hugelkultur - the ultimate raised garden beds, gardening without irrigation

[@paulwheaton]

thanks to my patreon peeps for getting my youtube engine running again patreon.com/paulwheaton

[@lyralong]

paul wheaton what about deer eating your plants?

[@flyingspotscanner]

We did this in a small, urban backyard this summer (2012) in western PA. We used an L-shaped mound with a foundation of sawn logs and soil with compost. It really works well! Our polyculture consisted of squash, tomatoes, Swiss chard, kale and cucumbers, all producing abundantly. We're well into frost season now, but hearty kale is still yielding, and even some chard.

[@paulwheaton]

potatoes and sunchokes seem to super thrive in hugelkultur. In the first year, most people plant heavily with legumes.

[@permabizz5942]

Ah Hugelkulur saving lazy people from bending down since 1970 For when the ground is just too far away. love it Paul!

[@CoastalSunFarm]

Amazing video! It's great to see Hugelkultur is still presently being taught and applied!

[@shinycat01]

this is awesome!! love it! we have two acres in the hills of Perth, WA and I have been building up my huglekultur beds with the debris from a massive gum tree the neighbours cut down, plus lots of other things. I know the termites will make it their home, but at least they wont be ravishing our home and apparently it works well in this type of bedding. Thanks for sharing!

[@peggymarton1]

accidentally started one of these by piling up excess material and chipping stuff on top of it. i planted some mellons and then a friend told me about huglekutchler. i will see how it does this year. pile is 2 yrs old

[@paulwheaton]

This has been done, with great success, in many deserts.

[@barbarastepien-foad4519]

Well I hope then that this continues...

[@lyralong]

paul wheaton what about deer eating it all?

[@rolandsharp]

@@lyralong attracting deer is a blessing! Such great meat.

[@oktophx]

I heard the word hugelkulture for the first time today. Thank you for explaining it all so well!

[@paulwheaton]

I think the thing to do is to make your hugelkultur beds go in all sorts of interesting, curvy directions and plant lots of seeds all over. Then let the seeds sort out what is the best spot for them.

[@lizzysheshed9672]

May the Light be with us all, in these times of darkness! Cheers

[@johnarizona3820]

This adds some interesting landscaped designs breaking up common flat yards. Very cool, thanks for posting!

[@shoopdeedoop]

I started doing this a few months ago, and notice drastic results in my garden. No longer do I burn fallen branches or palm fronds.

[@orlandopermaculture353]

This is great Paul! Big thanks for permissions, we had a nice little offline Hugelkultur/Soil Reef workshop down here in Orlando. We added biochar to assist with the longevity since our oyr yummy nutrients burnup amd leach out so fast.

[@arin.anthony.charanguito]

Just built 3 mounds myself hecho de las manos. Emocionado por la primavera.

[@High-Tech-Redneck]

My wife and I are doing across several places on our property. We are in south Holland, very near the sea.

[@pamelamolina5623]

I have tried this with a simple trench down the middle of my raised bed with rotten hay in it. It worked! Well! I planted flowers and veggies together and mulched. No water garden growing squash, tomatoes and cucumbers with 3 types of lillies

[@paulwheaton]

There are lots of reasons to do it. Only the reasons are better in colder climates. In tropical climates I recommend swales and biochar. Hugelkultur is good, but it won't last as long.

[@survivalpodcasting]

Paul the more wood beds I build (most of what is done in the US is not hugul) the more I disagree that they won't work well in the tropics or anywhere for that matter. The more in fact I become convinced that the "spongy core" isn't even the key. Having built multiple structures in multiple areas and witnessed the results, I think the key is more the hyphae. When we bury all that wood what we are planting is an immense fungal net. The sponge helps but it can only hold so much water itself.

[@flowerchild777]

Watching this again makes my heart happy🤗

[@rodneyjackson622]

I love your garden style. This is also educational, to me.Thank you for sharing this great video. Please send me more video like this.

[@jerseyshorelisa]

I've got 3 hugelkultur experiments happening in my yard right now! 1st year went alright... looking forward to that wood really rotting under there... and spring, of course!

[@paulwheaton]

adding more texture to the landscape extends the growing season.

