Hugelkultur
Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 1:33 pm
Has anyone heard of this ? tried it ? Recommend it ?
It is a German idea, as you might have guessed, and seems to be a sort of raised bed. But it is formed of a mound over rotting wood. Googling it produces mostly permacuture avocates, but adding a touch of credance maybe is this article by Alys Fowler in the Guardian.
Why am I interested, when normally I don't favour raised beds ? At the bottom of my allotment, my last bed is underperforming. It gets very wet down there, and the soil isn' t great. The light could be better but for an overhanging silver birch. My thought is that this is an ideal spot for a raised bed of some sort; I have a fair amount of already partially rotted pear wood, the good stuff being destined for the stove, and a small collection of stumps etc. The overhanging birch tree might be persuaded to fall in too I can also skim off my paths, which were woodchip a couple of years ago but are now well composted and growing grass; the whole lot could go on in an inverted layer.
My main cause for doubt is that decaying wood might be expected to deplete nitrogen. Adding the grass sods should help, but also I could grow leguminous crops/green manure, and/or water it with high nitrogen liquid (No, not that one, I was thinking of nettle juice).
Anyone have any thoughts ?
It is a German idea, as you might have guessed, and seems to be a sort of raised bed. But it is formed of a mound over rotting wood. Googling it produces mostly permacuture avocates, but adding a touch of credance maybe is this article by Alys Fowler in the Guardian.
Why am I interested, when normally I don't favour raised beds ? At the bottom of my allotment, my last bed is underperforming. It gets very wet down there, and the soil isn' t great. The light could be better but for an overhanging silver birch. My thought is that this is an ideal spot for a raised bed of some sort; I have a fair amount of already partially rotted pear wood, the good stuff being destined for the stove, and a small collection of stumps etc. The overhanging birch tree might be persuaded to fall in too I can also skim off my paths, which were woodchip a couple of years ago but are now well composted and growing grass; the whole lot could go on in an inverted layer.
My main cause for doubt is that decaying wood might be expected to deplete nitrogen. Adding the grass sods should help, but also I could grow leguminous crops/green manure, and/or water it with high nitrogen liquid (No, not that one, I was thinking of nettle juice).
Anyone have any thoughts ?