Hugelkultur
Hugelkultur is an ancient farming and gardening technique in Eastern Europe, which involves composting wood debris such as hedge clippings, fallen branches to create a raised garden bed. It means means “mound culture” in German. The practice is similar to principle employed permaculture systems, which allows farmers and gardeners to imitate the nutrient cycle in a natural woodland to attain several benefits including moisture retention, fertile soil, and better drainage. Hugekultur is well suited for urban gardeners whose lots have compacted soils, poor drainage, and limited moisture. [1]
How to Create a Hugekultur Bed
The process of creating hugekultur garden bed is simple.All you need the follow the following steps:
- Select and area with approximately 6 feet by 3 feet dimension
- Gather the materials including fallen branches, twigs, leaves, logs. Avoid using cedar, walnut or other tree species that are allelopathic. Nitrogen rich materials such as manure or kitchen waste to help maintain proper carbon nitrogen ratio in the decomposing mass within the hugekultur bed. Top soil enough to the other layers of the bed with 1 to inch depth, and mulching materials
- Lays the largest biomass debris (log)as the first layer of the hugekultur bed, then add a layer of branches, layers of small sticks and twigs.
- Water the layers well
- Fill spaces between the logs,twigs and branches with leaf litter,and kitchen scraps.
- Put 1 to 2 inches of of top soil and a layer of mulch.
It is best to prepare the hugekultur bed several months before the planting season as it benefit from curing, but it can be used for planting immediately.[2]
