Hugelkultur

http://www.appropedia.org/Hugelkultur
http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/

hugelkultur: the ultimate raised garden beds



raised garden bed hugelkultur after one month


raised garden bed hugelkultur after one year


raised garden bed hugelkultur after two years


raised garden bed hugelkultur after twenty years

hugelkultur raised garden beds in a nutshell:

• grow a typical garden without irrigation or fertilization
• has been demonstrated to work in deserts as well as backyards
• use up rotting wood, twigs, branches and even whole trees that would otherwise go to the dump or be burned
• it is pretty much nothing more than buried wood
• can be flush with the ground, although raised garden beds are typically better
• can start small, and be added to later
• can always be small - although bigger is better
• You can save the world from global warming by doing carbon sequestration in your own back yard!
• perfect for places that have had trees blown over by storms
• can help end world hunger
• give a gift to your future self

the verbose details about hugelkultur raised garden beds

It's a german word and some people can say it all german-ish. I'm an american doofus, so I say "hoogle culture". I had to spend some time with google to find the right spelling. Hugal, hoogal, huegal, hugel .... And I really like saying it out loud: "hugelkultur, hoogle culture, hoogal kulture ...." - it could be a chant or something.
I learned this high-falootin word at my permaculture training. I also saw it demonstrated on the Sepp Holzer terraces and raised beds video - he didn't call it hugelkultur, but he was doing it.
Hugelkultur is nothing more than making raised garden beds filled with rotten wood. This makes for raised garden beds loaded with organic material, nutrients, air pockets for the roots of what you plant, etc. As the years pass, the deep soil of your raised garden bed becomes incredibly rich and loaded with soil life. As the wood shrinks, it makes more tiny air pockets - so your hugelkultur becomes sort of self tilling. The first few years, the composting process will slightly warm your soil giving you a slightly longer growing season. The woody matter helps to keep nutrient excess from passing into the ground water - and then refeeding that to your garden plants later. Plus, by holding SO much water, hugelkultur could be part of a system for growing garden crops in the desert with no irrigation.
I do think there are some considerations to keep in mind. For example, I don't think I would use cedar. Cedar lasts so long because it is loaded with natural pesticides/herbicides/anti-fungal/anti-microbial (remember, good soil has lots of fungal and microbial stuff). Not a good mix for tomatoes or melons, eh? Black locust, black cherry, black walnut? These woods have issues. Black locust won't rot - I think because it is so dense. Black walnut is very toxic to most plants, and cherry is toxic to animals, but it might be okay when it rots - but I wouldn't use it until I had done the research. Known excellent woods are:alders, apple, cottonwood, poplar, willow (dry) and birch. I suspect maples would be really good too, but am not certain. Super rotten wood is better than slightly aged wood. The best woods are even better when they have been cut the same day (this allows you to "seed" the wood with your choice of fungus - shitake mushrooms perhaps?).
Another thing to keep in mind is that wood is high in carbon and will consume nitrogen to do the compost thing. This could lock up the nitrogen and take it away from your growies. But well rotted wood doesn't do this so much. If the wood is far enough along, it may have already taken in sooooo much nitrogen, that it is now putting it out!
Pine and fir will have some levels of tanins in them, but I'm guessing that most of that will be gone when the wood has been dead for a few years.
In the drawings at right, the artist is trying to show that while the wood decomposes and shrinks, the leaves, duff and accumulating organic matter from above will take it's place. The artist is showing the new organic matter as a dark green.



