Raised bed, Start to Finish, Hugelkultur Principles
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- Опубліковано 29 кві 2020
- You want to build a garden , but don't want to buy soil. Guess what - you can!
In this video I build a garden bed that employs an adaptation of the hugelkultur method. At it's essence, hugelkultur means building soil from organic materials that break down. That's means rotten logs and yards waste, gradually breaking down over time, gradually improving the soil that you have, where you are. Have a watch as I do this in real time, from start to finish, talking through every step of the process.
If you enjoyed this content, please like, share and/or subscribe to my UA-cam channel. You can also check out my free audio podcast (maritimegardening.com ) where I discuss how to grow healthy food.
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I’m 75 years young, want to say I love your way of gardening and in the process of making all my gardening using this method. Live on a two acre property full of trees , rotten logs and lots of dead branches, concentrating on the not too heavy stuff that these old bones can handle. Let me tell you, this really works and keeps me moving, ha ha. Thanks for video.😁
Oh that's nice of you to say. Glad you're finding my videos useful :)
@Dan Isrite That's just soooo awesome!
@ Arlene Beck
I'm on 1acre and have lots of oaks. I'm 67 and understand about the Ole bones! I m slowly but surely getting it done.
Arlene, I'm 72. Having the best time of my life. Gardening. Adding pinestraw and branches which are just at the edge of very my garden. FREE leaf mulch from the city. I take a whole bunch of 50 lb seed corn bags from a friend and go to city recycling and PUT about 25-30 lbs in each. Lug them home and empty them onto my bed. I added any debris from around the garden. The old potato vines from last year. The okra stalks from last year. Grass clippings. Most anything I can find which will add to my soil. Bunny droppings from a vendor friend at the market where i sell baked goods. Ground up eggshells.cadds calcium.. Then top it off with ncompost.
I love the idea of calling worms your staff!! Best wishes and take care.
I wish I had called them friends. They're here because they like the place. :)
Wellll...maybe your worms (staff) 'really like' who they're working for! 🤓 Brenda
@@yvesberube6067 I hope so :)
I've been calling them my unpaid workers.
I watch this video at least 2-5 times a month! One of my all time favorites!!!
Thanks!
Managed to make 5 of these raised beds yesterday, thanks again Greg. Wow, what a work out! Planting seeds tomorrow.
Five !!! Man you must be in great shape!!
2022 I have watched this twice just to make sure I didn't forget something. I heard you say on another video that to till to get started with no till could be an option for a new area. We did that with a 20 x 20 area. I liked the common sense approach to that idea. I am 70 and just getting my self going. So far so good. Reclaiming life is so exciting while gardening. Love it.
Great!
My brother, a fitness buff, gets so excited when I tell him I need another grave for some trees that owed me some 💰 money. Thats real work ur doing. 💪
I wish I had a brother like that :)
I love you and your videos, you're so down to earth and things you say make sense to me.
You're such a hard worker, you really put your body and soul in it.
God bless you and thanks
Jude, from Kentucky ✝️🐴🇺🇸🌿🍅
Oh, about your toe.
I broke the same toe when I hit a 2 x 4 with a sledgehammer and it landed on my toe and broke the tip off.
People say they see stars, I didn't see anything, everything went totally black.
To say that I was in pain, is a monstrous understatement.
The only thing that came close to that pain was like when you're at the peak of childbirth and you're at the threshold of hell.
I don't know how you're walking around.
Poor baby❣️
I'll take that over childbirth any day :)
Anyway thanks for all your kind words.
Just as I discovered weeds are free mulch, I discovered rocks are free minerals. Both are now incorporated into my garden beds. BTW, I love the long videos.
Thanks
We have been building all of our raised beds this way for years. It is the only way to go!! So glad you did a video on this, so I don't have to...lol !!! Watch you all the time! Keep up the good work!
That is awesome!
You wondered if people want this much detail or this long of a video. I say, this is perfect! Thank you so much.
You're very welcome!
I love these long format videos of you making new hugelbeds. There's something very lovely and therapeutic about the sound of a shovel in the soil... I could watch this sort of video for hours.
I must make more then :)
I'm watching on a lovely fall day while I put together my raised bed with a forest full of logs inches away. This long form video is nice.
