[WebSiteEvo]

I am trying hugelkultur beds this year to reduce the need to water. I am semi burying wood (as much rotten as I can find) and covering with manure and topsoil, sowing  cover crops and topping off with straw to prevent it drying out.  I got the idea from here: http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/ looks well worth a go if you dont want to water too often.

Once the wood rots it holds alot of water and provides far more benifit then the loss of nitrogen.

I am building one large one and some smaller ones around the veg & fruit garden in areas most likley to dry out.

Here is a photo of the first one before sowing and covering with mulch.



The plan would be to plant some vegetable crops in it and it should help prevent the raspberries drying out next to it (on the other side of the frence). I would of thought bean crops would do well.

[arugula]

How long does it take for the wood to rot?

[Trillium]

I was just thinking that myself, Argyllie.  I figure some of those big ones will be at least 4-5 years breaking down.

[arugula]

I had a look through the link - after I asked . It seems to imply, to me, that the wood is only completely broken down after 20 years.

[WebSiteEvo]

Some nice examples here:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=351212.0;all

Garden review comparing a hugelkultur bed to other methods:
http://gardenhacker.com/2011-garden-layout-in-review/


Its a long term method that gets best results after the first year.

[lazydog]

I think I might stick with cardboard,paper and manure at the bottom of the runner bean trench might not last 20 years but it gives more instant results

[WebSiteEvo]

I think I might stick with cardboard,paper and manure at the bottom of the runner bean trench might not last 20 years but it gives more instant results

If it did last 20 years and you only prepared the bed once how much time and energy have you saved? + as you don’t have to dig each year you give your soil a chance to develop into a very well structured balanced ecosystem full of beneficial, organisms, microbes and fungi.

I will being doing both this year so will compare the results.

[Yorkie]

I had a nightmare trying to dig through partially rotted wood from many years ago - probably the remnants of a shed or cold frame.

It's not an experiment I shall be trying!

[WebSiteEvo]

I had a nightmare trying to dig through partially rotted wood from many years ago - probably the remnants of a shed or cold frame.

It's not an experiment I shall be trying!

Yes it would work best along side a none dig approach. Not a good idea where you intend to dig in the near furture.

[Growster...]

Is there any danger from honey fungus etc?

[WebSiteEvo]

Is there any danger from honey fungus etc?

The concern has been raised before elsewhere but I have not found anyone reporting probelms speciifc to hugelkultur beds.

[WebSiteEvo]

ALso mycoryhzal fungus innoculum maybe useful and help protect against unwanted fungus.

[Trillium]

Mycorrhizal doesn't really work against other plant pathogens. It's used more to develop better root systems and for those roots to better access nutrients in the soil. I always use mycorrhizal for both veg and flowering plants and you can always tell the difference when I forgot a plant.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3001584/

The beds you're making are fairly similar to permaculture beds, which I'm moving into myself. But, like Yorkie, I can't be bothered with the lumps of wood near the bottom. In both types of culture, you never turn over the soil, but I find it does help to loosen it a bit with a broad fork (loosen, never turn) and with applying yearly fall layers of rotting wood and leaf chippings, I think a very similar result can be had (as well as easier loosening).

[mumofstig]

would composted bark hold the same amounts of water, if worked into the soil?

[Trillium]

Depends on the degree it's composted to, but if fairly composted, I'd certainly think it would hold water/moisture.