Understanding Hugelkultur - How and Why to Do It
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2019
- Hugelkultur is a great way to use branches and logs in your landscape to to benefit your soil and provide a fertile location for plants to grow. Hugelkultur is more than just burying a log and planting on top of it. It improves soil by adding nutrients and improving its water-holding capacity. It can create no-till and low-effort raised beds. It can be a good option for using garden slash and can be a great way to sequester carbon. Gardener Scott discusses these and more benefits along with other concerns about Hugelkultur.
Hugelkultur books:
"Sepp Holzer's Permaculture" amzn.to/2mN5MKj
"Gaia's Garden" amzn.to/2mHU7fV
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I see I'm not the only one with a pup that enjoys chomping on long blades of grass. What a good lookin doggo.
my Black Lab loves me putting logs in my bed and tree branches. she see it as a playground got pictures, she gardens with me!
My doggo loves the salad bar as well :)
My dog was always doing that too but we learned that dogs eating grass almost always means they are having stomachs pains/issues. We got tests done and were able to catch my older dogs pancreatitis early and made major diet changes and got prescription dog food. No more eating grass, and he was so much more active and noticeably happier after a two week adjustment period. what I was told is that eating grass is their way of trying to fix it. Kinda like taking a runs, although it doesn’t work like a tums for them :(
I actually know of folks who grow oat grass in large round pots for their dogs to munch on!
I immediately thought of James Prigioni when I read this.
This is one of the best channels on CZcams
Just a tip if you want to use bushes for hugelkultur, let them die/dry fully first. If the branches don't bend but snap, they are truly dead and most likely won't shoot any roots anymore.
It’s always crazy to see people on CZcams, giving names to and doing things my grandparents did in their gardens for years. I’d always ask my grandpa why he was doing a certain thing, “Cause that’s how my granddaddy taught me” would always be the response.
Edit: point to this was he’d always bury twigs, leaves, and grass clippings in the garden during the off cycle. He had three spots that he rotated between, the oldest used spot got a couple years off and he’d just add junk to it: leaves, cattle manure, grass clippings, food waste, etc. Whenever he’d clean up his wood pile, anything that was a little too rotten to be saved, got buried in garden.
I think that in our information driven world, we find we need to name things because it helps us find that information later. If you search google for "ancient composting technique where you bury stuff," you will get bombarded by a ton of different kinds of information and styles of composting. Narrow it to Hügelkultur, you will get more accurate results. I also think that this technique has always had this name in certain parts of the world, but it wasn't always widely known.
This was informative. Thank you. Planting on a mound is the Native American way, sometimes called "Three Sisters". In the top and center of the mound, corn is planted. Beans are planted on the sides, and they grow up on the corn. At the bottom of the mound are the squash. The squash leaves are so large that few weeds grow.
Thank you for an excellent addition. May be useful in the high desert climate I live in.
I'm using climbing peas and melons with the corn.
Mounds are built on top of the cat's spent pine pellet litter as the mound base.
Seems to be doing well, so far.
Please give me more! You're advice is invaluable!
I wanna try this with okra instead of corn.
I am praying this method works, got my three beds filled with my compost and garden soil today. the branches and soft woods been in the beds for months now! I moved 28 wheel barrels full of soil today. anxious to see the results. thanks for sharing you are my go to man, sonce my husband died of Cancer 5 years ago! He had the green thumb and was the gardener!
I'm really waiting on Bob Vila to walk out say "thanks, time for a quick commercial break and we will be right back to check on our gardens process."
Amazing! I actually watched the whole vid. This is a great, understandable video, full of easy-to-use information, and not alot of jargon that simple folk won't know.
Right on!
Just found you! Where have you been all my gardening life? Your videos are incredibly informative and thorough! I really appreciate that. Thank you!!
Thanks so much.
He’s awesome! I’m glad I found him too!
Thanks for this very informative video. I built a 3ft tall raised bed this year and used this method with logs and branches in the bottom and a thick layer of leaves on top, I filled it just under 2 feet and filled the rest with my diy raised bed mix. It was my first attempt at veggie gardening and it turned out really good. I knew going in that it would sink, now I'm preparing for my fall garden and am seeing that due to using such a thick layer of leaves it has actually sunk about 6 inches so I'm topping it off but it has definitely been worth it. I have a small growing space and it was a quick way to fill my bed with the added benefits of nutrient rich soil being made at the same time and not having to take up valuable space on my property.
Very informative video, as usual.
In my hot & dry Mediterranean climate I'm using the trench method but only filling the trench until reaching the pathways level. Raised beds would need too much water to compensate the higher evaporation.
PS: As a non english speaker I really appreciate your calm style and clear pronunciation. Thank you.
