I am using the Hugelkultur method to fill my 30" tall raised bed and underestimated the amount of wood I would need! Suggestions for where I can buy more wood in MA? I'm looking for pieces that are 12"+ in diameter and about 15 inches in height. Thanks for your help.
by Complete_Clerk172
20 Comments
did you wet/soak those logs? especially with rainwater- give them a head satart on breakdwn by soaking thoutoughly before burying in the soil,mulch….they will feed the garden for 4-5 years
I hope you don’t get yellow jackets in there!
What about laying them on the long side. More space for roots
I would lay the logs down instead of vertically
folks are going to over complicate this. All that said, just fill it with whatever will eventually decompose. Sticking to woods and dry leaves is good. The idea is to need less dirt. That wood will _not_ decompose quickly at all and you will find it still in there years later. Its not going to feed your plants and better than just regular dirt will.
Lay them flat and you’ll have more than enough for that bed.
If you need more, go to a wooded area and pick up some rotting logs..
Lay them down, then add a lot of leaves and other debris. Then add your compost and soil. You’ll have some settling over the years but that lets you top off with fresh compost every year
I’d split the bigger logs and lay them all down.
I have the same suggestion, please someone also give me some information
Get a chip drop. Do they have that where you are?
Logs I used on my 36 (I think, whatever Vego tall ones are) much fatter. Nothing technically wrong with the way you’re doing it,the objective is just fill it. I get 2-3 layers of logs (again nothing perfect) then over the log layer I’m doing maybe 6 inches tops, anywhere, with mulch to get everything evened up. Filled to the brim with soil.
Lots of good answers already, I’ll add it doesn’t have to all be wood.
Bunch of people over complicating and overthinking. You put whatever wood you have in the container and you add soil and water. It decomposes. The end.
Cardboard boxes will do the job also.
More like Frugelkulture™️. Hugel means “mount/mound”, and only applies when a hill is created.
I just filled seven raised beds by searching for wood and tree trimmings/yard waste on FB marketplace, OfferUp, NextDoor. I got it all for free because people are happy to have someone haul it away. It took 5 or 6 truckloads, but it was $0!
To get free logs, listen for a chainsaw in your neighborhood.
Can you switch to the lasagna method for the rest, which would bulk out with sticks and cardboard?
look on facebook marketplace for people giving away “fire wood” it’s not likely to be uniform lengths though.
imho it’s prob dumb to stack the wood vertically like that. can go raid a dumpster for cardboard. lay down a few inches thick of cardboard. lay the logs flat. they’ll take up less vertical space. but will cover more overall ground area. then… wood chips, leaves, twigs/yard waste. often can get wood chips are municipal mulch piles. or get a load of wood chips delivered. Then go to a garden store. look for cheap topsoil, and a cheap “soil conditioner” compost. buy a large bag4-6 cu foot of perlite. and couple $5 bags of generic sand from the big box store. bulk dirt fill the mid to top layers. then use good quality compost in the last 3ish inches. soil amendments/fertilizer in the top layer.
Straw works