Nutrient Dense Hugelkulture - Greenery in MotionNutrient Dense Hugelkulture: An Experiment in Land...
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Nutrient Dense Hugelkulture: An Experiment in Land Management at Woody End Farm Goal: Take all of the surplus organic materials on the farm, add essential missing pieces and use them to create useful and productive land. Aim for high productivity of nutrient dense and healthy plants and animals with the least amount of maintenance possible. A tall order! The Challenge: • Mid 1700’s family farm with very poor quality old pastures – grey podsol clay with very low pH (5.2), and not much of anything needed to grow decent crops of any kind except low bush blueberries. N,P,K, Ca, Mg barely register on a soil test. • Parts of the land are very dry and parts are very wet. There are several dug wells and drainage ditches crossing through the open fields near the house and barn. Resources (all that surplus organic material and more): • The ice storm of December 2008 left piles and piles of wood. All tree canopies around the house and fields were shattered. Seven huge piles were burned and still there is wood! All woodsheds are full and still there is wood! • Manure from 1 horse, 10 goats and 4 ducks. All of the manure is from healthy animals provided with all minerals needed for optimum health. All manure is mixed with wood fiber (shavings or sawdust) and hay. • Decent quality loam available for purchase in the area – Sterling Peat’s peat/loam blend. • Stone dust that has been observed to grow decent plants – Pandolph Perkins (although a good basalt stone dust might be better) • Minerals and soil amendments available at Gardner Agway and through wholesale distribution from North Country Organics, VT • 28 years experience with growing plants, an odd twist of thinking and lots of books! Take all of these resources and what do you get? NUTRIENT DENSE HUGELKULTURE BEDS! Hugelkulture (HK) beds are versions of the mid European concept of mound culture – piling up woody plant material, covering it with compost, manure or other organic material and planting in the middle of it. It could also be looked at as a take off on the concept of nurse logs – burying logs near stressed trees in order to provide both a source of nutrients for beneficial fungi associated with trees and water for both the fungi and the tree roots as the logs decay.
Transcript of Nutrient Dense Hugelkulture - Greenery in MotionNutrient Dense Hugelkulture: An Experiment in Land...
Nutrient Dense Hugelkulture: An Experiment in Land Management at Woody End Farm
Goal:Takeallofthesurplusorganicmaterialsonthefarm,addessentialmissingpiecesandusethemtocreateusefulandproductiveland.Aimforhighproductivityofnutrientdenseandhealthyplantsandanimalswiththeleastamountofmaintenancepossible.Atallorder! TheChallenge:• Mid1700’sfamilyfarmwithverypoorqualityoldpastures–greypodsolclaywithverylow
pH(5.2),andnotmuchofanythingneededtogrowdecentcropsofanykindexceptlowbushblueberries.N,P,K,Ca,Mgbarelyregisteronasoiltest.
• Partsofthelandareverydryandpartsareverywet.Thereareseveraldugwellsanddrainageditchescrossingthroughtheopenfieldsnearthehouseandbarn.
Resources(allthatsurplusorganicmaterialandmore):• TheicestormofDecember2008leftpilesandpilesofwood.Alltreecanopiesaroundthe
houseandfieldswereshattered.Sevenhugepileswereburnedandstillthereiswood!Allwoodshedsarefullandstillthereiswood!
• Manurefrom1horse,10goatsand4ducks.Allofthemanureisfromhealthyanimalsprovidedwithallmineralsneededforoptimumhealth.Allmanureismixedwithwoodfiber(shavingsorsawdust)andhay.
• Decentqualityloamavailableforpurchaseinthearea–SterlingPeat’speat/loamblend.• Stonedustthathasbeenobservedtogrowdecentplants–PandolphPerkins(althougha
goodbasaltstonedustmightbebetter)• MineralsandsoilamendmentsavailableatGardnerAgwayandthroughwholesale
distributionfromNorthCountryOrganics,VT• 28yearsexperiencewithgrowingplants,anoddtwistofthinkingandlotsofbooks!Takealloftheseresourcesandwhatdoyouget?