raised garden beds on top of sod -
the soil comes from somewhere else


raised garden beds dug in a bit -
note the sod is put upside down on the wood
and the topsoil is on top of that


raised garden beds dug in a bit -
plus paths are dug on the sides and
that sod/soil goes on top too
I find I most often build hugelkultur in places where the soil is shallow. So I end up finding excess soil from somewhere else on the property and piling it on some logs. Presto! Instant raised garden beds! This is usually the easiest/fastest way too. Especially if you have earth moving equipment.
For those times that the soil is deep and you are moving the soil by hand, I like to dig up the sod and dig down a foot or two. Then pile in the wood. Then put the sod on top of the wood, upside-down. Then pile the topsoil on top of that. Even better is to figure out where the paths will be, and dig down there too. Add two layers of sod onto the logs and then the double topsoil.
I have discovered that a lot of people are uncomfortable with the idea of raised bed gardens. They have seen the large flat gardens for years and are sure this is the way to do it. Some people are okay with raised beds that are three to six inches tall - they consider anything taller than that unsightly.
So this is gonna sound crazy, but I hope to convince you that the crazy-sounding stuff is worth it.
If you build your hugelkultur raised garden beds tall enough, you won't have to irrigate. At all (after the second year). No hoses. No drip system. Anything shorter won't require as much irrigation - so there is still some benefit. Imagine going on vacation in the summer without having to hire somebody to kill water your garden! As a further bonus, the flavor of everything you grow will be far better!
To go all summer long without a drop of rain, you need to build your hugelkultur raised bed gardens .... six feet tall. But they'll shrink! Mostly in the first month. Which is why I suggest you actually build them seven feet tall.
Hugelkultur raised garden beds can be built just two feet tall and will hold moisture for about three weeks. Not quite as good, but more within the comfort zone of many people - including urban neighbors.
Some people will start out with hugelkultur raised garden beds that are two and a half feet tall and plant only annuals. And each year they will build the size of the bed a foot. So that after a few years, they will have the bigger beds and the neighbors never really noticed. And if they've tasted what comes from it - they might be all for it without caring about the big mounds.
Besides, isn't this much better use of the wood than hauling it to the dump, or chipping it, or putting it in those big city bins for yard waste?

standard hugelkultur raised garden beds

narrower hugelkultur raised garden beds

peaked hugelkultur raised garden beds

hugelkultur raised garden beds with a stone border

hugelkultur raised garden beds with a log border

I usually build hugelkulture raised garden beds about five feet wide. This makes for some mighty steep beds. Just pack that soil on tight and plant it with a mix of heavy rooted plants to hold it all together. Quick! Before it rains! If you are going to build beds shorter than three feet tall, I suggest that you make the beds no wider than four feet wide. Unless you are doing keyhole style raised garden beds, in which case you should be able to get away with something wider.

Here is my video of several hugelkultur raised beds, both small garden scale, and large farm scale - one has nearly a kilometer of hugelkultur!
The hugelkultur raised garden beds below were built in an urban lot between the curb and the sidewalk (sometimes called a parking strip). The final raised garden bed is about two feet tall. The beds are about six feet wide with keyholes. There is rotted maple on the inside and black locust (will rot in about 70 years) on the outside:
  
(click on an image to see a larger size)
Many more hugelkultur raised garden beds (click on the image to see a larger image, more images and the story for the image):
                  
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    Here is a video I made of a group of us making a hugelkulture raised garden bed shaped as a sun trap:
Here is another video I made of Mark Vander Meer talking about a three foot tall bed and how little water the riparian species need:
Here is sod that was piled in the spring and had some tomato plants stuck in it. It was not irrigated all summer. The tomatoes not only survived, but they are delicious. Winter frost should hit any day.





hugelkultur raised garden beds FAQ

My HOA won't allow anything like that, what do I do? (my neighbors would freak out, what do I do?)
There are many possibilities. Some people dig a trench five feet deep, fill that with organic matter and have something that is either flush with the surface or it appears to be only one foot tall (which is in the comfort zone of neighbors and HOA folk). Other people will build something that is 18 inches high the first year, and add a foot each year. Still others will have so many neighbors build them all at once that it is difficult the buck the tide. And then there is always the back yard.
I have standing trees that are about to be cut down. I don't want to have a bunch of logs sitting around until they are old to be used for raised garden beds. What do I do?
The wood doesn't have to be old to be used. In fact, it is even better when fresh!
Do I need a wood chipper/shredder?
No. This style of raised garden beds works much better if the wood is not chipped. So much more peaceful and less smelly too!
How do I till it every spring?
Once the raised garden bed is built, you don't ever till it. As the wood breaks down inside the bed, it will sorta-kinda till its insides itself. And with a really tall, really steep raised garden bed, nobody will step on it, so the soil will not become compacted.
I'm 81 years old. Does this make gardening less work?
More work to set up. But less work as the years pass. Planting and harvesting should be easier since you won't have to bend down as much. On the second year and beyond, all irrigation and fertilization will be eliminated - so that's less work. When combined with permaculture and polyculture techniques, you can even eliminate planting seeds, so that in the end, all you ever do is harvest.
What will this do to the flavor of the food?
It will make for stronger flavor. Especially for fruits. Expect far more flavor in tomatoes and berries.