Greetings Greg, I saw this video today 5/2/20, and it was the blessing I needed. I would have binged on your videos all day. But the weather was so nice I wanted to take advantage of it since the forecast here in Central Pennsylvania is for rain for the next week straight. That being said, I wanted to thank you for going into detail about the Hugelkultur method. I'm a new gardener and watched the Back to Eden videos which appealed to me because I realized that in the 5 years that I have lived here, I've only cut the grass. I struck "GOLD"! There are all kinds of wild edibles including Purple Dead Nettle, which I harvested a whole bucket full today. Also, a dead tree cut down last year and 2 contractor bags of leaves that were never disposed of and soil so black and moist I couldn't believe it. What a great start! I'm so excited!!! Thanks Again
That's great Candace! Happy gardening!!! :)
I've built 4 beds this way in my sandy soil, inspired by you, and they're awesome and get better every year. I just felt the need to say Thank You!!!
Thanks that's awesome!
I did hugelkulture beds last summer . Here in Georgia (US) we have heavy red clay soil so we have to really add a lot of organic material.
If you have a dry spell, do you irrigate or just hand water as needed? I installed a drip irrigation system since we do have prolonged dry spells during the summer.
As far as pests, I found using a cordless hand vacuum works well on infestations of Japanese beetles and other bugs. Just drop the collection chamber in a bucket of water to drown the bugs. Also I use homemade insecticidal soap for aphids:
"To make insecticidal soap, simply mix the following horticultural soap recipe ingredients thoroughly: Combine one cup of oil, any variety, such as vegetable, peanut, corn, soybean, etc. with one tablespoon of dishwashing liquid or other “pure” soap. Be sure to avoid any dish washing liquids which contain degreaser, bleach, or those that are for an automatic dishwasher. Mix two teaspoons of this “soap” mixture to every cup of warm water and put into a spray bottle. Mix only what is needed for a one-day application.
"
www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/pesticides/homemade-soap-spray.htm
I just hand water. The only time I really need to water is this time of year because I have covered beds. If things look really bad in late July I might give everything a good soaking with the hose. Last summer I only needed to do that once.
I do appreciate your time making this video it was very therapeutic for me 🥰
You’re welcome 😊
You're extremely fortunate to have a local source of manure that's free of herbicides. I've been trying for 3 years to find some within driving distance, but so far no luck. The best I can do is have it trucked in from Oregon, which costs me $800 per ton.
Man that sucks!
I appreciate the long form format and your ongoing dialogue, which was very helpful tips.
You're very welcome!
At 57, I just built my first raised bed. 24ft x 3ft. 26in deep. Put logs on the bottom and in the process of buildingy bedding mix. Awesome video, thanks for the tips.
Nice work!
Hello Greg! I made my hugelkultur two years ago a believe. My only regret was that when I put all that backbreaking work into mine (I’m in my 50s and so much rock), I didn't realize it would get more shade as the growing season progressed.😔 I took photos for a year, not sure what happened. Anyways I put things that can take less sun, like greens and spring onions is what I have on it now. The soil on your your new bed looks great, I wish mine was half as good. ☺️Thank you for another great one, take care.😉
Thank LC!
I find myself envious of your yard. My property is small, but better than nothing. Great video. It's looking awesome. 👍🏻
Thanks Greg,just found your you tube channel. I was planning on doing this. Didn't know it had a name. Getting back into gardening this year after 5 year hiatus.Definitely doing this after I found out the price of organic soil...$$$. Got lots of dead trees on our property and lovely forest mulch...can't wait to get to it. Looking forward to binge watching your shows.
Thanks LS :)
Makes total sense about the Pick. Modern picks are not designed by people who have actually used them.
I used what I had here in the yard from trimming trees last year and some freshwater drift wood for another.
On no, I used fresh Moringa branches that I had but I did add branches, lots of cilantro greens and straw with rabbit manure. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the plants do well. The only way i can dig through my soil is with a pick axe, a shovel is useless. It's strange to here you say how cold it is there, I can only be out in the garden until 10am then it's too hot for digging. I'm in Chandler, AZ and we are now in triple digits. Hopefully we will go back to the high 90s for the next few weeks.
Sounds a little warm there!
I thoroughly loved this video, every second of it !
Thanks :)
I love this! Have used a little hugelculture but will be doing more and using the mulch right on my beds now. Thank you!
Two years ago was good now it's better I do the same thing and everything I do God bless keep up the good work
Awesome video thank you. Enjoyed the long format with the process
Glad you enjoyed it!
