The SFG Journey-my cucumber and huglekulture experiment

I finally got around to planting my cucumber plant for mid summer in the SFG huglekulture bed. the leaves are becoming larger each day. I'm used to smaller size. I'm not sure if the picture shows how large the leaf has become. I will keep up the update.



has55

Leaves look very nice.

Remind us of how you made a bed that's both hugelkultur-oriented and an SFG bed? I'm picturing one that's deep-dug and has logs in the bottom, to start?

Marc, you're right I went down instead of up since I live in the city. It was on the below link. The first
bed was The corn bed that I just harvested. I'm starting the mid summer bed now.

Hopefully a new drought resistant and water conservation idea

Has55

What kind of wood did you use(for the bed sides, that is)? Do you think it will last long in your local conditions?

Marc Iverson wrote:What kind of wood did you use(for the bed sides, that is)?  Do you think it will last long in your local conditions?

I used cedar that I bought in 1973 to make shelves for my albums when I was in college ( wood and cinder blocks). It followed me thru the years. I had enough for this project. I hope I get many years from it. My others beds are made of common 2x6's wood from Lowes. I'm not a carpenter and it took me a while to make them. If you were able to look closely at them they don't line up correctly, because I couldn't cut a straight line. These bed are 3-4 yrs old and still look great. I thought I would get five years out of them, but that are holding up quite well.

has55

Do you find that you have to water less?  I am doing a kind of Hugelculture with the stumps of my eight birch trees, making two circles by adding upright logs to each of four stumps, then filling in the space with logs and twigs, compost, and then topping it with wood chips.

I do not expect much this year as everything is new, but I was able to find some rotten pieces that had come off the trees in the last few years and that I had tossed up the hill behind the flat part of my property. So glad now that I had not disposed of these pieces in the local landfill. One bed has not done well so far but the second has shown some promise; I think that is the one where I put the soft wood.

Between the two groups of trees, I have filled in the space with some compost and some woodchips and planted blueberry bushes. I am waiting for an order of woodchips so that I can make verything look pretty instead of the hodge-podge it looks now.

I am really looking forward to next year when things should be taking off.
The rest of my garden is SFG and I am making sure that this year I mulch.

I have never heard of that but it should be fabulous if you dig down so that the nutrients come up into your garden.  I have been not sure whether I wanted a weedcloth or the plywood with holes, thought about newspaper too for the base.  Let us know how that turns out for you.

Kelejan-the jury still out on the watering. I can tell you this, my first set of cucumbers took off like gangbuster, but wood ant brought aphids continuously despite soapy water. the leaves were not large, but what I consider normal size. This time, they are growing well and the leaves are very large. the ant are still on the other one. 
Does anyone have any organic idea for addressing the ants? If they are gone the aphids are too.

I found this great thread on ants

any new tricks to get rid of ants