Here’s the fourth update from our Compost Collective facilitator Jennifer, who is sharing how she’s creating a hugelkultur bed at her property.

Step 4 – Layering the logs
Logs don’t come in a standard shape or size so this was trickier than I thought it would be. It felt like completing a jigsaw puzzle with pieces that didn’t fit together!

Watch this video to see how it’s done.

I suggest sorting your logs into three types:

  1. longest and straightest logs (put these in first)
  2. longest but crooked (put these in next)
  3. shorter logs (fill the gaps in the earlier layers and add height)

I wore thick leather gardening gloves to protect my hands.

Height of the bed

I aimed for a one metre high hugelkultur bed as achievable for me. I ensured that the layers of logs from the bottom of the dug out base to the top of the wood pile were one metre high.

The following layers will make it a little higher. I expect some shrinkage to occur once it is completed.

A one metre high hugelkultur bed will hold more moisture and need less watering than other types of raised beds because the wood holds the moisture.

For a hugelkultur bed to not need watering at all after it is well established, it is recommended to be two metres high.

What’s next?
In the next blog, I’ll add the turf to the hugelkultur bed. If you missed the earlier blogs, here’s where to find them:
1 Getting started
2 Collecting logs
3 Preparing the ground

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