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The Many Benefits of Hugelkultur

Inspiration Green and Permaculture magazine
Thursday, 17th October 2013

Hugelkultur are no-dig raised beds with a

difference. They hold moisture, build fertility,
maximise surface volume and are great spaces
for growing fruit, vegetables and herbs.

Hugelkultur, pronounced Hoo-gul-culture, means hill culture

or hill mound.

Instead of putting branches, leaves and grass clippings in

bags by the curbside for the bin men... build a hugel bed.
Simply mound logs, branches, leaves, grass clippings, straw,
cardboard, petroleum-free newspaper, manure, compost or
whatever other biomass you have available, top with soil and
plant your veggies.

The advantages of a hugel bed are many, including:

The gradual decay of wood is a consistent source of long-

term nutrients for the plants. A large bed might give out a
constant supply of nutrients for 20 years (or even longer if
you use only hardwoods). The composting wood also
generates heat which should extend the growing season.

Soil aeration increases as those branches and logs break

down... meaning the bed will be no till, long term.

The logs and branches act like a sponge. Rainwater is

stored and then released during drier times. Actually you
may never need to water your hugel bed again after the first
year (except during long term droughts).

Sequester carbon into the soil.

On a sod lawn Sepp Holzer (hugelkultur expert)

recommends cutting out the sod, digging a one foot deep
trench and filling the trench with logs and branches. Then
cover the logs with the upside down turf. On top of the turf
add grass clippings, seaweed, compost, aged manure,
straw, green leaves, mulch, etc...

Sepp Holzer recommends steep hugel beds to avoid

compaction from increased pressure over time. Steep beds
mean more surface area in your garden for plants and the
height makes easy harvesting. The greater the mass, the
greater the water-retention benefits.

Hugel bed dug in clay with logs put in vertically,

next branches and lots of wood chips. Top 6" will be wood
chips and dirt. This bed will store water and give nutrients for
many years to come.

Straw bale gardens require less soil, less water and hold
heat. As the straw breaks down nutrients feed the plants.
Combining a straw surround with a hugel interior, topped by
lasagne layering is an excellent idea for an area with poor
quality soil.

Hugel bed in Ontario, Canada (June 28) by Tim

Burrows. Tim surrounded his very tall hugel bed in pallets!

Sheet mulching (lasagne gardening) is like composting in

place. Above: just a suggestion as to sheet mulching layers.
Nitrogen-rich material such as fresh grass clippings or green
leaves put right on the hugelkultur wood would help jump
start the composting process. Could also include seaweed,
straw, dead leaves, leaf mould, etc...

The first year of break down means the wood (and fungi)
steal a lot of the nitrogen out of the surrounding
environment, so adding nitrogen during the first year or
planting crops that add nitrogen to the soil (like legumes) or
planting species with minimal nitrogen requirements is
necessary, unless there is plenty of organic material on top
of the wood. After the wood absorbs nitrogen to its fill, the
wood will start to break down and start to give nitrogen back
in the process. In the end you will be left with a beautiful bed
of nutrient rich soil.

Tree types that work well in hugelkultur:

Hardwoods break down slowly and therefore your hugel bed

will last longer, hold water for more years and add nutrients
for more years. But softwoods are acceptable as well, a
softwood bed will just disintegrate quicker. Mixing woods
with softwoods and branches on top, to give off nutrients
first, and hardwoods on bottom, sounds like a plan if you
have access to multiple types of wood. Yet the newly
decomposing softwoods at top will eat up a lot of nitrogen at
first, so compensate for that.

Woods that work best:

Alders, apple, aspen, birch, cottonwood, maple, oak, poplar,
willow (make sure it is dead or it will sprout).

Trees types that work okay:

Black cherry (use only rotted), camphor wood (well
aged), cedar/juniper/yew (anti-microbial/anti-fungal, so use
only at very bottom or unless already well aged. Cedar
should be broken down before new plant roots reach it),
eucalyptus (slightly anti-microbial), osage
orange (exceptionally resistant to decay), Pacific
yew (exceptionally resistant to decay), pine/fir/spruce
(tannins and sap), red mulberry (exceptionally resistant to
decay).

Tree types to avoid:

Black locust (will not decompose), black walnut (juglone
toxin), old growth redwood (heartwood will not decompose
and redwood compost can prevent seed germination).

This article was cross-posted

from www.inspirationgreen.com/hugelkultur.html

Further resources
Want to learn more about huglekultur beds? We highly
recommend Sepp Holzer's Permaculture, a ground
breaking book that will teach you all you need to know!

Small-scale hugelkulter in raised beds

How to make vertical raised beds for urban green

spaces

Video: How to make a hugelkultur bed

Help spread the permaculture

word...

Critters?

Robynne Catheron | Tue, 25/02/2014 - 15:17

How do you keep rodents, rabbits, etc, from burrowing into
the raised bed and eating all the roots?

If I use a pine tree what

megan22 | Tue, 11/03/2014 - 14:25

If I use a pine tree what kind of vegetables can I plant? I don't
want them to pick up the pine.

Bradford Pear Trees in Hugelkultur

GL FH | Tue, 03/03/2015 - 20:53

Property has 34 non-fruiting Bradford Pear trees planted along
a fence. Planned to top the trees to allow in the sun, leaving
the trunks as posts for Espaliére planting. Is the Bradford Pear
acceptable in Hugelkultur?

Pine

HB | Mon, 22/05/2017 - 07:50

This comment is in response to megan22: I have constructed a
bed out of pine so that I can have a more acidic environment
for my blueberries. At the moment, strawberries are actually
growing on the spot - I don't think the acidity will have
increased (yet) as the bed is only a year old.

watering

MayaS | Mon, 31/07/2017 - 23:47

Don't these mounded beds dry out at the tops?

I am amazed to see the new

Brice Booth | Thu, 29/03/2018 - 20:58

I am amazed to see the new incredible technique here, I have
never heard of Hugelkultur, Will be writing more about it at
http://www.essayheaven.org/ to let all know how amazing it
is to have the Hugelkultur culture around

question

jworldthegame665 | Mon, 21/05/2018 - 08:37

do you keep rodents, rabbits, etc, from burrowing into the
raised bed and eating all the roots?
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