[@ravenswing64]

Wow, I did this without knowing it in my garden, I just wanted to make it less flat so made a "loggery" instead of a rockery, plants love it on there :}

[@L6FT]

Duh! In a nutshell. It's like imitating what happens in a forrest - the most productive ecosphere. This is great. Thanks ;-) Like the music too.

[@nereidapr1]

this is why i love to check videos that is related to what i like, you learn so much, i've never heard of hugelkulture but its great,

[@demerc]

Never heard of Biochar, thanks for the tip Paul!

[@chickenbonewatt]

Love this vid and seeing hugel on the larger scale. Can't wait to get land and do it. Thanks Paul!!!

[@canderson2526]

The wood @ ground level elevates the bed,using less soil.It holds moisture & as it breaks down, invites fungi which feed micronutrients, which empower plant health & resistance to disease. Plastic lined, sloped trenches around the swales hold rainwater, & if liner extends beneath edges of mounds, delivers water where it's needed. More wood & soil can be added as needed, over the years.

[@Barskor1]

If you need water you can get it from the air with condensation by making rocks stacks with lots of air gaps 10 ft by ten ft 4 or more ft high with a roof over the top and a basin as the foundation cold nights and winters make the stack an endothermic storage the roof keeps the heat of the day off of the stack.

[@jwallaby7895]

This was so beautiful to watch. I'm wishing Charles the best and hope to visit him and his land as soon as possible. I'm a permaculture student and would love to help him with his gardens/everything needing maintenance or planning. Does he accept visitors at this time?

[@paulwheaton]

Yes! Don't use cedar. Rotten cottonwood might be the best.

[@nicolasbertin8552]

I would love to see a combination or a comparison of this with what Pascal Poot is doing in France. He throws seeds in his fertile soil, doesn't water or treat at all. He collects the seeds, and does it all over again. The first year they produce almost nothing. Barely enough fruits to get seeds. But year after year the plants activate dormant genes to adapt to the conditions (soil, climate, disease) and he gets amazing crops that have much more nutrients and don't need watering at all and don't get sick. If he loses crops, he doesn't care. It's natural selection. If you get a plant that's sick yet produces fruits, COLLECT THOSE SEEDS. They're precious. It works for tomatoes, courgettes, cantaloupes, aubergines etc... It takes time, yes, but it is far less work than building garden beds. All he does is sowing. If every region in the world had someone like him, you simply could buy seeds from that local guy coz you knew it would work on your soil and climate. Instead most people buy plants at the garden centre, hybrids that get sick all the time...

[@cocotwisty300]

Good point... way to utilize the intelligence of nature...

[@nmayor4232]

Funnily enough, I wouldn't be allowed to sell those seeds here in Germany. To sell seeds, you need to have them certified as specific variety with specific properties. This licensing costs quite some money and the test are done under conventional agriculture conditions, in a few places (which of course are different from your place). The the EU is at the moment trying for the umpteenth time to to broaden these restrictions further (just to protect the customers of course) and to make them mandatory and equal in all EU member states.

[@paulwheaton]

I think the high beds are better for colder climates.

[@fightinfarmer26]

thanks for answering my question! I am in NY so its kinda cold right now but I cant wait to get started on this growing season.

[@JessNicole1111]

Thanks so much for sharing this video! It really helps to see what Sepp describes in his book in real life application! Very inspiring :-)

[@reinbaarsma]

Also depends on your soil. If it gets wet in winter for example, the wood should not be in the water, because it will rot and the ground will become sour. In these cases it's also better to build the hugel bed on ground level. And it saves work too ;)

[@dariopaez7165]

hi paul I'm so interested into apply this technique in a high school i want to know which specific veggies are appropiated to plant? is it recommendable to use eucalyptus logs (aged wood, rotted or freshly?) ? and finally do you know how efficient is hugelkultur in andean zone at 2900 meters over the level of the sea?

[@1Rockbilly]

Nicely done Paul, thanks for all your hard work brother I appreciate it greatly!

