week's storm. I saved the straight branches (they are very flexible) to use as hoops in my winter green houses. Then I put the remaining branches in the hole that I just finished digging.

My first small Hugelkultur

Finally, I covered the branches with the dirt that I had displaced. For good measure I topped it off with a few shovels full of organic material which was teaming with soil invertebrates like: centipedes, sowbugs, earthworms and a few slugs I kidnapped off of my seedlings.

Learn as You Grow

Since there is so much to learn about living and gardening sustainably, I will try and give myself permission to start small and learn as I grow!. That in itself is a huge goal.


Only time will tell if this experiment will work or not.




July 31, 2013

I added two more small Hugelkultur beds; bringing my total to three!