Hello ECHO Community!
Last week at ECHO North America we set up a Hügelkultur (“hill culture”) bed in the Urban Garden. This is a traditional German technique where decaying wood and other plant materials are mounded to create a raised bed. It has resurfaced and gained popularity in Permaculture circles such as in the book The Permaculture City by Toby Hemenway. Hemenway describes the benefits as holding moisture between rains, releasing mineral nutrients, providing organic matter, and generating heat as it decomposes.
In the Urban Garden context, I was interested in how planting on a slope would allow for better use of scarce land. Also, we are testing if the benefits will transfer from a temperate climate to a subtropical climate like we have in Florida.
I have attached photos I took throughout the process. We dug 8’x4’ trench then layered in logs, mulch, branches and leaves, manure, and coarse compost with soil and water in between each layer to fill in air spaces.
- Have you tried this idea, what has been your experience?