[@Dave51262]

It seems like a ton of work for something that won't last and you need heavy equipment to build it. I am still sold on the "Back to Eden" method by Paul Gautschi with ground up tree limb wood chips as mulch. Keep applying layers for a few years then the soil building goes on autopilot getting better each year indefinitely. It has worked out for me .

[@SeaniMonsta]

How i grew up, this was something we did. We didnt have a name for it, we just knew it worked. Ps, if you terrace the little hills with each terrace having a bit of a gutter, it will retain even more water and create a more humid environment for them there crops.

[@paulwheaton]

Where it is hot, hugelkultur is enhanced when done with swales. The more texture to the landscape, the better. When you bury the wood, have some spots with good soil thrown in too - that will be like "soil seeds". Without the "soil seeds", your sand could act like a wood preservative.

[@stanje1631980]

Sorry, not native speaker.. what does mean arrogation? Irrigation? ✌️

[@paulwheaton]

@@stanje1631980 water

[@fishinabarrelaquaponics981]

Another great video! I will be proposing hugelkultur on Friday to a potential landscaping client for their 1 acre suburban lot. I think I'll use this video to illustrate the idea.

[@NowAndThenEH89JW]

If it is a little misty every morning it will catch quite a bit or moisture daily. More growth, more trapped water.

[@Samzut]

Hello :-) Is it possible to use conifers like spruce design for the hulgerkultur ? branches with thorns or just the trunk ? is that the earth is not going too acidic for vegetable ? many thanks

[@TsetsiStoyanova]

huglekultur is the way to go

[@releventhurt]

Amen leech therapy lady 👩 🤭 lol u cool nodoubt

[@JULYINJULY]

Wow, gerat idea! Never thought about that. Will small tree branches work, I have a small area of compost but waned to build an elevated bed with a DIY green hose. GPS feed sent me here sooooo glad I found your channel.

[@paulwheaton]

I hope you all will share it far and wide!

[@paulwheaton]

No. This is not the same as the back-to-eden method. That was mulching - something that Ruth Stout did better 50 years before back to eden came out. Hugelkultur is not mulching. Mulch + hugelkultur is a great combo, but hugelkultur is not mulching.

[@ragtimenight]

Jeez, I gotta get my beds higher. But even having hoogleculture-ish garden beds this past summer meant that I only had to water a few times - during the very hottest days. And I'm still eating out of the garden! Hoogle-culture! Hugelculture! Hugelkulture! Thanks for another great video, Paul. Hope this goes viral! Any chance of putting in a purchasing link for Jimmy Pardo's wonderful song here?

[@PeacefullDreads]

Great idea! Something mostliky going to be used at in the yard this summer!, I was wondering if you could big a trench and do it that way so it would be level with the rest of the ground, Peace and love!

[@paulwheaton]

Yup. The Sepp Holzer stuff in the video was done on a huge flat spot of gravel.

[@buildthefarm]

will this work on flat ground? like if i dig my whole garden out 4 or 5 feet and put in the wood and fill back over it flat, would it have the same affect?

[@Memorymike]

I am happy for your mentorship.

[@DarlyFofa]

I was born and raised in the city, but in recent years I've been obsessing over learning simple technologies and strategies to create a more productive and sustainable environment, and produce healthier food (as my background is in Nutrition), but honestly, the more I learn, the more I realize I know nothing yet. Hugelkultur just made its into my book. Amazing! I have a question, though. Instead of logs, is it possible to use wood shavings/ sawdust? I live in Northeast Brazil where wood is very scarce and expensive.

[@benspatoisgarden5982]

Darly Souza check out the "back to Eden" gardening method.

[@Knight8365]

Great video; good to hear from you again Paul! More to come from your travels?

[@1949RL]

I agree,no heavy lifting.With Back to Eden if you put down cardboard then go to where tree service take to dump and they process it.Put you down a good layer of this black gold. then put wood chips on top.,plant away.And like you said year after year keep adding chips.I work a extension and every year they have soil test, needs no fertilizing.

[@crazysquirrel9425]

I never understood the reason for the cardboard. Keep weeds from growing through?

[@justangvano]

Great video. Thanks for sharing

[@coven5803]

Thank you Paul, another great video! Looking forward to you doing an east coast tour!