Really good video Greg - start to finish.
Thanks!
I live on sand and am using hugelkulture below my compost bin and in and possibly under my raised beds. I also just got an Earthwise chipper shredder and mulcher. The lot next door sold and they cut down all the trees, bushes and scotchbroom. Scotchbroom makes beautiful wood chips I am gonna put between the beds and possibly use in the compost and as mulch which I think should be good. It's a nitrogen fixer.
Live 5 min from the Pacific Ocean so gonna be using seaweed and leaves for a quick winter compost
Great video, I'm about to build my hugelkultur beds and going to pack the bottom with wood chips and horse manure. Love your vids and your approach to the subject, keep up the good work and thanx for posting x.
So glad to find your channel! My husband was just talking about this method. We are very interested in improving our soil.
Awesome! Hope it works good for you :)
Great video, Been sharing them with my kids who are trying gardening this year. I hope the toe heals up quick, I can't believe you are out there digging with it busted!
I tape it up pretty good before I go out, but it does affect how I work, and how much I can do. Thanks for sharing my vids with your kids - I wish them success this gardening season!!!
You can also grow under grass clippings and hay. These will break down and become part of the lacking growing medium.
But the grass clipping or hay have been sprayed certain vegetables will not grow well or be deformed.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love your videos. You've become my go to source for ideas on how to work/expand my own garden and inspiration to just get out there and try my own experiments. Your information comes from your own experience and there's no substitute for that. If you ever wrote a book, I would definitely buy it. Your lived experiences and experiments in the garden are so valuable. Thank you again!
Wow, thank you! I have to get back to writing that book!!!
My favourite mulch to use is the leaves off the pool cover, lol. We have an old school tarp to take off every spring, and there's always a ton of wet, soggy leaves, and worms to deal with. Smells horrible, but wow, they make a great mulch. You got your workout in with that project. Thanks for the information.
It's funny how bad smells are a good thing in the garden isn't it:)
I loved watching you create this today you have given me some great ideas and advice ❤️🦘🐨🦘❤️
Awesome! Thank you!
Ta much for the chat, good video mate.
Take care.
Glad you enjoyed it
Good job.
Thanks…it all makes sense
Great video, I'm going to give this a go thanks ☺
Have fun!
It is really refreshing to hear you explain the differences between your climate and Charles D. We are in CA USA and I experiment with many things, so hats off to you for explaining we live in different places and can't do what someone else does. Keep the videos coming. Great info to pass on to new gardeners. I started my 1st Hugel bed this year and am looking forward to 2nd one. Love it, love, love it. I raise worms so when I harvest, its a perfect time to listen undisturbed and soak up info. Thanks a lot for your time and effort putting out valuable content. Its great that you also talk about all the tools they want you to buy...I agree, use what you have....Its not about the tools but the process and results you get. Long video is good💩
Thanks Patricia! Glad you liked the vid :)
I found a birch tree that fell during a wind storm and figured I would establish permanent beds using this method. This video was in my mind as I was dragging the tree back (in pieces). Great work!
Wonderful!
I wish I had found you vlog before I started raised beds years ago. It would have saved me money doing it your method. I will now mulch more.
Glad it was helpful!
I live in southern West Virginia the same growing zone as you.I have resorted to building raised beds and cold frames to grow all my flowers and veggies in.The sunniest part of my yard is my paved driveway so I grow a lot of things in containers.Thank you making these videos! It's inspiring to find someone who understands the struggle of growing things in zone 6 who offers tips and hacks to help us garden.
Thanks!
I learned a lot, thank you!
I'm so glad!
That's awesome. We just moved here from out west and actually have some property where we'll be doing some gardening. Very nice tips!
Best of luck!
Very good video. I watched the whole thing. Earned my subscription. I made 3 of the same beds. Can't wait until spring.
Awesome! Thank you!
Thank you for info. Awesome 👌
My pleasure
Only found your videos recently ... absolutely terrific! So down to earth, and gardens like many of us 'really' have. Such a common sense approach. Love the 'ph' comment, that is so me and very likely many others! Thoroughly interesting and humorous too. 🙂 Thanks for helping educate us in a no nonsense approach. Brenda, Rose Bay, N.S.
Thanks and welcome
Love your stuff....
Thanks
Great video, Thank You
Glad you liked it!
