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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Hugel bed, different application

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  • From: "Liz" <liz@allslash.org>
  • To: "Healthy soil and sustainable growing" <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Hugel bed, different application
  • Date: Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:40:27 -0400

I must not have seen the posts about hugel beds. This is a major problem for me, because my property is almost entirely forested in pines (former Christmas tree farm). I can't do anything here without cutting trees down, and in fact, many of them have fallen down by themselves. A friend says dryly that white pines "tend to thin themselves out." The result is that I have multiple huge piles of small and large limbs, in addition to the logs I've cut and piled for future stackwall building.

If I had the money for a chipper, I would probably already have bought one. But I'm certainly interested in the alternatives. My one big concern is about snakes. We have a lot of copperheads in this area, and while they are less poisonous than some other venomous snakes, they're still nothing to fool around with. Big piles of brush are one of their favorite nesting places, and I don't want to do anything to encourage them.

Harvey, I'll be very interested in hearing how your beds turn out, especially since I'm about to get chickens as well.

Liz
http://life-as-a-spectator-sport.com


----- Original Message ----- From: "Harvey Ussery" <harvey@themodernhomestead.us>
To: <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, July 12, 2009 5:49 PM
Subject: [Livingontheland] Hugel bed, different application


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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