I finally built one of the Hugelkultur beds that I posted about back in October 2008. Inspired by an article in our paper, The Oregonian, I decided to make one in the back yard.
Everything about it sounded great, kind of like sheet composting or lasagna gardening, but on a more rustic, brawny scale.
Benefits include:
Dry and warm the soil a little earlier than normal
Continuous feed of nutrients to the raised bed
A place to get rid of yard debris and old wood, (as long as it's not painted or treated)
I dug a pit, about 4 x 8 feet, and about 6-8" deep, filled it with bigger logs at the bottom and then sticks, leaves, and dirt on the top. Watered it in and left it alone for a couple of weeks.
A few weeks ago I added about 4-6 inches of compost and planted some peas, mustard greens, arugula, and rapini. Here's what it looks like as of a few days ago. I baited for slugs yesterday, since some of the tender leaves were looking a little nibbled. My make shift cloches are clear plastic champagne buckets.
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