Love the video Greg!! Been working so hard on the garden, it’s kinda nice watching someone else work! Plus, it’s inspiring. I make a raised bed with double logs stacked on each other , fill the bed with rotting log and then top off with soil because I’m on nearly solid stones. Hoping your toe gets better fast!!
Thanks Heidi :)
Enjoyed it! I’m going to try this, it looks like a great way to garden.
A great way to work with what you have :)
Thank you!
You're welcome!
Thanks for this video! Just learned about this method today. Also, your accent makes me homesick! Lol
Thanks for watching!
When I lived on Ontario I watched the "Trailer Park Boys" to hear the accents :)
Thank you for sharing. Yes the peepers are alive and well here in Bracebridge Ontario as of this week. Also the dandelions are growing. Looking forward to foraging those. 🇨🇦😎
Cool, thanks
Maritime Gardening there is a very steep ravine that is behind where I live. Neighbours on the street where I live and the street behind me, all properties back onto this ravine. When I moved here in 2000 there was no wild life at all such as peepers and ducks etc. People were literally polluting the water with garbage that ran in this ravine. In the last 5-10 years that has all changed. Lots of spring peepers and ducks in the summer. Someone mentioned to me that there were small fish in this water as well. I am so happy that this small part of the earth has been able to heal. To me this is just like no till gardening or regenerative agriculture. So if the population of this planet really take the time to think while being shut down, then there is hope that this planet will be able to heal. As for me, I don’t want to get back to “normal”. I would like to see a drastic change for a new “normal”. ❤️🙏🇨🇦
@@paullemay3218 I agree :)
Great video Greg....the Haskap bushes can get pretty big...I have 3 of them outside my garden compound. I suspect they will top out at 5 feet tall and about 3 feet around so I gave them plenty of space. That garden bed is very nice....I did about 30 feet along the edge of my new garden fence as hugelkulture beds and got rid of loads of rotten firewood from the bottom of my firewood piles. Garden on my friend and stay safe!
Mike
Yes - there's no way all of that will fit in that space :)
I was marveling at your pick axe and wondering where you got it! It's an ideal size. I'll keep an eye open for a small head like that and put a long handle on it like you did. Thanks!
Good job 👍🏻
Thanks 😁
Also I enjoy your longer videos.
Same here. I'm so tired of 7 min videos with 3 commercials!
yes!
Hard work but it feels good. I’m working on an herb bed. It’s going to be a spiral bed so I had been saving wood and branches to fill in the bottom like hugelculture so I don’t need a lot of soil to fill. Takes me a little longer but it’s fun!
That is awesome!
Great video glad to see u using the old man tool lol... I like watching your garden channel as I live in N.B. and all your practices apply to me here also...
Denis
Cool, thanks!
I'm far from any expert on soil but, just from watching you dig, the soil looks pretty decent to me. A little rocky, but still pretty good soil mixed in there. Also, I love how you called the virus COVID-15 instead of COVID-19... you're carefree enough to not even remember what it's called. I think that's a GOOD thing because you're not stressing too much over it. Stress leads to far more sickness and death than the virus ever will. God bless you!
"Covid-15" was a reference to the 15 lbs that everyone has gained during covid 19 due to the staying home and eating too much - it was a joke - but thanks anyway :)
@@maritimegardening4887 Ahhh okay! Lol, well it was funny either way!
Really enjoyed that. Stumbled across your channel today. We are in process of making our first Hugo culture bed. After seeing this I think I’ll empty out my other raised beds and redo them this way. Either that or I have to buy some soil... don’t really want to do that! Anyway... glad to see we were doing it right 🤗. Didn’t know we could use logs that are still that fresh, and we used the half rotted ones on the current project, so I feel confident to use the newer stuff to re-do the other beds now. Thanks!
newer stuff just takes longer to break down. I prefer rotten stuff but I don't think there's a hard fast rule. Thanks for watching :)
@@maritimegardening4887 I figured anything over a year old would be fair game... but I wasn’t certain
GM ☕️. First time watching your video... very impressive. I have raised beds also & each one is done in hugelkulture. Love what it does😉. Some people learn more by Watching others do something than just reading a book.
I’m in Northern Nevada US, in the high windy sand desert. I’m subscribing & going back to earlier videos.
Have a great day 🧤🍅🥬
Thanks Dee and welcome. How do you find them to work with your dry climate?