large scale hugelkultur raised garden beds

So I guess a person could think of the wood used in hugelkultur as "wild compost"! Available in twig, stick and log sizes!
So I popped on out to my local hugelkultur store and I saw this:
Yummy! I'm guessing that somebody did some thinning and stacked this to use for firewood in the future. Only they never came back and got it. So the years passed and the wood rotted ...
I took most of it and put it on my tractor:
 I left stuff that was so rotten that it would not transport well. Besides, it's going to do some good for the forest if not for my raised beds.
Instant raised bed! Just lay down wood, and cover with dirt! That's all there is to it! Just two easy steps!
     That's a hurky big bed! It will probabably be about 1/3 the size a year from now. Then we'll place rocks around it and rework it a little into a slightly more elegant raised bed. This year: potatoes!

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More? Comments? See the hugelkultur raised garden beds thread

Artwork by Daniel Van Tassell






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Foods You Can Grow From Kitchen Scraps

http://www.reclaimgrowsustain.com/content/foods-you-can-grow-kitchen-scraps

These plants can be propagated as many times as you wish and all you need to get started is some left over kitchen scraps. You can start most of them with conventional, commercially grown plants. But sometimes commercial plants have been treated in ways to hinder replanting, so it's a good idea for your original piece to be organic. Of course, the rules of growing plants apply - put them in the sun, water them, don't plant in the garden bed if the weather isn't what the plant wants, etc. Y'know, things that should be obvious.

Fennel, Green Onions & Leeks
The same method is used for these 3. Stick the white root end in a glass with some water, leaving the cut end above the waterline. As the green part grows back, you can either cut it off with some scissors when you want to harvest (it will continue to grow back) or you can plant it in the garden. Change the water about once a week.
Lemongrass is done in the same method except you don't leave it in the water, you directly plant it after new growth starts.

Onions
Use the root end of an onion with 1-2 inches of onion "meat" still attached. Place the onion bottom in dirt. Cover it with 1-2 inches of soil. Once the new growth has developed remove the bottom from the dirt. If there is more than one bulb, separate them into individuals, leaving some roots on each. Plant in soil and cut off two-thirds of each shoot. The cutting will encourage the bulb to grow. Harvest as green onions or allow them to fully develop.

Cabbage, Celery, Bok Choy, Romaine Lettuce, Other Lettuces
Place the root end in a shallow bowl of the water with the top part just above the water line. Optional - occasionally spray the top with water to keep it moist. Change the water every couple days. After about a week you should have new leaf and root growth. At this point bury the whole thing in soil save only the new growth; keep the leaves above the dirt.

Garlic
Plant a single clove in soil. Once the garlic has established itself again it will start to produce scapes (the green stalk). A common practice is to cut off the scape at the first leaf joint after it's made a few loops. The idea being that the garlic, having no flower to divert resources, will then focus its energy on becoming a full bulb. Remove a clove or two from the full bulb when you harvest and repeat.

Ginger
Simply place a chunk of ginger root in soil with the newest buds facing up and it will start to grow anew. When you harvest, pull the whole root, remove a piece of it, and plant it again to keep the cycle alive.

Potatoes
You can regrow from any old potato that has grown large 'eyes'. Cut the potato into small chunks about 2 inches square, making sure each chunk has at least one eye on it. Let the chunks dry at room temperature for a few days, this will keep the potatoes from rotting after planting. Place each chunk a foot apart along an 8 inch deep trench with the eye(s) facing up. Build up the soil around the plants as they grow, this will allow room for more tubers to form. This is the standard method for propagating potatoes, so there are many different methods for how one can plant the chunks.

