HUGELKULTUR
If (like me two weeks ago) you've never heard of a Hugelkultur, its basically a raised garden bed. I have made a few raised garden beds, mainly at my parents farm and let me say, they are hard work and can be expensive (unless you take the Frugal Option).
A Hugelkultur is neither expensive, nor difficult to built. All you have to do is gather a pile of sticks and logs, pile dirt over the top and hey presto, instant raised garden. Admittedly they look a little messy, so if you are all about perfect-looking garden, they probably aren't for you.
Since my block is completed bare, except for the tubestock natives I've planted, I collected a ute load of sticks and small logs from some my parents farm. Luckily for me, my dad had also done some pruning a few weeks ago, so there were a few fairly substantial tree branches. I marked out where I wanted the Hugelkultur and dug out the top layer of soil.
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| Ute-load of stick and logs |
Digging out the top layer is not essential, by any means. If you have poor soil, or don't want to dig, simply lay some newspaper or cardboard on the ground and pile the sticks/logs on top. However, the soil at my block is good quality and I wanted to use it on the top layer of the Hugelkultur. I piled the soil to the side for later to spread on top.
Next I picked out the biggest logs to make the border, to keep the smaller sticks in place. Then I piled all the stick on, covered with some soil, then covered with the topsoil. Instant garden.
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| Gigi snacking on a Guava, home grown from one of two trees on the block. |
I've planted out the Hugelkultur with cuttings I got from my friends Mum. They are all food producing plants, most of which I've forgotten the name of, so I'll have to have her over for a coffee and tell me what they are again. I'll do an update shortly to re-cap what I'm actually growing.
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| Gigi playing with her toys on top of the Hugelkultur |
FENCE PAINTING
The other activity I've been slowly slugging away at, is fence painting. Gigi has been such a good helperand we're almost done. I'm thinking it might only take another two week-ends and we'll have everything painted.
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| Gigi busily painting |
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| painted palings loaded, ready to be nailed up |
Why is it important to put the hugelkulture on cardboard?
ReplyDeleteIts not important, but laying down cardboard first kills the weeds and grass underneath, preventing them from growing up through the Hugelkulture. It also adds another layer of compostable material.
ReplyDelete