@@maritimegardening4887
Well, I still have to water lol
We have really bad winds, usually in the afternoon, and triple digit temp on top of no humidity. I have to use shade cloth to help with the sun & lots of mulch on top. Was down for 2 years from an accident so just getting geared up for this year. I even do a little hugel in my big planters 👍. It’s a real challenge here 😉
Have a great day 🧤🍅🫑
how I would like to understand what you explain. Congratulations for the video!!!
Thank you! 😃
Love Charles Dowding but I am also living coastally in Canada where my situation is similar to yours. I use a mix of his methods along with trench composting, bokashi and hugel, similar to you. Its working great. People get too married to other peoples methods, look at the political and religious lemmings, so modifying things and learning as you go along is the best way. LOVE me some seaweed haha
I agree - just play around and use what works.
I had a rock show up in a garden path one day....thought it was a rock like one of yours...kept digging around lower trying to pry it out....and discovered it was like an iceberg....bigger the farther down you went...had to give up about 3' down....it was my own Rock of Gibralter!!
You never know right - some of them seem to go on forever :)
oops I pushed send too early. Anyway I'm whining about my sciatic nerve still. Maybe that's why our gardens look so good is they feel sorry for us the way we injure ourselves for their benefit. You could have a 3-hour movie and I would watch every minute of it. Always great video be safe
A 3 hour Christmas special perhaps... :)
Got the galvanized steel beds from northern tool this year and kinda used this method. Layer of cardboard 2 year old rotten logs branches and twigs a layer of 3 year old horse manure then filled with a compost mix. I thought it was so easy and after watching you dig all that out I'm second guessing myself.
I'm sure your beds will be fine - this is just a low budget way of doing it by burning a little elbow grease to work with the soil you have.
I broke the same toe a couple months ago, and it still is sore. Takes a long time to heal up I guess. Also, you've convinced me that we don't need to buy soil. I'll probably still get some phosphorus to amend with, and some fertilizer. Thanks!
Keep that soil mulched and your need to fertilize will eventually be gone . That toe will never be the same again sadly :) It think there was permanent nerve damage - so it's always getting cold now and I have to massage the felling back into it all the time when it goes numb. Man, if I could only have hung that crowbar more safely!
"algorithm boosting comment" 😎
Edit after finishing vid: lol you went right off on a comment I made (where I was in fact agreeing with you) I don't actually understand the concept of compost as mulch?? But what a beautiful explanation of permaculture you gave. We should be working with nature, not against it. And remembering that our "staff" is unpaid :)
I know you've touched on it before, but boy would I love a rant about the millions of "have you heard of this guy" YTers and "experts" who seem to recommend spraying all sorts of stuff every other week to "prevent" stuff and more importantly recommend "fertilising" your plants ( with store bought crap) on some ridiculous schedule. This year I now have loads of people who now want to garden asking me questions, mostly about products, especially fertiliser. They're always mad when I tell them that that product will not ensure a good result, and they probably don't need it anyway.
In my head I call you the common sense gardener :)
Best
Hey Siege - don't know what I said, but sorry if I was terse. I'm getting a lot of comments these days so sometimes I just hammer the main points and forget to monitor my tone. I have an academic background - so sometimes I switch into debate mode - like sparring - and don't always realize that some comments are not an invitation to debate. Anyway - whatever I said, it was nothing personal, I know from the general thrust of your comments that you totally get the whole permaculture thing. I wish i had gone with "common sense gardener" - that's a great handle and does a better job of messaging where I'm coming from that "maritime gardener". Oh well, I'm stuck with it.
@@maritimegardening4887 Ha ha no I was delighted you brought it up! A righteous rant indeed!
I LOVE IT!!!! The Common Sense Gardener. It can be a nick name :)
#
Thanks for your vblogs!
Glad you like them!
I like your gardening style. Much more "doable" than some of the "full time" gardeners. Let a couple of hens run around the garden during the "off season" and they'll take care of a lot of the bug problems.
I have birds in my garden eating them all the time.
Greg seems to be a little bit put off when people mention Dowding: But Dowding openly admits that he buys compost, and he also mulches with other stuff (not only compost)=, he is not at all dogmatic about it and would be the first to advise anyone to use what they can get their hands on. Lately he tries to make more of his own compost from wood. He was burned several times with getting compost and manure that was contanimated with aminopyralides. And testing each an every batch before daring to spread compost, manure, hay, straw is too much hassle. He uses compost if he has it, but also woodchips. When he had the chance to buy the plot adjacent to his market garden he used tarps (for smothering and later to protect plants and continuing to suppress weeds). Normally he does not like to use tarps, but for this job they were the best solution (lots of very persistent weeds, and rabbits on top of that, maybe they would have upset regular mulches).