Sweet Potatoes
You'll want to use organic, because the majority of commercially grown varieties have been sprayed to discourage them from shooting. There are two methods to produce "slips" (the name for the shoots used to propagate sweet potatoes). Either partially or completely bury a sweet potato in dirt or partially submerge half a sweet potato in a cup of water (supported out of the cup with some sort of skewer.) If you used dirt, don't forget to water. When the slips have grown to about 4 inches, simply pluck them off from the base, plant them, and watch them grow.

Pineapple
Remove all the fruit "meat" from the crown of a pineapple. Cautiously continue to cut thin slices off the end of the crown until you can see the root buds (a ring of little dots around the outside of the pineapple's base). Remove a few outer layers of leaves leaving around an inch's worth of base. Directly plant the crown in soil or submerge the base in water until roots develop and then plant. If growth is successful it will take 2-3 years before the your pineapple plant fruits. But the wait will be worth it because home-grown pineapples.

Russians Proving That Small-Scale, Organic Gardening Can Feed the World

http://www.reclaimgrowsustain.com/content/russians-proving-small-scale-organic-gardening-can-feed-world

When it's suggested that our food system be comprised of millions of small, organic gardens, there's almost always someone who says that it isn't realistic. And they'll quip something along the lines of, "There's no way you could feed the world's growing population with just gardens, let alone organically." Really? Has anybody told Russia this?

On a total of approximately 8 million hectares (20 million acres) of land, 16.5 million Russian families grow food in small-scale, organic gardens on their Dachas (a secondary home, often in the extra urban areas). Because growing your own food happens to be a long-lived tradition in Russia, even among the wealthy.

Based on the 1999 "Private Household Farming in Russia" Gosmkostat(State Committee for Statistics) statistics, these Dacha families produced:

• 38% of Russia's total agricultural output
• 41% of the livestock
• 82% of the honey
• 79% of the sold cattle
• 65% of the sold sheep and goats
• 59% of the milk
• 31% of the sold poultry
• 28% of the eggs
• 91% of the potatoes
• 76% of the vegetables
• 79% of the fruits

If Russian families can manage such production in their region's very short growing season (approx. 110 days), imagine the output most parts of the world could manage by comparison. Unfortunately in just the US alone, lawns take up more than twice the amount of land Russia's gardens do (est. 40-45 million acres).

Miniature Ecosystem

http://reclaimgrowsustain.com/content/40-year-old-self-sustaining-ecosystem-jar

http://www.ehow.com/how_5552274_create-mini-ecosystem.html

http://www.bottlebiology.org/investigations/decomp_main.html

http://cranberrycorner.blogspot.fi/2010/07/summer-fun-ecosystem-edition.html

http://www.pinterest.com/ntxscied/mini-ecosystems/

Exposure to Monsanto’s Roundup is killing off male fertility and health

http://tapnewswire.com/2014/11/exposure-to-monsantos-roundup-is-killing-off-male-fertility-and-health/

(NaturalNews) Men exposed to even trace amounts of the Monsanto herbicide Roundup are at a serious risk of sperm damage and reproductive problems, according to a new study. Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini and his colleagues from the University of Caen in France found that short-term exposure to Roundup at levels frequently found in water after agricultural sprayings causes long-term fertility issues, including damage to hormonal systems.

Using 15 male rats, the team studied the effects of acute exposure to glyphosate, the most well known ingredient in Roundup, in mammals. The 60-day-old rats were given a water solution containing 0.5 percent Roundup, an amount similar to that found in the natural environment from typical use of the chemical on crops and lawns, for just eight days.

Following this period, the rats were evaluated at days 68 (two months), 87 (three months) and 112 (four months) to look for changes in sperm quality, volume and motility, as well as any alterations to normal gene expression in sperm cells. The team also looked at the rats’ hormone levels, as Roundup has previously been linked to endocrine disruption in mammals.

