has anyone had a hugelcultur bed

[the1honeycomb]

I am thinking fo making one of these for a blueberry patch does anyone have any experience with them?

 

[897tgigvib]

Can't tell what it is. Can you explain it some?

 

[the1honeycomb]

a raised garden bed made up of old wood at the bottom, then leaves, manure, compost and soil they are very high and you can plant in them immediately, but the swood is usually in pretty big peices

 

[897tgigvib]

I like that idea. Make sure it has drainage and remember blueberries prefer acidic soil similar to for rhododendrons.

 

[catjac1975]

Why blueberries?

 

[digitS']

I don't know about blueberries and the rhododendrons grew wild in the redwood forests.

I once asked a Southeast Asian guy why he didn't bury the old wood that he burned to clear a garden. He just looked at me. I then thought about the absence of backhoes and that sort of thing.

I am curious about termites, in places that have termites. Could they be a problem?

Steve

 

[897tgigvib]

You know, my garden is framed up with logs. There are so many different pests that can come with logs. Ants, Termites, Yellow Jackets, Wood Borers. For some reason I've been pest free on the logs. Oh, there is one that has happened. Pileated Woodpeckers! Put some decorative holes in one of the corner uprights.

 

[so lucky]

There is one school of thought that says a half-burned log is even better than a non-burned one. Something about the chemistry with the ashes, the decay, the bacteria....makes for the best growing medium. I read about it in one of the more extreme gardening forums, but don't remember which one.

 

[Kassaundra]

I have been interested in the hugelkulture concept for about a year now and plan on making at least one bed w/ it. It is designed especially for areas of the world that are dry and poor as a means to grow veggies/food w/o expensive irrigation. I have read many articles on it. My current concept is to combine underground meat rabbit dens w/ a hugelkulture garden set up to try and beat our intense summer heat w/ the meat rabbits.

 

[digitS']

. . . My current concept is to combine underground meat rabbit dens w/ a hugelkulture garden set up to try and beat our intense summer heat w/ the meat rabbits.

Whoa! That's thinking outside the box! I can imagine little hobbit houses . . ! Then, collapsing those, putting in a new one and growing something on the old - the following year.

One of the first ideas I had for "composting in place" came from reading an article about building growing beds in South Africa. They dug 3' trenches, filled them with coarse cut grass and refilling with soil. The beds were used without irrigation.

I figure I don't have any 3' of good soil to use and just make use of the 10 or 11 inches that I do have - with compostables.

Escream gardening? I am a graduate of escream gardening!

Steve