Hugelculture Beds

One of the very frustrating downsides to perma-culture is that there is a self righteous percentage that believe that there is only one way to do a garden. Unfortunately, this same group of people push a style of garden bed called a “hugel” bed. Out of all the beds I’ve seen created, it requires the most material and is the most labor intensive.

The hugel bed isn’t the most expensive despite the surplus of matter needed to build them. Commonly, you’ll find the ingredients for a hugel bed in your back yard and around your neighborhood. These items are logs, branches, mulch, leaves and even rough hewn wood.

Depending on your age, a labor intensive bed may not be ideal. A selling point that people try to make with hugel beds is that you just need to get your friends together for a fun time to put one together. I’m here to tell you that there ain’t enough beer and pizza in the world to pay off your friends to build one of these huge beds.

But couldn’t you use a machine to dig the trench? Of course! But not if you are a member of the upper echelon of permacultural society. You’ll be told that you MUST do it the all natural way with sweat and shovels. This is darn near an impossible task if you are over 50 years old or have health issues. If you are in an environment where the dirt is truly that bad, just rent a machine and save yourself the headache.

As if the labor involved isn’t enough to sour you on the idea. Consider the reality that for the whole first year, you are only able to plant specific plants. This is due to the fact that as the buried wood decomposes it can tie up nitrogen in the soil. Vegetables that require heavy nutrient load shouldn’t be planted in the first year. However, you can try to plant salad greens, micro-tomatoes, radishes, potatoes, or beans. You could consider just skipping the first year by throwing down some cover crop seed like clover or varieties of peas.

If you insist on creating this style of bed, make sure you spend a few months gathering the needed supplies and stacking them near where you will be building your bed. Ideally, prior to the building of the hugel bed, you’ll need to obtain a selection of kitchen scraps, compost, and mulch. Ideally, you’ll need to plan for 1 foot of compost all the way down the length of the bed.

There are benefits to having this style of bed in that the wood underneath will eventually break down and create some rich soil. You simply have to weigh the pros vs. the cons of effort that will go into this style.

There are numerous videos and articles that can further educate you on building a hugel bed, so don’t let me deter you if you’re one hundred percent sold on the idea of needing one. Drink a beer for me and enjoy some pizza with your friends should you decide to go down that path. Happy Gardening!!