NUTRIENTDENSEHUGELKULTUREBEDS!
Hugelkulture(HK)bedsareversionsofthemidEuropeanconceptofmoundculture–pilingupwoodyplantmaterial,coveringitwithcompost,manureorotherorganicmaterialandplantinginthemiddleofit.Itcouldalsobelookedatasatakeoffontheconceptofnurselogs–buryinglogsnearstressedtreesinordertoprovidebothasourceofnutrientsforbeneficialfungiassociatedwithtreesandwaterforboththefungiandthetreerootsasthelogsdecay.
NutrientDenseFarmingiswayoflookingatfoodproductionthatmaximizesthehealthofthefoodproducedandtherebyincreasesthehealthofwhoevereatsthatfood.Itusesthetenetsoforganic,ecological,biological,bio-dynamic,re-mineralizationandotherkindsoffarming&gardeningtoproducethebestqualityfoodanditdocumentsthatvitalitythroughindependenttestslikebrixreadings–othertestinstrumentscomingsoon.TheHKbedsatWoodyEndFarmstartwiththebasicmoundapproachandaddtheconceptsofnutrientdensitycropgrowingtocreate(wehope!)biologicallyactive,watermanaging,minerallydense,lowmaintenancebeds.We’llusesomedirectinvestmentinmaterials(loam,mineralsetc)aminimuminvestmentinequipment(hireduseofatractorwithafrontendloader)andwiththeendresultofmaximumproductionlevelperdeveloped
squarefoot.Thebedsshouldbeabletosustainatleasttwogrowinglevelsatatime–doublecropping.Whatwe’reusingtodayonandintheHKbeds:(Thisisfromthedaywebuiltourfirstbed)Layer1: Largerlogs–someverylarge–coatedwithdolomite(Ca/Mg)limestone(alreadylaid
outwithlimespread).Layer2: Compost–prettyfresh–workeddeepintotheopenareasbetweenthelogs–
providesthenitrogenforthewood’sdecompositionandalsoaddsthephosphorusandpotassiumfoundinmanure.We’vebeenaddingcalcitelimetothemanureasit’scleanedoutofthebarnorwewouldbeaddingitatthispoint.
Layer3: Morelogs–smallernowandworkedintothegroovesiftheystillexist–alsoworkingtobalancetheheightofthefinalbed
Layer4: Moremanure–mostlycompostedthistime–andwe’lladdthecalcitelimebecauseit’sfromanolderpilethatdidn’tgetthelimeaddedduringremovalfromthebarn.
Layer5: Smallbranchestocompletetheintegrationofwoodthroughthebed.Layer6: Topsoil–fromSterlingpeat–theirpeat/loamblend–atleastsixinchesifwehave enough–4”otherwise.Layer7: Stonedust–fromPandolphPerkins–between1/8”–¼”–tohelpbreakupthe“new loamcrust”thatalwayshappensandtoaddthatrawmineralcomponent.Layer8: Mineralsandmicrobeboosts–alfalfameal,rockphosphate,greensand,azomite blendedtogetheronatarp(wearadustmaskifnecessary)andworkedintotheloam layerwithacultivator.Layer9: Shreddedleavesandgrassclippingsprovidedbyalocallandscaper.Wewon’tdothis today.They’llbedeliveredashecleansdownhissites–addedastheyarrive.
Incaseyouneedmoreinformation,herearemyfavoritemineralsoilamendments-#8aboveStraightproducts:-availableatGardnerAgwayorsimilartypestore
Alfalfameal,greensand,azomite,calcitelime,rockphosphorus,gypsum,liquidkelp,elementalsulfur,compost.
