Hugelkultur

Another gardening season has ended. Sort of. As most of us gardeners know, next year’s garden is greatly influenced by what we do now. Many trees and shrubs are best trimmed after the leaves fall, compost is built, fallen leaves are swept up and maybe placed as insulation in strategic locations. I always feel kind of sad in the fall.

My friends remind me that it is a “falling asleep” as opposed to a “dying”. Tell that to my gargantuan tomatillo plant I just threw onto the newly built hugel. Yes folks, I’m finally dipping my toe into hugelkultur. Were it not for the internet, I would never have known about this ancient method of gardening; no one around here is talking about it and I have never seen it.

 Digging the Hole 

In my opinion, Hugelkultur is really not a very attractive system viewed from the ground. I’ve seen photos of it from the air and it’s beautiful if designed properly. I wish for beauty and symmetry, not some messy-looking hill. My little experiment back by the garage is bound to be viewed by a parade of visitors and I want to put hugelkultur’s best foot forward, so to speak. That’s why I didn’t build it directly on the ground.

When a hugel is built on top of the ground, it’s tall, which I think would be out of proportion in the little space I have out back. Thus, I dug down about the length of my spade. I threw the top soil to the sides to be replaced later. It’s good top soil, as I’ve spent a dozen years constructing that loam, which used to be pure clay and other crap that they used a century ago to fill the lot. After digging the hole, we sorted through an old firewood pile and threw the “refuse” into the bottom. Next, I piled on some grass clippings and kitchen scraps I had saved, with the intention of “jump-starting” the decomposition process. Now I’ve begun to add whatever plants that have died back from the frost. Soon, it will be leaves and more green stuff. I’m not as picky here as I would be if it were an ordinary compost pile. 

 Good Stuff I Saved to Jumpstart

            I do not allow weed and other seeds into the compost pile. Sometimes the pile gets hot enough to debilitate the seeds, sometimes not. I hate to end up actually planting stuff I don’t want in with my vegetables as I spread the compost. I also keep sticks and branches out of the compost as it takes so long to break down. In the case of the hugel, I can use a lot of the refuse I normally put out for recycling. That makes me happy. 

 Adding the Wood

            What doesn’t make me happy s how tall the pile is getting. I’m wondering if I have enough dirt set aside to cover it. Compost will have to be added later. I refuse to buy dirt, so I will have to let it “settle” over the winter and hope for the best. According to experienced hugelkultur gardeners, the first year one can see little benefit to this method. Starting the second year, when the wood begins to break down, it acts as a sponge, absorbing rainfall and eliminating the need for watering. The temperature of the hugel will be several degrees warmer than regular garden soil, thus extending the season.

 Piling It On

Besides eliminating the need to water and a higher soil temperature, other benefits to hugelkultur is a constant fertilization and small air pockets. As the plant roots reach down, they gather nutrients and have free reign to spread and stretch. That makes for bigger and healthier plants. For those who are worried about CO2, the hugel will not emit that gas as will a compost pile. As I am building this hugel, I can’t help but remember our “accidental berm,” which I wrote about in an earlier post.

Spent Grape Vines On Top

The plants on the berm went wild for the first several years. I deducted it was all the sod mixed in with the soil that had been moved there. The chrysanthemums I planted in the fall of 2001 were absolutely huge the next year. Every year they got a little smaller as the decomposing sod fertilizer fizzled out. I so wish I had made a big hardwood pile underneath that thing; I would not have to water out there, even to this day. Well, so goes gardening. By the time we are expert at the art of innovation, we’re too decrepit to implement ideas! That is why it’s so important to share information and to mentor the next generation. Gardening is always exciting, and trying new things makes it all the more interesting.

Yes, another gardening season has ended and soon snow will blanket my new hugel, adding to the mystery of what is to come. Even though I always feel kind of sad in the fall, I can look out my window this winter with the knowledge super potatoes will soon grow on that little hill back yonder.