Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Liz" <liz@allslash.org>]

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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> Livingontheland mailing list
> Livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/livingontheland


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