5 October 2019

Hugelkultur


raised bed placed against a sunny wall
It’s been mild and dry outside today so Paul and I have both been working in the garden.  I was clearing up the patio with the leaf blower when I heard a loud hammering from the garage.  I went to investigate and discovered Paul happily dismantling a wooden pallet.  He has spent all day building his latest garden project – a Hugelkultur raised strawberry bed.
  
Hugelkultur is a very old practice originating from Germany that allowed people to grow food in abundance, without the need of irrigation. The buried wood and other bits of compostable material in hugelkultur beds create a fungal-rich base that retains water and provides essential nutrients to the plants growing in the bed.  
 
first layer of apple wood cuttings

Paul has filled the base of his structure with apple wood cuttings and old cardboard, covered with a layer of topsoil.  This will break down over the winter months and he will add the strawberry plants in the spring.  It looks very smart and I shall look forward to a bumper strawberry crop next year.
 

19 comments:

  1. It's an interesting and clever method, I'll read more about it and maybe try here.

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    1. It's a good way to get rid of any old wood or other rough compost.

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  2. How clever- and good looking too!

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  3. Looks great, looking forward to your photo's next year of the bumper crop.

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    1. It's a sunny spot so I think they will ripen well.

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    1. Not just any old trough though, it's a Hugelkultur Trough.

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  5. Looks good. My Strawberry plants were in two old wheelbarrows, but after this year's heat and drought, I think they're all dead.

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    1. They might recover, strawberries are quite resilient.

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  6. The foresight of gardeners always impresses me. It looks like a good place for Rick to cock his leg on as well.

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    1. That part of the garden is out of bounds!

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  7. What a brilliant idea! I haven't forgotten my resolve to use your idea to grow new potatoes next year.
    My garden needs a major overhaul, having been designed, and laid, at a time when we had three fair-sized dogs. They spent most of their time careering round like mad things, so the vast expanse of gravel was ideal. I'm now looking at taking up the gravel and laying some areas with artificial grass. Naff, I know, but real grass doesn't grow well here and takes too much water.

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    1. I think artificial grass will look better than parched, brown grass and dusty soil. Our grass here seems to be coping quite well with Rick at the moment.

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    2. When we lived in the UK, our oldest Labrador's one aim in life was to dig up as much of the lawn as possible - before we caught him at it !

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  8. I shall be interested to see how this progresses - have never heard of this method before.

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    1. I'm just looking forward to eating the strawberries!

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  9. Clever Paul, I put my strawberries in a pot and they went really well. Now I have violas in it!

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    1. Where did you put your strawberry plants? Or have you got both in the pot?

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