Blendedproducts:-• NorthCountryOrganic’s(NCO)Pro-Gro,Pro-Start,Pro-Boost,Pro-Holly• Layermash~non-medicated~turnsoutthatwhatfeedsachickenisgreatforthesoiltoo!• OceanOrganic’sGBSBio-stimulant• Neptune’sHarvest’sStraightFishandFish/Kelpblend-especiallygoodonbegoniasandall
vegetablesiftheyneedapickmeup.UseditextensivelyafteralloftherainlastyearBlendedproductsoftenneededtobeorderedfromthewholesaledeliveryproductstream.LayermashisfoundatanygrainstoreandNeptune’sHarvestiseverywhereaswell.Favoritesoilmanagementrecipes:Basicplantingmix–usedinallannualandperennialinstallations.Rateadjustedbytypeandvitalityofplantmaterialandhistoryofthegarden.Thisismixedtogetheronalargetarpandstoredinsealedplasticcontainers.Imixabout6batchesayear.50lbsNCOProGro50lbsAlfalfameal20lbs AzomiteWoodyplantingmix–developedtotryandgetericaceousmaterialtosettleinfasterbutfoundthatitworksreallywellforallwoodymaterial–evenabarerooted,3.5”caliperlocustinlateMay.Preptherootsforplanting.Coattherootballswiththemix(workinwellwithfingersorknife)andworkmoremixintothetop6”ofthesoilina2’-5’circlearoundthenewtreeorshrub(diameterdeterminedbyplantselection).25lbsAlfalfameal25lbsJerseyGreensand20lbsAzomiteand(newthispastyear)5lbsOceanOrganicsGBS(Bio-stimulant)ElementalSulfur,GypsumandRockphosphateareaddedbasedonsoiltestresultsorknownproblemsonthesite.
Fallsoildevelopmentmix–usedinopengardensthatarecomingintoproduction,edgesofexistinggardensthatneedrefreshingorothersoilsthatneedtoopenup(compactionetc.)It’sspreadonthesurfaceattherateofabout10-25lbs/100sqftandeitherrototilledinifthebedisopenorhandcultivatedifthebedisalreadyplanted–amountisdeterminedbyseverityofthespecificproblem.Promotesastrongbacterialreactionandfeedsthewormswell–theydevelopheavymuscles(almostblueincolor)thatallowthemtoreallyturnsoil.I’vealsousedthisattherateof50lbs/100sqftwhenthereweresevereissuesinvolved.Thisonlyworksifthebedsareemptyandit’sdoneinthefallsothatthesurgeofheatthat’sgeneratedcandissipatebeforenewmaterialsareadded–excellentforbreakingdown4”ofpaintedwoodchipmulchJ!50lbsLayerMash–non-medicated(chickenfood)50lbsGreensand20lbsAzomite40lbsGypsumLastyearstonedustfromalocalquarrywasaddedtothemixforacoupleofbedswheretoomuchorganicmaterialhadaccumulated–resultsthisyeararespectacular.
Caveat
Neverforgetthatyourbestassetsareyoureyesandothersenses–tweaktheseformulassothattheyworkforyou.ThesewereworkedoutforthecentraluplandareaofMassachusetts–essentiallyWorcesterCounty–andwouldneedconsiderableadjustmentforotherdistinctlydifferentgeographiesandsoiltypes.Usesoiltests,compactiontests,visualandtexturaltestsandanyothersourceofinformationyoucanfindtohelpyouunwindthehistoryandtherealityofanygivensoilsituation.IdowanttomakeclearthatIamnotasoilscientist–orscientistofanykind.Iprovidecomplex,integratedandcolorfulgardensofallkindsforpeoplewholovetobeoutintheirgardensandappreciatethediversitythatisfoundthere.Overthelast20yearsIhavetighteneddowntheformulasthatIuseasthebaselineforallofthegardensImanage.Itisanintensiveprogramanddefinitelynotforeveryone–orevenformostpeople.IhaveheardfrompeoplethatI’vetaughtovertheyearsthatthisprogramworksforthemaswell.Theydon’tapplyitasintensivelyasIdobuttheresultsstillworkbetterthananythingelsethattheyhavetried.Here’stoeveryonegrowinggreat,healthy,beautifulgardens! [email protected]