Perhaps not surprisingly, it was discovered that short-term exposure to common levels of Roundup led to alterations in sperm cell gene expression, resulting in an imbalance of the sex hormones androgen and estrogen. The most significant change was an increase in aromatase mRNA, the adrenal enzyme responsible for initiating the biosynthesis of estrogens inside the body.

Specifically, at the four-month mark, Prof. Seralini and his team observed an increase in the expression of GPER1, or G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1. GPER1 helps regulate how estrogen acts in both cells and tissues, effectively mediating hormonal balance. In other words, Roundup directly interferes with the body’s production and use of sex hormones, potentially leading to long-term and even permanent health consequences.

“The authors suggested that repeated exposures to Roundup at doses lower than those used in agriculture could damage mammalian reproduction over the long term,” explainsGMWatch.org. “People exposed to lower doses repeated over the long term, including consumers who eat food produced with Roundup and people who happen to be exposed to others’ spraying activities, should also be concerned.”

Roundup is everywhere, including public parks and your neighbor’s yard

Besides its heavy use in industrial agriculture to the tune of nearly 200 million pounds annually, Roundup is also a problem in more close-to-home places like public parks, strip mall planters and even your neighbor’s yard. Roundup is pervasive and difficult to avoid, in other words, which means that males face a difficult road trying to stay healthy.

“The study’s findings should raise alarm in farm workers, as well as people who spray Roundup for municipal authorities and even home gardeners,” adds GMWatch.org. “Those who want to conceive a child should take special measures to minimise their exposure, including eating organic food and lobbying for a ban on Roundup spraying in their neighbourhoods.”

So, now we have even more evidence to back what a 2010 study out of Denmark found concerning the health of modern men: an increasing number of them are becoming infertile as a result of exposure to chemical pesticides and herbicides. Not only this, but modern men are experiencing an unprecedented drop in testosterone levels as a result of being exposed to such chemicals, which are robbing them of their drive and quality of life, and making them weak, ill and more prone to early death.

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/047604_Roundup_herbicide_sperm_cells_reproductive_system.html#ixzz3Ijym0lme

Hallitus haluaa lietsoa pelkoa ja suojella Talvivaaran terroristeja

http://finnsanity.blogspot.fi/2014/11/hallitus-haluaa-lietsoa-pelkoa-ja.html
Pelko on avainsana, jota poliitikot haluavat lietsoa suomalaisiin.

Suomalaiset alistuvat ja Talvivaara on seuraamus tästä.
  

Kouluissa ja valtamediassa meille opetetaan että totteleminen on tärkeämpää kuin ihmisarvo. Eliitin hegemonia on selkeää. 

• Clashes, water cannon as 100,000+ march in Brussels against austerity (PHOTOS)

Suomalaiset eivät ymmärrä kuinka hysteerisiä, pelkoa lietsovia ja ylireagoivia suomalaiset poliitikot ja poliisijohtajat ovat kun vaarattomilta ei-oikeistolaisilta suomalaisilta otetaan lippukeppejä pois perustuslain vastaisesti vain yhden mielenosoittajan kopautettua yhdessä mielenosoituksessa ohuella kepillä poliisin kypärää. Muualla Euroopassa mielenosoittajat ja poliisien toleranssirajat ovat aivan eri maata.


Talvivaaran katastrofi ei ole vahinko vaan eliitin harkittua terroria ja poliittinen operaatio: virkamiehet ja professorit sallivat tietoisesti Talvivaaran toistuvat valheet ja väärennökset.
  
Pekka Perä on valtion suojelema terroristi jotta suomalaiset lannituisivat toistuville suurfirmojen huijauksille.  

