Gardening Geek: Permaculture Week: Hugelkulture

It's hard to say where hugelkulture originated some say it's been done in Europe as far back as the middle ages. The most modern pioneer of this technique though is Sepp Holzer. Sepp practices permaculture techniques on his farm in Austria and is credited with bringing hugekulture back to life.

Learn more about Sepp Holzer here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepp_Holzer

So what the heck is Hugelkulture????

Well very simply put hugelkulture is stacking wood into a hill like formation, throwing soil on top of it, and growing. This technique of growing is said to reduce and in some cases even Eliminate the need to water all together.

Although not watering at all is sometimes known not to work, there is no doubt that this method can DRASTICALLY reduce your need for irrigation.

How does it work?

Well the way this works is basically the wood, while it rots underground, acts like a sponge. This in turn holds much of the water that would otherwise be lost and stores it. Think about a piece of rotting wood in the forest, can you imagine not being damp and wet?

So while the wood holds the water and stores it your plants roots can easily access the water with their roots and take whatever water they need to take. So whenever you plant needs water it takes it and when it doesn't need it, it doesn't take it. How cool is that!

2 Types of Hugelkulture

1.) The Original Hugelkulture:

This style is what was originally invented and that is stacking the wood about 6 ft tall and growing on that. This technique is said to work the best and is the best technique if you are looking to greatly reduce your watering needs, since it captures water the best.

The downside is it looks WEIRD :/ hahaha

Well if you can get over the original wierdness of how it looks this is the original way that it has been done and is said to be the best.

2.) The Modern Hugelkulture/ Woody Beds

Now if you have a hard time getting over the way the original way looks don't worry about it :) Because you are not alone.

This method follows the same principle just without the height. Bury a bunch of wood and grow on top of it. Some people like to call them woody beds. This way by far looks more appealing. The effects are most likely lessened but that doesn't mean it still doesn't have an impact. As the wood rots it will hold water like a sponge and increase the your soil fertility by adding to your soil microbiology. And will lessen your need to irrigate.

Does not need to be wood

Now while hugelkulture is best known to work with wood it doesn't have to be! It can be any carbon material you can find. Anything from wood chips, crushed leaves, hay, twigs, straw, ect. This all can be used instead of wood and have the desired effect. More water retention, more soil life, and more carbon added to the soil. Now that being said wood is the best option but if you don't have wood you can always use different material, or use some wood or mix it in with other material. Whatever you have available to you. The point is don't forget to get creative and have fun with it!

Here is a youtube video:

Enjoy!