Building a hugekultur garden bed

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Fort Rouge

So I decided to put my money where my mouth is — to walk the walk and attempt to build the raised-bed garden that I described briefly in my column.

‘Go big or go home’ was my attitude with this one, and this is what I’ve learned so far.

Hugekultur is an ancient German process of making a raised garden bed with rotten wood (or wood that will rot). The wood acts as a sponge to retain water and release nutrients such as carbon into the soil. The result is a low-maintenance garden that requires little watering. This form of gardening with the gradual decay of wood is a consistent source of long-term nutrients and moisture for the plants. The composting wood also generates heat, which can extend the growing season.

Photo by Dan Sylvestre

Hugekultur is a style of raised-bed gardening that incorporates rotting wood, which helps enrich the soil.

The rotting wood that releases carbon into the soil is the "brown" element of garden soil nutrition. Other examples of brown material include straw or hay, leaves, wood shavings, cardboard and even newspaper. You also need to include a balance of "green" materials, which will release nitrogen. These come in the form of grass clippings, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, animal manure (but not from cats or dogs) and fresh plants such as weeds.

Once you have all material necessary and available, it's time to get to work. The whole process will take several hours and I found that planning it in phases helped me stay on track without getting discouraged.

Begin by digging a trench into the ground approximately six to eight inchesdeep and the size of your future garden. Digging into the soil allows you to get down past the grass line and into healthier native soil. You will then need an auger to drill holes in the ground. I opted for the hand-held version of the tool and it worked like a dream, allowing me to dig up to 24 inches into the soil.

Install your posts and level them as well as possible using a level and crushed rock (quarter-down limestone) and packing it consistently with a steel rod around the post (a bit of water in the hole can help compact the limestone). My posts were installed with no more than four feet between them and the posts were on the outside of the walls so that the weight and pressure from the inside will push against the posts and not against the screws of my boards. I installed a threaded steel rod across the centre posts, approximately a foot from the topm for extra stability.

Next, it's time to build your walls. You can use any wood, but I had scrap cedar so went with that, as it will hold up best against the elements of Mother Nature over the years. I built my walls three-feet high to allow me to comfortably garden without bending over. The entire bed is approximately 40 inches wide and 100 inches long. You can build yours any size, although I suggest that you don't go too wide or you won't be able to reach the centre. As I built the three sides I filled my bed with logs and packed all the open spaces with grass clippings. Once it was almost to the top with wood and grass I closed off the second end to complete the box and then I filled the remaining eight inches with a five-way compost mix.

Once complete, it's time to plant and play the waiting game but, as Homer Simpson would say: "Ah, the waiting game sucks! Let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos!"

Dan SylvestreFort Rouge community correspondent

Dan Sylvestre is a community correspondent for Fort Rouge.

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