- Ne haluaa suojella pekka perää. miettikääs jos toi firma ois jenkki ja TTIP olis voimas. ei riittäs 2,5 miljardia niinkus ny. firma haluais valtiolta korvauksia saamatta jääneestä voitosta ja maksettas koska käräjät käytäs firman tuomareilla ja firman kirjottamalla lailla. - Auvo Rouvinen 

Martti Korhonen:

• Talvivaaraa käsitellyssä ohjelmassa oli eilen illalla erikoinen " paljastus ". Tohtori tulee tv ohjelmaan paljastamaan, että heillä tutkijoilla on ollut tiedossa suurentuneet ympäristökatastroffin ainekset jo pitkään. Mutta he eivät ole sitä saattaneet julkiseksi koska se olisi voinut haitata yritys neuvotteluja. Missä on tieteentekijöiden vastuu ? Katastrofi tai ympäristö rikos voi siis tällä tulkinnalla tapahtua mutta siitä ei tarvi ilmoittaa kenellekään. Mutta sitten sitä tullaan tv lähetykseen julistamaan. Mikäli professori työryhmä on tällainen asenne, että yrityksen etu menee ympäristön ja kansalaisten edun edelle niin olemme huolestuttavalla tasolla yhteisessä vastuussamme. Voi aikoja voi tapoja. - Korhonen

• Talvivaaran uraanilaitos sijaitsee kipsisakka-altaiden vieressä – viranomaiset eivät ole arvioineet riskejä

http://www.suomenluonto.fi/sisalto/artikkelit/talvivaaran-uraanilaitos-sijaitsee-kipsisakka-altaiden-vieressa-viranomaiset-eivat-ole-arvioineet-riskeja/

Canadian Children Being Indoctrinated Into Agenda 21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruISPwb_BvM

Information about agenda 21:

http://canadianawareness.org/?s=agend...

Interview with Rosa Kiore about Agenda 21:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLPfxD...

Teatteri Moderni Kanuuna

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek1njg5ZEpc

Teatteri Moderni Kanuuna - Murheenkapselin laukaisu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVR-kny-shc

SAMURAI RAUNI REPOSAARELAINEN@Annankatu 6 PORI

http://modernikanuuna.com/

http://teatterimodernikanuuna.blogspot.fi/

https://www.facebook.com/teatteri.modernikanuuna

http://www.fonal.com/pressmaterial_tmk.php

http://www.discogs.com/Teatteri-Moderni-Kanuuna-Oopperse-Le-Feti-Le-Grande-Anaale/release/1637333

Jon Anderson & Vangelis Papathanassiou - Horizon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkUMdrEGCfs&list=PLiGbBrV67YCIWOOV7GexqNEMh-7e7bnEx

In amongst the rings of confusion
Silencing the thought powers one by one
It seems all so incredible
Our own ability to confuse - to sacrifice
To enlighten like a Shakespearian play
We foolish and happily hold on to sanity
While all around the pushing
And prodding of our feelings
The twisting and turning of our hearts
Displaying an almost indefinable strength
Of purpose - a reason a reason a reason
Where no reasons seems to exist
Yet, as in a vision, a voice transcending
All our imagination, jewel of life
Guiding light heralding a joyous new dawn
Clear and gifted time
Divine Nature - Super Nature
The supreme gift of knowledge and space
In this cacophony of life
Peace will Come
Peace will Come
Peace will Come
Will Come
Peace will Come
Peace will Come
Peace will Come
Will Come true Horizon
Come true Horizon
Come true Horizon
Come true Horizon
Peace will Come
Peace will Come
Peace will Come
Will Come
Peace will Come
Peace will Come
Peace will Come
Will Come true Horizon
Come true Horizon
Come true Horizon
Come true Horizon
Peace will Come
Peace will Come
Peace will Come
Peace will Come
Will Come
Reach for the starlight
Reach when it calls you
You, you are the reason
If you want
You are the answer in the end
La La La's...
Sweet music, and your secret heart
Both have the healing grace
Sweet music, and your secret heart
Both have the healing grace
So, again, a change, it comes
Our world desires a way
Touch a child, who's lost, afraid,
It lifts you to true emotion
True feelings, be the light
All that is good in this life
Is good, good is good
Oh everlasting dream, Oh future come alive
To witness comes that time
I just can't help but believe in life,
All in all I just can't help but believe there is a way
For us to give, A way for us to live
A way for us, A way for us