Before we understood exactly how dense the plants and shrubs on our land up north are, I planned our northern Minnesota “year one” test garden. A very compelling idea was to use hugelkultur. Hugelkultur calls for raised garden beds. The bottom layer is tree trunks and large branches. Then smaller branches and twigs. Finally, atop it all is soil.
We gave it a try. I bought two steel raised garden forms. We had abundant tree material. Plenty of soil topped it off. In went both seeds and seedlings. The seeds sprouted but stunted. We realized we could not rely on just rain – we needed to be there to water, which we weren’t. Then the ferns poked through the open bottom and the hugelkultur. Now it looks like a fern garden. I couldn’t even bear to take pictures.
I think it’s an awesome idea, but our experience was that it still requires just as much weeding and watering as a normal, in the ground, garden.
We are hoping some of our work will survive. We put some winter hardy perennials in – malva zebrina hollyhocks, asclepias, coneflowers, and asparagus, and we’re hoping those make it through the tough winter. The carrots, cinnamon basil, and kale we already wrote off as critter food (deer, rabbits …).
Susan's Daily Garden 