Whether you spell it hugel culture, hügelkulture, or hugelkultur, it’s pronounced hyoo-gul-culture. It’s a German word that means “hill culture” or “mound culture.” Germanic areas have practiced this method of creating rich soil for hundreds of years. You will typically see hugelkuture beds created from mounds of debris such as small branches or larger pieces of wood and leaves, but hugelkulture for raised beds is also possible and easy.
Llenar suelo de calidad en una cama de jardín de dos pies de profundidad puede ser un desafío. Usar las ideas de hugelkulture para camas elevadas puede hacer que el proceso sea divertido y económico. El proceso de estratificación beneficia la circulación del aire y la retención de humedad, además de la riqueza de los materiales de compostaje. Bastantes de las personas que compran Camas verdes duraderas have done it and are enthused about it. When you hugel culture, you will typically clear the area where you want the mound to be. Then heap up woody material and cover it all with compost and soil. Chopped up and decaying tree trunks, fallen branches, leaves and other plant waste, and unfinished lumber can all be piled up. You can use any woody material, but if the woody material is already partially composted that’s even better because it gives you a jump start on time.
What happens is the woody material soaks up water and very slowly releases it. This means the plants in this area benefit from prolonged moisture that doesn’t need to be externally applied as often. Beyond that, the wood slowly decays, which builds rich soil over time. Permaculture farming embraces hugelkulture because it utilizes woody material that would otherwise be wasted. It also builds soil structure, requires less watering than other types of garden methods, and grows really great plants!
Cómo crear una cama elevada Hugelkulture
When you’re creating hugelculture soil in a raised bed, here’s what you do. Line the bottom of your two-foot-deep Durable GreenBed raised bed with logs (we recommend 1 inches to 5 inches in diameter), or split wood, whatever you have. Definitely use any piles of wood that have been laying around that is starting to decay or get punky (soft, rotted, covered with fungi). Gathering debris from wooded areas is great. On top of the layer of logs, pile up a layer of leaves and / or wood chips. This fills in the space between the larger wood.
It is OK to use more thin branches on top of that leaf litter pile. Straw is OK too. Finally, to top it all off, cover the whole pile of carbon with manure to get a good nitrogen-carbon balance. You definitely don’t want to skip this step because otherwise all that decaying carbon will rob your garden of nitrogen. Water each layer very well as you build it up. For immediate planting, you can add a layer of well-composted topsoil to this mix for immediate planting, but it is not required.
You can plant right in this pile of debris immediately. Or, you can prepare the bed months in advance. If you create your raised bed hugelculture now, it can be ready for your spring planting. Or get a new bed and build your hugel mound for your winter planting. Once you’ve prepared the bed, add your seeds or transplants just as you would any other garden bed.
Beneficios de Hugelkuture para camas elevadas
If you start or re-start your raised bed with this layering method, you’ll be rewarded with a pile of material that hangs on to moisture so well that you will need a lot less irrigation during the dryer summer months. As the wood breaks down, it is feeding your soil. The decaying wood supports a variety of beneficial insect life, including worms and soil bugs that break down organic matter. Some experts say this benefit of feeding your soil can last for 20 years. Combine this with the 20-25 years of life that Camas verdes duraderas por lo general duran para la mayoría de las personas, ¡y usted tiene una gran sostenibilidad y éxito en la jardinería!
Dado que la materia de la madera puede tardar varios años en descomponerse por completo, notará una fuente adicional de calor durante al menos los primeros años. A medida que la madera se descompone lentamente, aporta calor a la cama. Su suelo se calentará más rápido y permanecerá caliente por más tiempo, lo que significa que su temporada de crecimiento también será más larga. Este tipo de cama funciona en cualquier lugar, en cualquier entorno. Entonces, ya sea que viva en la costa, en el desierto o en las montañas, ¡puede construir una enorme cama elevada!
Otros beneficios demasiado importantes para no mencionarlos son las recompensas de ahorrar en la compra de suelo nuevo cada uno o dos años. El uso de hugelkulture para lechos elevados mejora el drenaje. Y, por supuesto, obtiene todos los beneficios generales de una cama elevada que incluyen poder colocar su cama en cualquier lugar, incluso en suelos menos que deseables, poder crear un microclima a través de la colocación de su cama y no tener para romperte la espalda cuando quieras sembrar o cosechar!
Don’t Use These Materials In Your Hugel Culture Soil
Hugekulture for raised beds works so well, but there are some things that you don’t want to put in your hugel mound. Namely, avoid toxic woods such as black walnut or black cherry wood and do not include household pet waste in the manure layer. Cow, chicken, or steer manure works well. Avoid weed seeds or toxic debris such as poison ivy. The goal is to have the wood actually break down, so don’t use longer-lasting woods such as cedar or redwood, but of course you can feel free to use this wood if that is what you have—it will just take longer to provide you with the rich soil you’re after. Don’t ever use treated wood.
¡Feliz gran cultura! ¡Háganos saber si tiene preguntas sobre nuestras camas!