LONG TERM SOIL CREATION AND WATER STORAGE

Home » Home and Family » Gardening Join Sign in EzineArticles - Expert Authors Sharing Their Best Original Articles Custom Search Search Eric J Smith Platinum Quality Author Platinum Author | 290 Articles Joined: January 31, 2007 Australia Hugelkultur for Long Term Soil Creation, Water Storage and Soil Management By Eric J Smith | Submitted On March 23, 2017 Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Expert Author Eric J Smith By Eric J. Smith The use of wood waste in the landscape is often neglected for many reasons including no capacity to burn, aesthetic disadvantage or limited uses other than dumping. However, Hugelkultur is a method used for many years that can solve these problems and provide both long and short term benefits. Hugelkultur in simple terms refers to raised garden beds on a base made with wood waste such as limbs, trunks, bark, chips and offcuts. These raised beds serve many purposes including water storage within the landscape, soil management, long term soil creation as well as creating habitat for beneficial insects and bacteria. Beyond these typical benefits Hugelkultur mounds can act as weather barriers for smaller plants, and animals, increase growing area for shrubs, herbs, berries and vegetables, provide nutrients to growing plants and can also act as a carbon sink. Building a Hugelkultur mound Step 1 The first step in building a mound is to removed the grass sods in the area it will be established. These sods will be placed on top of the wood pile before adding top soil. Step 2 A typical hugelkultur mound will be around 1 to 2 meters wide at the base with a similar to width height ratio. Logs and any sort of (untreated) wood and timber debris are piled up in a tight pile. Step 3 Add woodchips, bark and finer debris between the gaps of the wood debris and on top of this pile. Step 4 Add the grass sods upside down on the top of the pile - don't worry if it's not enough to cover the whole pile. Step 5 Add top soil, compost, straw, manure and other growing media to the pile. (Search Google for ideas on creating quality soil using permaculture principles) Leave pile to settle for a week or 2 before planting out. I recommend searching images on Google for Hugelkultur to see how the mounds are constructed. A well constructed Hugelkultur mound will gradually reduce in size over the years as the wood and debris begin to rot. After around 20 years the pile will have fully broken down and will have left a rich soil such as you would find on the floor of a dense forest that has accumulated biomass in the form of fallen trees, limbs and other debris over a long period of time. Typical plants grown on this pile will include Berry fruits, Evergreen and Perennial Herbs and Annuals. Eric J. Smith is a qualified Horticulturalist and Permaculturalist. Eric writes about his interest in many areas of Environmental concern and brings into focus Changing Economic paradigms. Eric has a passion for Organic Gardening and Permaculture with an emphasis on the sustainable use of environmental systems. Eric is the Administrator for Permaculture Connect and operates a Permaculture Design and Consultancy Service at Permaculture Lifestyle Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Eric_J_Smith/73931 0 Comments | Leave a Comment Did you find this article helpful? Happy Face1 Sad Face0 Viewed 17 times Word count: 412 Article Tools EzinePublisher Report this article Cite this article Stay Informed Subscribe to New Article Alerts: Home and Family: Gardening Eric J Smith Email Address Subscribe We will never sell or rent your email address. Gardening Article Feed Gardening Article Feed Find More Articles Search Recent Articles Why You Should Plant a California Native Garden Planning Your Garden Part 1 6 Easy Tips for a Beautiful Lawn How to Manage Parrot Feather - Some Options How to Control Dollarweed (Pennywort) in Your Lawn Water Fountains - Defining Your Home Decor Plant Vegetables in April For a Southern California Summer Harvest Top 10 Plants to Make Your Garden Smell Like Heaven New to Gardening? Read These 6 Tips to Grow Beautiful Plants Why I Love Living in the Country EzineArticles.com About Us FAQ Contact Us Member Benefits Privacy Policy Shop Site Map Blog Training Video Library Advertising Affiliates Cartoons Authors Submit Articles Members Login Premium Membership Expert Authors Endorsements Editorial Guidelines Terms of Service Publishers Terms Of Service Ezines / Email Alerts Manage Subscriptions EzineArticles RSS © 2017 EzineArticles All Rights Reserved Worldwide