[@cinejan]

Did you use pine from that forest you show, or is it better to use the other deciduous woods? Also, can one use scrub oak? I'm looking to help out our wildfire area, where so many oaks and pines were lost or are dangerous and flammable, but I hope to keep them on their lands, and not just go into a chipper and off the land. The local people are scared to have the oak chips around them now.

[@paulwheaton]

Some people will dig them a bit lower. Have you seen all the types listed in the article at richsoil?

[@BamaBoat]

another instant classic. nice explanation. cant wait to hear you on TSP again.

[@Swansen03]

willow has a compound in it that helps rooting(or make a more harmonious situation for rooting to occur)

[@fightinfarmer26]

will this work for commercial gardens? How long does one of these gardens last? One more question, I have alot of willow that is rotting around and I was wondering if I use it for my gardens if they will have the added benefit of the asprin chemical that is in willow? Would this hurt anything?

[@theresatyree3904]

When you filled the beds with 100% compost, I said you’d have problems. My Master Gardener teacher said you cannot grow in 100% Compost. I am at 23 minutes 25 and if you’re mixing, it should work better. Obviously, it’s too late now, but you could have done hugelkulture beds. I have two huge ones and they are working beautifully.

[@canderson2526]

The plantable surface area of mounded beds would exceed the surface area of a raised bed, or plot - of the same sized "footprint" by a few extra sq ft. For those with limited space,or who have boggy soil that is slow to drain, or drought stricken or very hot areas, this retains as much random moisture as possible,so could offer an alternative worth exploring,as the wood below soil could help keep roots moist. Hydroponics & aquaculture involve pumps, pipes, tanks, r tech intensive & indoors.

[@timothyhagopian8263]

Above ground beds warm faster in the Spring, don't compact as much, and allow for a southern and northern side exposure (or east/west). Some plants don't like the hot sunny southern side, etc.

[@RedSpiralHandTV]

we are having great luck with thick wood chip mulch innoculated with edible mushrooms... the thick layer of wood chips helps regulate soil moisture which keeps it from being too over-saturated in the rainy season (n. oregon coast area....very challenging gardening.) i'm guessing that you could do hugelkultur beds and also use wood chip mulch inoculated with mushrooms....

[@paulwheaton]

I think the answer is "it depends." Suppose we travel two years into the future. We see that a lot of things have reseeded themselves, but we have too many tomatoes and not enough squash. So I might discourage tomatoes and plant some squash seeds.

[@paulwheaton]

Trees on and around is what Sepp does!

[@02221935]

Paul, your doing a good job. Keep um coming

[@Peterhulsebosch]

Hey Paul, I built my first hugul bed this fall and was hoping I could plant trees and shrubs on it and near it. However, I was reading somewhere that trees need subsoil to anchor their roots. This might not be a problem since seedlings will do fine growing in organic matter until they get bigger and put deep roots underneath the hugul bed. Please respond on what you think and any examples that you have seen of trees planted on hugul beds. I live in Canada (prairies), planting apple, haskap, etc

[@Majoofi]

very cool. why does it have to be in high mounds?

[@asherad]

Thanks Paul - now a video and share with people instead of re-explaining what I'm building.

[@Tmojp2011]

This similar to japanese "Shizennou (自然農)" I believe such a method will become the future of agriculture.

[@canderson2526]

Absolutely, if there's enough soil on top & no chems in the wood.It absorbs the water & holds it like sponges, eventually breaking down, enriching the soil. You can dig down & add more wood before more soil & composted manure yearly, if it seems to need more height.

[@realrasher]

All hail the AMAZING Sepp!! Thanks Paul!

[@HalfLife521]

LOL There would be a Bellinghamster on here! Peace from the Whatcom Falls neighbourhood, Christie Nieto!

[@isabstmr]

I live in the sandy desert of the SW. How deep should I dig? Love the music.

[@cattledog44]

I had my excavator dump all the crap my neighbors did not want into my property . Critters love it and it’s just putting organic material all over

[@paulwheaton]

What is "GPS feed"? Small branches are good. Logs are better. What you have on hand is always best.

[@ppac300]

My first video I encountered about hugelkultur...my first question is, what about termites? If set up near residences or orchards, would it not create termite problems? What is the solution to this?

