Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[laurabrownmckenzie@att.net]

We hugelkultur.  My land is mostly forest. Where I have garden space, the 
builder of our home bulldozed away ALL topsoil.  We had only subsoil and rock 
to garden with.  After trying sheet composting and adding purchased topsoil 
and failing, we found hugelkultur to be THE answer for us.  

 I've adapted the technique though. Our garden space is on steep hills so 
each bed is terraced. We dig to a depth of about 24 to 36 inches, fill the 
hole with our rotted wood, twigs, leaves, kitchen scraps and other 
compostables. Then we mix the subsoil (nothing grows in it.. not even 
bermuda) with compost and put that soil back over the piled wood mix.  Any 
leftover subsoil is used to make rims around beds and trees to help hold in 
water or to help build in paths and low spots. 

 Once a bed is made in this way, it is left un-dug and un-tilled forevermore. 
I use cover crops and mulching to continue to help the soil along.

 Its been effective. Each year the garden only gets better. This year I have 
(so far) 110 green chile and sweet pepper plants. This year they are the 
healthiest I've seen with loads of flowers and fruit. 

 We didn't make all of this at one time. Each year we've added a bed.  
Including the blueberries but not the orchard we have 8000 square feet of 
garden beds. We intensively plant where its appropriate. 

Composting in-situ is not as effective but is another technique we use to 
augment the hugelkultur.

Laura

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Laura's Homeschooling, Garden, and
Genealogy Site is found here:
http://home.att.net/~ekyorigins
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