Has anyone tried integrating MM with hugelkulture gardening??

Chuck d'Argy 2/28/2022, 11:25 pm

I follow an Aussie "chap" named Mark on YouTube. His channel is called Self Sufficient Me. He makes tons of videos.

Some that interest me include hügelkultur (?) where he fills the lower portion, half maybe, of his tall raised beds with logs, Large branches and such. Apparently a lot of people do this. The one I watched today showed what happened after a few years.

He built this particular bed out of plastic (full disclosure, he tries anything and everything) and he is trying to extend it's life by replacing teh corner posts. But for me the interesting thing is what happened to the hügelkultur logs etc after this period of time.

Bottom line: I want to build tall raised beds, and to save money fill the lower half or so with logs a tree cutter acquaintance says he's got plenty of for free.

Just wondering if anyone has done this?

And thanks for the responses to my Trellis questions!!!!

Chuck d'Argy 2/28/2022, 11:29 pm

I'd even settle for experience with tall raised beds however you did it. Tall meaning 3 feet or so.

Chuck d'Argy 3/1/2022, 1:21 pm

Thanks for the info. I will try that this year, I hope. Been traveling like crazy recently and will be until May.

What depth of MM do you have? According to what I see "out there" 1 foot deep seems to be the standard. But I will try whatever has worked for you. No point arguing with success.

OhioGardener 3/1/2022, 4:22 pm

Chuck d'Argy wrote:What depth of MM do you have? According to what I see "out there" 1 foot deep seems to be the standard. But I will try whatever has worked for you. No point arguing with success.

The standard depth for MM is 6", but most of mine are more like 8". My original beds were setup and growing before I ever heard of SFG, so they are filled with various mixtures of top soil and compost, along with things like sand, coconut coir, and perlite. In those beds, the entire 18" is the same soil. I grow a lot of root crops, such as carrots, beets, rutabaga, and parsnips, so I like deep friable soil for the roots.

**sanderson** 3/1/2022, 5:45 pm

Hugelkulture can not be used with SFG. Organic fill in the bottom of a tall bed will break down and the level of the Mel's Mix will drop, necessitating topping off with more and more Mel's Mix to maintain the ratio of MM ingredients. The only sanctioned fill is clean sand or topsoil. A solid, level fill with free bricks, blocks or pavers topped with weed fabric and then the MM is allowed.

The standard depth, fully watered and allowed to settle is 6". Mine range from 6 to 7". If someone has the money for 4" of coarse or extra coarse vermiculite, 4' of blended compost and 4" of fluffed peat moss, for 12" of MM, they are welcome to do that. Docwas did an experiment with 6" and 12" of MM for his Master Gardener certification. Identical beds with identical plants. The result was that the 6" did slightly better than the 12".

Another alternative to achieve tall beds, is table top beds.

Has anyone tried integrating MM with hugelkulture gardening?? Garde107

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Has anyone tried integrating MM with hugelkulture gardening??

Has anyone tried integrating MM with hugelkulture gardening??

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Re: Has anyone tried integrating MM with hugelkulture gardening??

Re: Has anyone tried integrating MM with hugelkulture gardening??

Re: Has anyone tried integrating MM with hugelkulture gardening??

Re: Has anyone tried integrating MM with hugelkulture gardening??


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