Hugelkultur: What It Is & Inspiration For Your Permaculture Garden • Insteading

Instead of putting those small branches, leaves, and grass clippings in bags by the curbside…build a hugelkultur bed.

Simply mound logs, branches, leaves, grass clippings, straw, cardboard, petroleum-free newspaper, manure, compost, or whatever other biomass and organic matter you have available, top with soil, and plant your veggies or perennial plants.

What you’ll get in return is a natural, living garden mound culture that will provide your veggies, fruits, and herbs with a host of beneficial nutrients.

What’s Hugelkultur? Why Hugelkultur?

Hugelkultur (HOO-gul-culture). It’s a German word meaning hill culture or hill mound. The benefits of hugelkultur beds are many. Here are just a few advantages of this gardening technique:

The gradual decay of rotting wood is a consistent source of long-term nutrients for the plants. A large bed might give out a constant supply of nutrients for 20 years (or even longer if you use only hardwoods). The composting wood also generates heat which should extend the growing season.

Soil aeration increases as those branches and logs break down…meaning the bed will be no-till, long term.

The large logs, branches, and other woody material act like a sponge. Rainwater is stored and then released during drier times. Actually you may never need to water your hugel bed again after the first year (except during long term droughts).

Sequester carbon into the soil.

How To Make A Hugelkultur Bed

在草皮草坪上，塞普·霍尔泽(巨型文化专家)建议剪掉草皮，挖一条1英尺深的壕沟，用原木和树枝填充壕沟。然后，用倒置的草皮覆盖圆木。

On top of the turf add grass clippings, seaweed, compost, aged manure, straw, green leaves, mulch, etc. From the永久培养book by Sepp Holzervia永久培养Magazine.

hugel bed — Traditional bed on the left, Hugel on the Right.

In the photo above, you’ll see a hugel and traditional bed comparison. Cantaloupe plants from the same seed packet. The hugelkultur bed on right was planted two weeks after the traditional bed on left. Photo courtesy ofMarcella at Worts and All.

Here’s a steep hugel bed. The more wood and organic matter inside your hugelkultur, the less water it will need; possibly no supplemental water after establishment. With a larger size more heat will be generated and obviously, it will last longer. Photo courtesy ofshtf Preparedness.

Sepp Holzer recommends steep hugelkultur beds to avoid compaction from increased pressure over time. Steep beds mean more surface area in your garden for plants and the height makes easy harvesting. The greater the mass, the greater the water retention benefits. Image from the永久培养via永久培养Magazine.

Height can be decreased by partially burying the bed. Final bed size 75′ long, 4′ wide trench, finished size 6′ at the base, separated by 2′ access paths. Wood height is 8-12″ on tilled clay, finished size 30″ high from bottom of the trench. Rob is making beds for potatoes and he feels they will last up to ten years. Interesting read & photos courtesy ofOne Straw Rob.

One-plant hugelkultur by Eric Markov. Start small! Whenever you plant add some wood logs and compost. One could also treat an old below ground level tree stump as a hugel, as the old stump will bring up water and decompose, adding nutrients to the soil. Image fromLow Cost Vegetable Garden.

hugel bed illustration — Mark / Flickr (Creative Commons)

Here’s one permaculturist’s illustration of their thriving hugelkultur bed 3 years after the initial planting.

Ideas For Your Permaculture Garden Bed

14 Of The World’s Best Hugelkultur Beds

1) Hugelkultur In Ontario, Canada

Hugel bed in Ontario, Canada. By Travis Philp. Wood branches stacked 1 foot high.

Hugelkultur bed in Ontario, Canada. As above. Branches covered with manure mixed with hay, 4-6″. Sod was packed into random holes.

如果你访问greenshireecofarms.com，他们还有一个关于森林文化花园的视频之旅。

2) Lettuce-Covered Hugelkultur

Hugelkultur beds covered in lettuce. More photos, and an explanation of how hugelkulturs work, can be found atRich Soil.

3) Pallet Hugelkultur

Hugelkultur – nice use of pallets around the periphery. By Mike Sved of northern Ontario. This photo was found onPermies.

4) Log Hugelkultur

Building a hugelkultur can be a great way to use debris from your homestead. These folks turned what was a large, dangerous tree on their property into a thriving hugelkultur bed.

5) Row Of Hugelkultur Beds

A Sepp Holzer Hugelkultur garden. This photo was found atHolzer Permaculture.

6) Water Directing Hugelkultur

Sepp Holzer uses the terrain, ponds, swales and hugelkultur to direct water to where it is needed on this Montana farm. You can find more on how to work with nature atHolzer Permaculture.