I’m in Greece and will do the same 👍🏼
I am really enjoying Gardener Scott's education process of Hugelkultur. I particularly love the fact that he gives 4 options, so it is not so daunting, in other words, the method can be adapted to different settings. I have myself and two daughters' gardens that we intend to convert to Hugelkultur, and different options will actually make this work for all of us.
Thank you. I understand any single word of English of yours..
This is the best explanation I have come across of the different types. Well done.
Thank you.
I agree
All of his videos are super informative and helpful!
What kind of wood do you use to build the raise bed
I love listening to you. I put a playlist on and just go to sleep. I finally got my own home with my own land and have just been planting things… and making mistakes. It was you that showed me where I was going wrong with some things. I thought, why didn’t I watch this playlist first?!🤦🏾♀️ but I know now. Still, I’m so happy I found you. Thanks for your knowledge and I love your evidence based approach. I’m a nurse and we do that in my profession.
Thanks for this clear explanation. We just built an 8'x4'x2' raised bed for the back yard and will be filling the bottom half with brush & branches! I'm hoping to make a second bed as well, and will try to grow a lot of stuff this season. Strong winds have taken down a lot of branches and whole trees in our area, so there's a lot of material to use. I'm a lousy gardener but will keep trying until I get it right!
Glad it was helpful!
How long do you have to wait before you can plant anything?
@@StanleyParrishJr We planted right away, didn't wait. Grew lots of radishes and other stuff that I'd never been able to grow before.
Very good explanation.
It's working well for us.
what a beautiful mind, so clear and in order...
I live in the American southwest desert where mounds or raised beds dry out quickly and easily. So I'm doing hugelkultur in trenches, leaving them level with or a little below ground level. That way they hold water much better. It's a well-understood permaculture practice to sink your beds in desert environments.
You are correct. Thank you for pointing another way to do it.
Love the Yellowstone shirt!
I recently rescued a short bit deep bathtub that had been abandoned in the alley a block from my house.
this weekend my husband and I drillef a whole lot of holes in it, filled the bottom with logs and brush, piled in some leaves and straw, packed that down, watered it, topped that with shredded leaves and coffee grounds followed by a thin layer of our sandy garden soil and some more water.
I'm planning to add about 6 inches of bagged garden soil then another layer of shredded leaves for mulch, then plant in it next spring.
Hugelkultur bathtub.
Feeling optimistic.
@celestepagano Would love to see pics of that process!
Hope you have lots of holes in the bottom, to facilitate getting worms and microbes up into the tub from the ground. They are essential to breaking down the wood/brush/creating the soil. Would love an update.
A method I often use is logs 4" to 8" wide X 2' long and place them on the south side of my plants. This helps to retain moisture, keeps the sun from baking the soil, keeps the soil at an even temp. and knocks the wind down. Branches cut 4' to 6' long can be wired together to make fences to reduce the wind around the garden. This method is used out West where the wind is brutal.
How does a buried log "knock the wind down"?
@@user-kq6ju6hc1w he doesnt burry them just places them on the south side of his plants
@@user-kq6ju6hc1w 4-6 ft sections can be built into a fence that’s what was said
plmppppk 98
That is brilliant! I have been using hay bails the same way. I have an old growth tree whose rounds were not harvested early enough for firewood. It is spongy now.
So comprehensive! Thank you, Sir!
Excellent teacher!
Thank you! 😃
I went very extra with my permaculture and buried logs in my swales. I am super excited to see how much more lush the spots with the logs are vs the spots without in the future!
Amazing informations!
I hired service people to take away the logs n branches every year. No more service needed, thanks 🙏
Thank you.
Just need someone to dig the hole for the wood, then another hole for the spoil from the first hole etc etc ;)
@@billboyd2009 a hole is to dig
What if the branches and limbs have diseases? Can you still use the Red-Tipped Photinia branches for Hugelkultur?
@@aris.a2912 if you are using the logs to create natural coal, by burying it, no problem at all. The plants love it.
Great video Scott. Thank you for your easy to understand presentation.
Thank you! That was good/informative. Needfull for the upcoming beginning of the tribulation time.
Such a great explanation, thorough and complete, thank you Scott !
Thank you! I'm planning to begin a hugelkultur garden this summer. I appreciate all the information you've provided. Well done!
Gardener Scott! You are the man! You are answering all my most recent questions! I'm very grateful. God bless your beautiful soul!
What a great video. Super excited to try this method and watch more. Please continue gardener Scott
Absolutely excellent video. I learned so much from this and cannot wait to try it this spring! Thanks for this video!
Your channel is an absolute find! Thank you so much for all the information. I am learning so much with you.
