Anyone try Hugelkultur?

Lol...
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Looks like Rairdog is tryin it out this year though: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/53413-rairdogs-glog-2015/page-2#entry1137401
 
The farm I help at has several large Hugelkultur structures but I haven't seen it growing anything yet. They have flood irrigation every 10 days (which comes on in a few weeks), and say they need to resoak the Hugels every 30 days or so. Supposedly their Hugels do fairly well for root crops and certain vines like melons - but not so much for tomatoes or peppers. Those are set up with drip irrigation via a well, as the 10 day flood style isn't good enough either. But, there are all kinds of materials and ways to build Hugels. Some might work well for peppers.
 
Hügelkultur!

Using a raised bed is basically Hügelkultur as well. Traditionally they would pile up wood bark (as waste of the saw mill) and cover with manure and soil. You than get a easy warming, draining though moisture retaining, nutrient rich hill that slowly goes away. Traditionally they are used for fruit trees, cabbage, tomatoes etc.
 
I started two of my newest raised beds in this way (with nicely sized logs strewn in the mix) two years ago after reading about it in Mother Earth News I think.  Anyway I began to notice the 2nd season in the beds needed less water than my other beds, and carrots/beets especially seemed to like the mix.  I had beans in that bed, which didn't yield much or well due to some kind of wilt that came through.  Got the melons too, sadly.  Rest of the bed (squash, tomatoes, beets, carrots) all did really well.  Going to put some peppers in those beds this year and see what's up.  :)
 
They make sense to me.  It's just mimicking the forest floor.  I think the wood will make some difference.  I using Cottonwood which breaks down quick and holds water like a sponge.  A tree that like a lower ph should help with peppers.  Some trees will not break down so the bed will last longer.  I had an area of asphalt that is and eyesore.  I knew it would require frequent watering if I built a raised bed with lumber.  Not to mention the cost of soil/compost to fill it up.  It needed to be tall since the plants won't reach native soil for moisture.  So far it's free.  I don't expect much the first year.  If nothing else I will have a huge compost bin.
 
Lined with logs and bark.  The dark stuff on the left was dirt, leaves and bark that was around the stump for the second layer

 
I added some rotten hay and shredded leaves yesterday.

 
I flipped over some of the straw bales and big fat night crawlers were under ever one.  I could probably spend some dough and put 8 in of good compost/topsoil for a kick start.  Another idea was to dig up some soil around some pine trees for a lower ph.  
 
 
Please note that it indeed needs to rot to become effective. It's not for one season, but lasts for several years. Fresh bark can deprive nitrogen, so monitor that and supplement in time if needed.
 
Guess ill try to get things going for next year then.... been slacking on getting a compost bin started this year....
 
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