One thing that is important: the more the bed is above ground (Greg's beds here are only semi-raised beds) the more important evaporation and potential heat in summer will be. In Canada or in the Alpine area (Sepp Holzer also helped to make hugelbeds popular) the summer heat is not _that_ much of an issue.
There are no termites. Or fire ants (which like undisturbed areas, so any mulching seems to be a problem, they are running into trouble in the state of Georgia or Mississippi.
The heat from rotting is a real benefit in cool climates. And not needed at all in warmer climates - on the contrary.
Great set up there dumping in a lot of materials you had in your area. Pretty much everything organic ends back up in my garden. Not trees though! Lol 🙄 I keep cutting them down so as to keep more sun shining on the garden. You can't grow things in the shade.
Very true!
Ouch!! I bet that hurt! I'm glad to see that it didn't disable you to the point that you couldn't make this video.
Yeah me too
New subbie ,💃💃💃💃
My previous (initially shared) garden was on straight sand. It was necessary to bring in soil, because Hugelkultur was not exactly available, and it was a poor garden overall, but with some great successes. I composted everything I could pretty much. It wasn't enough to keep up.
My current garden uses only cattle, chicken, horse, and a bit of rabbit manure, and I'm spoiled rotten. One raised bed is old horse manure, the other three are Hugelkultur, while the former bunny enclosure is old manure and compost on top of yellow soil. Extremely productive soil.
Are all those variations equally productive?
Re- garden slugs pests. Saw some video, fellow would let his chickens into the garden 10 minutes before sunset. The chickens would go for the proteins first, Then would realize it would be bedtime and head off to roost. He had to really watch the chickens to learn their ways and that of the changing sunset times. Result was less damage to crops, They were not there long enough to after cleaning up the slugs to be eating the garden.
Great trick for people with chickens :)
The way you did this is the way I did my Spring Flower Garden when I first brought my house (back when I was in much better health, lol!) Only I did not put that 'silty clay' back into my bed, I dug it out and kept adding 'Miracle Grow' soil every season for about 3 seasons. Each season I dug out more of the 'Native' soil replacing it with store brought and fertilizer. In the next season I had no need to dig, I just added a couple bags of soil for the next 3 seasons and now I (because I let a 'Cover Crop' grow over the bed in the heat of the summer through Winter) I don't necessarily NEED to add soil either or to do a lot of fertilizing.
But here in the US South, depending on where you live YOU HAVE TO TILL those first few seasons to condition your soil, the Red Clay that most Southerners battle with gets ROCK HARD or so 'gummy' that nothing will grow through that. So like you I look at different gardeners and Homesteaders who push ONE WAY of doing things with a 'Side Eye'. We ALL have different 'environments' to contend with therefore do what works for you! I have seen some gardeners that have different beds using all of the different methods. I work like you and like you (I have a 'veggie' garden now) I don't have people working for me, I do only what my health will allow me to do in a way that best suits my environment. I find 'take-aways' from all of you UA-camrs but I do my own research and I 'keep my own counsel' in the end.
I am so happy to hear that you’re planting patridgeberries in this bed! I grew up in Newfoundland where they grow wild and are extremely popular in desserts. Since they love the acidic soil in Newfoundland, and I now live in Ontario, is there some tweak to the hugelkultur method to naturally make the soil more acidic? I would love to try to grow them here in Ontario! Love your videos by the way!
I think if you made a raised bed - like 6" high - then dug out & removed the soil - about 12" deep - and replaced it with peatmoss (pH=5), and worked compost into the peatmoss, you'd probably have the nutrient level and acidity for patridgeberries . Just working stuff into the existing soil - in Ontario with its alkaline soil (tends to be like pH = 7.5) will probably not work because the soil has a buffering capacity. By replacing the soil with acidic peatmoss - you will likely have the conditions that the plants need. Perhaps call whiffletree farms (in Elora ON) and ask them how they get it to work :)
Thoroughly enjoyed this video. Watch out that you don't step on that shovel and break a nose.