7) Small Hugelkultur Garden

If you don’t have enough room to make a large hugelkultur, this small design is perfect.

8) Framed Hugelkultur Bed

Hugelkultur with frame. The complete garden can be seen atNew Wave Gardening Experiment.

9) Dug-Out Hugelkultur

Hugel bed dug in clay with logs put in vertically, next branches and lots of wood chips. The top 6″ will be wood chips and dirt. This bed will store water and give nutrients for many years to come. Photos & more information can be found atLow Cost Vegetable Garden.

10) Branch-Lined Hugelkultur

Small scale hugel bed. As raised beds tend to be a bit drier than traditional beds, a hugelkultur bed is a good solution for a raised bed in a dry climate. This photo was found in an article about evaluating your soil atHomesteading Downsized.

11) Building a Hugelkultur

蒙大拿州Caleb Larson设计的Hugelkultur床。你居住的地方越干燥，你就需要越多的木材来保持接下来几年的水分。More examples can be found atPermies.

12) Circular Hugelkultur Bed

Hardworkinghippie / Flickr (Creative Commons)

这个圆形的巨大文化花园非常适合接触植物。这种设计也使浇水更容易。

13) Hugelkultur Gardens From Idaho

Hugelkultur beds by Jon in Idaho. You can find out more on this hugelkultur atPermies.

14) Blooming Hugelkultur Bed

Hugelkultur Bed by WSU Master Recycler Composters in Lewis County, Washington. The stones are sure to keep extra heat in the bed. Image originally found at “lewiscountyrecycles.org/projects”

Straw Bale Hugelkultur

Strawbale gardensrequire less soil, less water and hold heat. As the straw breaks down nutrients feed the plants. Combining a straw surround with a hugel interior, topped by lasagna layering is an excellent idea for an area with poor quality soil.

A straw bale hugel bed by Jamie in Wisconsin. An instant nutrient-rich border for your hugelkultur. You can also do a hugelkultur right on top of the sod. If excess soil is not available sheet mulch or lasagna garden on top of the logs/branches. Photo originally found at “smalltowngardens.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-own-strawbale-hugelkultur-combo.html”.

用干草代替木头会给你一个可以提供5年水分和营养的床，而不是原木的10到20年。杰拉尔德牺牲别人。To see the entire discussion on hugelkulturs,check out Permies.

Hugel bed in Ontario, Canada (June 28) by Tim Burrows. Tim surrounded his very tall hugelkultur bed in pallets!Read more about it at Permies.

Sheet Mulching In Hugelkultur

Sheet mulching (lasagna gardening) is like composting in place. Above: just a suggestion as to sheet mulching layers. Nitrogen-rich material such as fresh grass clippings or green leaves put right on the hugelkultur wood would help jump-start the process in your compost pile. Could also include seaweed, straw, dead leaves, leaf mold, etc…

The first year of break down means the wood (and fungi) steal a lot of the nitrogen out of the surrounding environment, so adding nitrogen during the first year or planting crops that add nitrogen to the soil (like legumes) or planting species with minimal nitrogen requirements is necessary, unless there is plenty of organic material on top of the wood.

After the wood absorbs nitrogen to its fill, the wood will start to break down and start to give nitrogen back in the process. In the end, you will be left with a beautiful bed of nutrient-rich soil and improved soil fertility.

Trees That Work Well In Hugelkultur

Hard woods break down slowly and therefore your hugel bed will last longer, hold water for more years and add nutrients for more years. But soft woods are acceptable as well, a softwood bed will just disintegrate quicker.

顶部混合木材，软木和树枝，首先释放养分，底部的硬木听起来像一个计划，如果你有多种类型的木材。然而，顶部新分解的软木一开始会消耗大量的氮，所以要弥补这一点。

Tree Varieties That Work Best

Alders
Apple
Aspen
Birch
Cottonwood
Maple
Oak
Poplar
Willow (make sure it is dead)

Tree Varieties That Work Okay

Black cherry (use only rotted)
Camphor wood (well-aged)
雪松/杜松/紫杉(抗微生物/抗真菌，所以只在最底部使用，除非已经陈年。Cedar should be broken down before new plant roots reach it)
Eucalyptus (slightly anti-microbial)
Osage orange(exceptionally resistant to decay)
Pacific Yew (exceptionally resistant to decay)
Pine/Fir/Spruce (tannins and sap)
Red Mulberry (exceptionally resistant to decay)

Tree Varieties To Avoid

Black Locust (will not decompose)
Black Walnut(juglone toxin)
Old Growth Redwood (heartwood will not decompose and redwood compost can prevent seed germination)