Monday 16 April 2012

Hugelkultur

If you don't know what this is - then perhaps have a quick read of this link  http://www.permaculture.co.uk/readers-solutions/small-scale-hugelkultur-raised-beds

So, we had some spare old wood and this part of the plot is at the boundary with the neighbour who has put spiky trees right up to the boundary [why we don't know but anyhow]...it spikes us every time we walk up our path so I wanted to do some work on making at least one into a permaculture bed. Putting 2 and two together - I opted for a Hugelkultur style bed.

I dug the soil out of this bed [strip by strip] and put the old wood underneath. The wood had come from some stuff they were chucking away [well, were going to burn] at Ryton last year, and stuff from our decking at home that had rotted and wouldn't take screws [I originally wanted to use the bits to make 2 raised beds] so under this soil is, basically, rotting wood. I have put the clay soil back on top of the wood, and used home made compost on top of that. The crops that are going in here are mainly ones that can be furtled and some left insitu to grow back next year. So, Yacon, potato onions, and Egyptian walking onions are in first. I'll nab some Jerusalem Artichokes, and I'll plant it up with some perennial herbs as well and we shall see how it fares. I've put 3 potatoes in as well, as they were found in the compost heap and had already started sprouting.


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