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  • From: Harvey Ussery <harvey@themodernhomestead.us>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Hugel bed, different application
  • Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:49:20 -0400

Couple of years ago there were a few posts about "hugel beds". They piqued my interest because of the inclusion of woody reclamation materials like prunings that are the composter's bane. But then someone said (s)he had tried the technique, and it hadn't worked out so well, and I lost interest.

But the concept stayed in my mind. Now I'm experimenting with the concept, though not in garden beds. I'm getting increasingly interested in complex organic debris fields for both reclaiming "wastes" (we gotta come up with an alternative term--Nature sure doesn't know the meaning of the word) and feeding my poultry. I've done some experiments with all sorts of materials you'd use to make compost heaps, in order to achieve both chicken-powered composting, and feeding opportunities for the flock. [See "The Lazy Gardener's Compost Heap" at http://themodernhomestead.us/article/Composter+Chickens.html ]

But so far I haven't added dense woody materials. That is now changing.

I simply refuse to haul refuse anymore, if it is biodegradable. And I'm not going to buy a chipper. So prunings become a bigger challenge than ever before. I'm starting to assemble hugel beds of a sort in connection not with gardening but with the flock. I lay down a thick layer of brushy prunings--branches up to an inch thick. Then a heavy layer of horse manure and "stable sweepings" on top, then "the take" from weeding, grass clippings, etc.

The debris field is currently not accessible to the flock. I intend it to "set" awhile and "get mellow" (become more biologically active), then I'll release the birds onto it. Worms, crickets, grubs--yum. If the woody stuff takes forever to break down, no problem--I won't be trying to plant thru it. I can keep on layering on finer materials and going thru the cycle again, as long as it takes for the woody stuff to break down. At that point I should be able to "harvest" some excellent compost from the site, and start over.

Anybody done anything along these lines in connection with poultry? If so, I'd love to learn your results.

~Harvey

--
Harvey in northern Virginia
www.themodernhomestead.us

A society that permits the advantages of ecological abuse to go to individuals, while the costs are shared by the whole society, is effectively subsidizing the destruction of its environment. ~John Michael Greer





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