Thank you so much it's my first time I watch some of your videos God bless you this is what I need for my little garden 👋
A big thank! Detailed yet helpful explanation and instructions.
I Love this idea. Especially when I prune my bushes. I can do this. Make a mound, then pile soil on top of it
Very informative, thank you!
Thank you for the education on this topic, I am building my 1st raised bed to use next year and am prepping it right now, so I'm learning all I can!
I use this to make raised garden beds in florida, it breaks down really fast here and I have to top up each year but sandy coastal soil doesn't lend to easy access to nutrients, and it helps keep the ever present nematodes away. Also something for other warm/hot weather gardeners: Those big logs like he mentioned can be used for growing dragon fruit! Just bury them partly to keep them standing and let dragon fruit climb up and drape over the top, no need to build a trellis! I know someone who also digs out a hole in the top to plant squash and melons. He lets them drape and grow down the sides rather than up and it seems to work well enough.
Thank you Fox. I live in Florida too and have built six hugelkultur beds since the Coronavirus started. I wanted to thank you for your idea on burying the logs for the dragon fruit. How genius! I bought two dragon fruit plants two weeks ago, and I have not planted them yet trying to figure out how to build a trellis holding 300 pounds. I'm a woman, I have no clue how to build anything, lol. No tools needed for hugelkultur beds, I can do that. I have a couple of logs left and I will plant my dragon fruit trees tomorrow:)))))))
I've been doing my beds on a slope and happened to have a lot of dry branches do to the long drought here, and this method is great to use all that material which would otherwise decompose and produce methane
Knowledge is power, something new everyday.
I am just starting to clear a large overgrown garden in the UK. Scott's information is really helpful. I am new to making raised beds, and will use the method described by Scott to fill the base layer with cut trees and grass clippings.
Clear, kind communication. Thank you.
You're very welcome.
Your channel is incredible, the first and only channel I have ever subscribed. Thank you.
Thanks! Welcome to the channel!
Excellent video with all the information you need! We just had to cut down a dying tree so I'm going to use the shallow dig method for a few new hugel beds.Thanks for a great video!
Thanks for the tip. God bless
Thank you Gardener Scott! I've been watching your CZcams videos for five or six years and have learned alot from your presentations. Followed this video four years ago and made 4*12 ft, dug down 3 ft or so. It's great now! Compost added each year in the fall. Excited to see how it goes this year. ..
Thank you so much
Great presentation, excellent, detailed advice. Cheers!
Thanks for the details guide
Great video! I've got a pile of dead wood and was planning on building boxes and throwing it in them, but this is making me rethink whether I should just go for the mound to get more surface area. Thanks for the info!
A very detailed explanation ! There's a lot of ways to do hugelkultur. I am starting to use it in building our food garden. I will try all the methods, except for the very high mound. Thanks a lot sir!
Great video! I especially love the labby!!!
I'm the yellow lab munching on grass on the background. AMA.
Thank you! Great info. 👍
I like your video thank you. Lots of great information especially the cons of this process. I this in my raised bed garden and it was the best garden I have ever had.
Thanks. I appreciate you sharing your success.
I wish I was younger and had lots more land. Great video. Love the nature ways.
Same!
Your videos are well-made and very helpful! You remind me of my Dad's gardener friend. Dad's dad was an artist and a market gardener back in the 1920's thru 40's. So, my dad grew up around it and gardened a lot from intuition as well as experience. His friend was a college professor, with deep knowledge of science and botany. They learned from each other. Listening to their conversations was a classroom. Your videos are now my classroom. Thanks you.
So excited about this!!
Thank you for another great video.
After years of gardening i've decided to convert to using some raised beds - and then I came across your channel. I'll definitely be keeping the mound of twigs etc I have to place at the bottom in a shallow trench with added green stuff. I figure this will also make the bed more water retentive as well as adding nutrients so will get us through the dry summers that global warming is bringing to New Zealand. Somewhat like core gardening? I really appreciate your channel!!!!
Very interesting video . Thank you for sharing this educational information 🙏
Awesome video, we´ve just made a hugel bed in our garden and I watched your video as a helping hand. Nice work!
Thanks!
I just came across your channel today. Very informative videos. They help with my beginning gardening anxiety🤗
I'm so glad you find them helpful.
I like it and I will give a go on my first raised beds for next year
I'm just trying to get back into gardening again and have stumbled across the hugelkulture method on CZcams. Thanks for this super informative video, which explains it in depth. So interesting! I'm going to try it in a couple of raised garden beds.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you
Great explanation! Thank you
Thank you for sharing this information friend happy gardening
You're welcome.
Thanks again for another wonderful and insightful video. I'm learning how to apply these methods in the Vegas desert climate.
That's a tough region. The Hugelkultur method should help your soil retain more water. Good luck.