[@ppac300]

Thanks for the response. But coming from someone who has seen subterranean termites attack roots (even trunks) of live trees to the detriment of orchards, I know termites can pose a significant risk to orchards. I still have not seen any real organic solutions to termite problems on trees. :(

[@RSSkinner]

I have never seen that for sure! What kind of orchards have you seen this in. Are there drought conditions present that would cause the termites to go to the trees as a water source? Or do you think they are just preferring the live wood?

[@demerc]

Is there any reason to do Hugelkultur in a moist tropical climate or would it be totally redundant?

[@LivingHistorySchool]

It would have been a better video if you went in more depth on the example give, also types of seeds planted, height of beds, etc.

[@joemista]

I dont have logs but i do have pine needles and branches could i till this in and counteract the nitrogen rob by adding a large amount of nitrogen materials?

[@crazysquirrel9425]

Used coffee grounds from a coffee shop can offset the Nitrogen issues.

[@DennisMilesEVprofessor]

I could not see the the detailed clearly , was the topsoil scraped back, then logs added, it looked like leftover scraps not suitable for lumber or cord wood for burning, then the topsoil (Loam) placed on top along with additional from access walkways on both sides topped with mulch and hay to hold that in place and seeds planted. I accidentally did a similar thing 30 years at my home on a highway curve, I placed partially rotted logs just inside the property line around the corner and covered with brush trimmings and lawn trimmings and some sand mixed with more lawn trimmings and in a month had a nice "Mound" perimeter 200 feet long and 6 feet wide and four feet high around the inside of the curve between my home and the street, that soft mound (From all the grass trimmings) caught 7 cars involved in accidents which would have smashed into my living room; but, the "Mound" was too soft to lift them over so they stopped, I remember the first, as I came rushing outside he opened the door and stepped out of his car , I told him, "Just back up." he brushed the grass and mulch off his car and drove away happy... I took my rake and straightened out his crater in a minute. All was OK. For the next 15 years I lived there, I never had to water that lawn area.

[@paulwheaton]

That would be Christy standing in front of a heap of squash and potatoes. In fact, when we left, she gave us a big heap of potatoes to take home - right from that spot.

[@srkuhr]

So the thing to do is plant peppers and tomatoes on the south side and lettuce and greens on the north side. This is being implimented here in Israel though the people that are doing it are being laughed at. It is working though I understand it does take a lot of mulching. Fruit trees are being planted using this in the hot Negev. It is experimental by Ben Gurian University but I understand that even in that climate they have had success. Thanks for the video. I will pass it on.

[@everythingcali4u]

Great information Thanks so much . I loved this post and shared it with others.

[@Dave51262]

Paul - Yes, you are right. Thanks for the reply.

[@lockwoan01]

Trying to do something like this with some logs in my one field I plan to turn into a garden.

[@rd4562]

Worth watching 😍💚

[@bmdola]

this is seriously the fucking coolest thing i've seen on youtube maybe ever

[@canderson2526]

I prefer veggies to get the moisture & nutrients available, rather than weeds.On new swales, even weeds have their purpose. They help preventing erosion & may maintain a local ecosystem. You can underplant with low growing herbs or flowers you might enjoy, including "companion planting" to help deter or invite benificials, instead, while covering the soil, keeping roots cooler & reducing evaporation from wind & sun. Some veggies appreciate a bit of shade, & do well beneath the taller growers.

[@therawlifefamily]

My hugelbeds still suffered a duck deficiency. All my squash was eaten as soon as it sprouted this year and my time deficiency prevented me from rectifying it other ways. But I'm in the process of building a pond and fence around them so that I can keep ducks there. The neighbors yard should keep slugs going into the fenced borders while ducks are there to gobble them all up!

[@felyhilman]

hi paul. thank you for the video. it is really inpiring me. really cool

[@paulwheaton]

We need pics! do you have soil? What is it like? What is your wood source?

[@Motaki666]

Can you use any fruit/vegetable plant?

[@paulwheaton]

Step 1: don't build it out of rocks. Build it out of wood.

[@vention4wh]

Awesome! Can't wait to do this on this on my new place.