Thanks :)
Hi I love the way you done your gardens. That April thirty garden that you did if I do it like that with the wood and leaves and all that dirt that you pull out and put back in the hugelkultur way. Can I plant cold season vegetables right away?
Yes you can :)
You working hard. By the time you finished you'll have to put that tone high.it will swell and pain.
I
Yes! Thank you!
@@maritimegardening4887 you're welcome. Hope your toe feels better soon. I had to tape my toes together for yrs when I broke mine. was so painful.
I found a great source of filler garden soil. Just pull your weeds with the root ball attached. Leave the soil on the weed rootball. Then dig a trench and place the weed rootball upside down in the trench. Then fill the trench with your soil. You will be amazed how fertile those weed rootballs are!
Yes I've done this - works great
@@maritimegardening4887 Greg, I got this idea from you. I recall your talks where you say the best soil can be found in the roots of the plants. Thank you for all you do! 💡💡💡
Greg, it would help if every time you put in a new huegelkulture bed you put a bin of kitchen scraps jn before
On before the logs. You will save at least that much from the bears and still compost it.
Hey Greg - no man is an island, but Nova Scotia is a peninsula. tee hee My garden center sells manure that has tons of bark, wood parts, weeds and lots of pebbles. Not sure why they call it manure.
I've noticed the bagged manure has a lot of sand in it as well. Definitely not value for money :)
The soil you have doesn't look too bad. It's rocky but very workable. Hard to tell it's composition from the video but it's pretty loose, unless that's the result of you pick axing it. Mine is more a wet clay and comes out in big chunks that I would need to break up and I'm not even sure it would break down into smaller pieces without a tiller. Surprisingly there are worm holes in the clay but zero organic material. I'm sure a rototiller would do the job of breaking it down into workable soil but I got rid of my rototiller a few years ago. So I use my top 6 to 8 inches of soil which contain grass and weeds and roots and I put those on the bottom of my trench upsidedown and cover that with cardboard and then I add organic material like leaves and twigs etc and finally cover the last 8 to 10 inches with compost. I gave up trying to use my native clay soil because every time I tried tilling it and adding organic material if would just disappeared by the following season. My trees love the soil and vegatables will grow in it once you break it up but no where near the size of veggies grown in compost.
I had worked it over a bit. The soil varies here. Some spots are just like you describe - hard clay chunks - and other are reasonably workable despite the ricks. I pulled about 30-40 rocks out of that bed the night before :)
@@maritimegardening4887 definitely rocky soil but that might also mean your soil has lots of minerals. I have very few rocks, just the heavy grayish clay. You native soil looks more redish. Reminds me of a beach I went to in Nova Scotia where all the sand was red. I think it was called blomidon
I am using my compost pile as a squash pit this year. It’s from last year garden waste and landscaping waste after screening. Let you know how it goes.
If you've got good sun it should go great :)
We need to find a way to hit like more than once during a video
ha ha thanks
Looks like what I did to fill a really deep raised bed I had purchased.
I’d like to put a bed together as you did with the landscape Timbers,
do you have a video showing you putting yours together? I have a pretty challenging hill btw. Yours look like they are screwed together. I’m guessing they’ll be expensive so I’ll compare costs to the ones on Amazon. Ty ! I don’t mind your long engaging videos as I clean the kitchen and take it all in. I’m in zone 6b just growing for me and my family.
Thanks Jennifer!
good info/ with respect to snails/slugs, put a layer of kids playsand around
the plant.
Geez! For someone claiming to be a "no till" gardener. You do dig a LOT! LOL :-O
hugelkultur beds, are good for about a decade once established. I have about 50 beds - and I might do this to one or two of them a year... so "a lot" is a bit of an exaggeration
I have started building a hugelkultur raised bed with wood from a tree that had to be cut in my front yard and am planning to eventually plant fruit trees on it. Only issue is that it is in the vicinity of a sugar maple that is in the front yard. I am apprehensive about the hugelkultur method causing damage to the maple tree...hoping that eventually there will be good compost all around and nothing to be concerned about.
how would it damage the maple tree?
I heard you say you are planting perennials in this garden bed, if I do a bed like this, can I plant vegitables in it right away? I'm also in Nova scotia and dying to expand my garden, but like most, money is tight at the moment....loving the videos!!
Yes - about half of my garden beds were built this way - I plant everything in them
👍👍👍