Foolproof explanation
Nice video and very helpful. I have two raised beds and when I made my second one early this year I did it in a hukukkulter method. I placed the logs, branches, leaves, and old corn stalks on the ground inside the bed then covered it all with soil I bought in bulk. Just in about 7 months the soil went down almost 6 inches.
Thanks. It is amazing how much it can settle.
My experience is much the same. Later this fall I will top them off with some more compost and all the leaves and mulch I can gather.
Learn to spell.
@@judeirwin2222 Learn some manners.
Wow can'tnt wait to try this!
Great video Gardener Scott. I am going to try doing this in 40 gallon fabric pots. Hopefully they're big enough to house bacteria and the ability to break down organic matter.
I love your puppy!!
Thank you.
Hi Sir,
Allow me to salute you for the brillant video. You're very passionate about what you know best - gardening
Thanks to you I started a mound last fall and actually planted garlic in it to see what happens. I'm anxious to begin new mounds in the early spring. Thanks for teaching me.
So glad to help, Marsha. Thanks.
Never heard of it before I watched this video excellent stuff Scott keep it up.
what a great New Zealander
Excited to try this method. We’ve got lots of limbs
THANK U WE WILL B DOING THIS.
That's great.
I had a pile of rotting lumber in my yard left from the former owners. And so I used the better pieces to make a simple frame for garden bed.and filled the bottom half with the rest of the rotting wood.and did the same thing filled it with top soil which has alot of clay in it.I throw kitchen scraps in and sand and cow compost I get here and there .even if the beds rot away, The soil over time will be great.
Such good information!! Thank you for sharing :)
Glad it was helpful!
I have a great area for gardening, but very clay rich and rocky soil and I've been exploring raised beds. I liked the idea of this system, but couldn't find a really comprehensive video on it.. This is a great start!! Thank you!
Glad to help.
Thanks, another great vid. I was thinking how about raised beds and then you came to it..... SORTED. Only my raised beds have a base as I grow on a concrete patio. I can't let all these cut down trees around here go ....so I'm trying it.
Very good, very concise. Thank you!
Thank you.
Wow great explanation, thank you so much. I’m expanding my garden at the end of summer and plan on using this method to fill several deep raised garden beds. I think the hardest part will be digging into our clay soil; I’ve been trying to amend it for a couple years but it’s still quite hard in many places. Hence the deep beds.
Anyway, you have a great channel. I’ve subscribed. Thanks for the valuable information and demonstrations!
Thanks! Welcome to the channel.
Excellent video!
Thank you!
I loved it! Thank you.
Thank you too!
Thanks
Recap:
- 4 types of Hugel: 1.Deep trench, big logs, high mount. 2. Shallow trench, small logs. Needs additional nutrients like compostpile. Needs greens and nitrogen besides browns, carbon source. 3. No trench, to get rid of slash; branches and leaves. Needs additional soil. Needs additional nutrients. (4. Inside a raised bed.)
- One decides whether to use the hugel the year of construction, or to wait for next year after decomposition. (Unclear when why?)
- Hugels possibly need extra work each year to re-build
- Hugels need mulch on top because of high amount of weeds
- In areas with al lot of water; be careful with nutrient toxicity; they seep soak into bottom, possible groundwater.
- Hugels are warmer in spring and autumn than other beds.
- Hugels mean more surface to plant, which needs anticipated preparation
first step is to put the wood, buried ! 50cm to 1m but if you are aiming
at fruit plantation 2m below ground its were your logs will be.
like biochar or vegetable coal, but not has efficient has biochar, it will store water and bacteria essential for your plants growth !
The next phase to maintain the hughelkulter 4ever, is to create a mulch rich in
wood, add other vegetable wastes, fruit wastes, leafs sticks etc etc, and cover your earth with it...
you wont need to remake it ever...
Recap: watch the video
Thought for a second your lab was going to add the first deposit of manure to your trench...😁 Thanks for the information. I was going to add 2 more raised beds to my garden. Perfect timing!
Lol!!!
😆😆
Bardzo wartościowy film. Wiele skorzystałam. Czekam na następne. Pozdrawiam Krystyna
Dziękuję Krystyna.
Great video - a hello from the UK
Thanks, Raj.
This is great info. I’ve been trying to think of a way to terrace the side of a desert hill in my back yard to creat more soil for a couple of fruit trees, I planted on that hill 7 or eight years ago. Thw wood I have is mesqite. holding water is a big plus in the desert> Thanks! I really like your videos.
This is excellent! I built his lasagna method and are fallowing for the winter! I’m going to try this method too-we’ve had huge storms and there’s plenty of sources for free-if you see the 4th method-that’s what I did! Awesome!!