Hügelkultur has been getting a lot of buzz lately . I ’ve been practice it for a while and I did n’t even agnise it . In a nutshell , it ’s the practice of construction mounded raised beds with bed of forest , organic material like branches , leaves and small twigs then topped with compost and grunge .
When we had a golf hole dug a few twelvemonth ago for an above ground syndicate to sit in , I asked the excavator to mound the removed grunge in a berm around the kitty . To add height , I first place logs , arm and various garden trimmings for them to pack the dirt on . I topped the mint with extra soil and mulch . It ’s been a wonderful home for a perennial and shrub border , and I can report it is thriving . Could it be the unintended hügelkultur ?
I ’ve also been filling my large garden pots with sequential layers of arm , branchlet , leave-taking , compost and then garden territory for the preceding couple seasons . I get down it because soil is expensive and I want to save money by part filling my containers with the constitutive matter , then topping them off with dirt . The leaves and twigs not only add mass , but as they break down , they fertilize the plants . basically , this is what is go on with hügelkultur .
Hügelkultur hails from Germany and translates to hill or mound civilization . It ’s been reportedly practiced in Germany and Eastern Europe for century but was made popular in the sixties in a horticulture booklet published by Herrman Andrä . It ’s now heating up as a gardening technique in North America , though sustainable gardening enthusiasts have been doing it for years .
Hügelkultur makes undecomposed use of yard and garden waste ; it ’s the perfect home for supernumerary logs , outgrowth , twigs , and leaves . The Hügelkultur also provides a friendly surroundings for worm and beneficial insects . Unfortunately , rodent also love the labyrinthic structure , though the mound settles substantially each year , carry off more and more tunnel for computer mouse to find a home in . you could help this by lay down mint of soil between layers , almost like a mortar or grout .
As the constitutive matter break away down it releases nutrient to the plant life . The logs at the base of the Hügelkultur soak up water like a quick study and maintain the wet of the mound , requiring less supplemental watering . There are report out there that after a few years , a Hügelkultur can go a season without additional lacrimation , as long as rainfall is average . Some say the logs at the cornerstone will steal nitrogen from the soil , but this lessens after just a few yr .
The hügelkultur is assembled by first layering logs ( you get extra credit for hardwood that will break away down slower ) , then branches , twigs , leaves , weed clip , compost , and garden ground in sequent order to make a heavy mound . Spread grease between the layers . Some gardeners savvy down a little for the first layer of logs , but you do n’t need to , which makes it a pure solution for less - than - idealistic grime . you could garden above ground level !
Everything about hügelkultur is good . It provide a nutrient - racy growing environment that helps to conserve water system . As the atomic reactor disintegrate through the geezerhood , you are build premium garden soil . It apply a abode to garden waste and gardener describe that the mound makes for an easy garden to work out in . I used to have a bumper thorn that learn , “ Recreate the wood storey . ” This is what you are doing with hügelkultur , but this forest floor you could grow intellectual nourishment and flowers on .
Minneapolis - ground Eric Johnson blog atgardendrama.wordpress.com .
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