Farmhand Will Burke mentioned building a garden bed from decayed logs.  I really was intrigued, but nothing more was discussed.  I was watching a couple of permaculture videos and someone said a word, it was not clear “hubiculture.”  Hum!  I searched and searched but nothing came up.  I was on a mission to learn more so I google searched “planting techniques” and came across an informative website. There it was, HUGELKULTUR.  I was blown away, I wanted to try this permaculture planting technique.  Will was ready to go and knew how to layer the materials: rotten logs, horse manure, branches, hay, and compost.  We had all the materials on site.  Because the gopher wire (aviary wire) was being replaced throughout the garden, I did purchase heavy duty hardware fabric to keep out the gophers.

Step 1: Digging down about 1 foot and laying down the hardware cloth.  Bottom layer, rotten logs. Fortunately, we had a dead dogwood and locust to use.

Step 2:  Pouring about 4 wheelbarrows of horse manure. Stepping it down into the cracks and crevices to remove air pockets and aid in decomposition.

Step 3:  After the layer of horse manure, add more branches and twigs to build the mound.

After adding the branches, step on it to compact and break branches. Water well (soak):

Step 4: Layer with a bale of straw and water really well again.

Step 5: Cover the mound with compost. Add a nice, thick layer of soil so you can stick your hand into before reaching the hay layer.  Plant seeds.  I will be building a locust  limb “planting bed frame” around the mound to keep in the soil, the chickens have a habit of playing in the dirt!!

We’ll make one more mound in the garden, I really like this technique!  I was so pleased to use up materials around the farm, it is very rewarding.