Gardening: Raising Garden Beds to Hugelkultur

Shepherding tiny seeds through a process of germination and growth into nutrient- rich and delicious vegetables and flowers that boost a home’s beauty inside and out, well, is nothing short of a wonder! Plus, this hobby provides benefits that go beyond the salad bowl.

Soak up the sun and dig in the dirt and feel improved physical and emotional health. Gardening results include boosted mood, better sleep, powerful stress relief, decreased anxiety, enhanced cognition, and even a reduction in certain illnesses.

Let’s take gardening to a next level and bolster backyard crops while also giving back to the earth and the ecosystem. A permaculture practice called “hugelkultur” is the perfect transformative means.

Hugelkultur is a traditional permaculture system used in Eastern Europe and Germany. But before we go any further, let’s examine why “permaculture”.

Permaculture gardening means designing our garden around our local environment. It aims to make food production easier and more sustainable by mimicking the permanent, regenerative systems that are found in nature; we aim to work with nature rather than against it. Permaculture gardening focuses heavily on gradually building up our soil’s integrity with nutrients, essentially constantly rejuvenating the earth as our plants become stronger.

Hugelkultur is an oldworld approach to gardening that, well, raises our garden beds. Instead of a flat-topped rectangle like the typical raised beds found in many American backyards, hugel beds are giant mounds of earth built up with beneficial biomass.

But wait, what is biomass? Biomass is organic material made from plants and animals (microorganisms). There is agricultural waste such as corn stalks, rice husks, and wheat straw; crops such as sugarcane and switchgrass; animal waste such as manure from livestock or chickens; organic waste includes wood scraps and yard waste. Even aquatic plants that contain algae are a biomass. The largest biomass on Earth is from plants. For hugelkultur, wood—logs, chips, bark, and sawdust - are a great base.

Hugelkultur beds can be 3 to 5 feet (but sometimes higher!). Their sloping sides mean easy access to planting, weeding, pruning, and harvesting! Their 3-D structure supplies greater surface area, making them ideal for small spaces.

The key difference between a hugel bed and a traditional raised bed is what lies beneath the surface.

Hugelkultur builds a garden bed from dead, decaying wood and plant debris. Logs and large branches provide the bed’s physical structure and a steady supply of moisture and nutrients to plants growing above. Layering additional woody biomass of smaller branches, brush, sticks, twigs, wood chips, and sawdust, fill in the gaps. Additional layers can be straw, manure, leaf litter, grass clippings, and even manmade biodegradable materials like cardboard (no plastic tape, please!). This gardener tops off the hugelkultur bed with chicken poo and coastal hay.

Then it is ready for planting, or wait. Either way, the hugelkultur bed is always working and ready!

Hugelkultur beds can be built directly atop the earth. This gardener uses the original method of digging a trench that is typically 12 to 16 inches deep. Remove and put aside several square feet of turf, construct the mound, then invert the turf on top for a no-waste layer of topsoil. Again, in hugelkultur one uses the earth around it.

This type of garden bed improves soil quality and drainage, plus its ability to retain moisture; logs absorb and retain water and act as a sponge. Depending on the type of wood and the size of the bed, oh, be sure to keep it narrow - 4 ft. across allows easy sowing and harvesting from either side, a hugelkultur gardener can expect the carefully constructed system to sustain itself for up to 20 years. Once created, there is no tilling! Year after year, one can add layers of organic matter to a hugelkultur bed, such as a fresh layer of compost, finished compost, well-rotted manure, grass clippings, and leaves to the heap! Worms, fungi, microorganisms, and beneficial bacteria go to work as the wood breaks down, improving soil fertility and delivering nutrients to nourish the plant roots. Since decomposition also creates heat, hugelkultur extends the growing season.

Hugelkultur is a smart solution for our droughtprone area. It is a zero-waste approach, which gleans as much good use as possible from decaying wood and other materials. One can simply incorporate materials that would otherwise be discarded, like dead and dying tree limbs, grass clippings, leaf litter, and, of course, compostable household waste. Next week: compostable household waste.

Hugelkultur promotes cultivating the bond between people, plants, and the environment.