Making Beds

Morgan sniffed out the planter beds today and before I knew what she was doing she ate some of the alfalfa pellets. Hope they won't make her sick.

I raked up a bunch of leaves, pine needles and other forest litter and added it and other layers of dirt and straw to the hugelkultur. 

I was going to start work in the chicken pen, but it started raining. Good excuse to quit and watch Inspector Morse.

Here is another new link to a site with great photos on hugelkultur and composting. Somehow I managed to forget to put in a layer of cardboard and newspaper. Photos on composting are at the top and hugelkultur photos are toward the bottom.

Here is a link to a post with great photos of how to hugelkultur that I have posted before. I'm adding more layers to my beds so I can add more layers of the crummy dirt we have around here. If I could have started with some fairly good soil I could get away with the layers in the photos. The dirt we have is like pulverized rocks. Well, we are on top of the mountain so all the good dirt washed away to the valley long ago. 

Hope everyone had a great day!

Peek at the Past

(May 9, 2009)

[7 eggs today]

~:>

Smiles

Greenhouse Bed

Blogger won't let me type next to the top photo. Bad Blogger!

Today I worked on the greenhouse planter bed and finished up the layers in outside beds up to ground level. The next step will be to build wooden planter box frames so I can add more layers and soil for planting. The top two photos are of the bed in the greenhouse. I dug out the area, filled it with old branches and then filled the bed with water to soak the bed and the wood.

(I tried moving some code around so now I can type next to these two bottom photos. I wish I knew HTML better.)

Then I added a thin layer of dirt over the branches, then straw and some alfalfa pellets. Then I watered the whole thing well.

The soil here has very little organic matter in it and it is very dry so the soak will hopefully help with composting the branches and the other layers.

Once I get the wooden frames built and add more layers I have the feeling that I may not be able to plant this year because it will be too late to plant and the beds may need a year to compost so they won't burn the plants.

There are three beds in this photo. The third bed has a layer of dirt over it so it doesn't show up in the photo.

It is supposed to rain Sunday and Monday which will be great for the beds and for the chicken pen. The chickens won't like the rain, but it will make digging out the chicken pen a lot easier.

The Buff gave up being broody after one day... or she is hiding out somewhere in the woods? The Australorp is still strutting around in the pen like a gorilla chicken clucking away.

Peek at the Past

(May 8, 2009)

[4 eggs today]

~:>

Smiles

Hugelkultur Layers

Today (Friday the 19th) I finished all the layering in my first Hugelkultur planter bed

except for the last dirt layer.

See yesterdays post for a photo of the logs in the bed.

Yesterday while I was looking for pieces of fallen wood I also picked up small branches and added them to a pile to use today. I broke up the sticks before I threw them on the bed. I'm in hopes that smaller sticks will break down faster. I'm not sure the layers are in the correct order or if there is one.

(Before I started layering I tossed some dirt on the logs

and wet them down.)

First I put down a layer of leaves over the logs.

Second a layer of bedding from the chicken coop.

Third a layer of sticks.

Fourth I sprinkled a thin mix of dirt, bedding, and leaves over the sticks to hopefully help speed up the breaking down of the material into good soil.

Fifth I covered everything with about 4 inches of dirt.

In between each layering I wet the area down. 

I have read that you shouldn't expect a good harvest the first year using this method. But from what I have read that may depend on how much dirt is added, the quality of the dirt, and what crops are planted. Melons, potatoes, squash and berries are supposed to do well the first year. Some people let the bed lay fallow the first year or plant it with cover crops.

I want to plant veggies this year so my plan is to put down enough soil on the top so the plants have a good growing medium.

Tomorrow I'm going to dig up dirt at the bottom of years of piles of leaves I've raked and mix that dirt in with the dirt I dug out of the bed. 

I'm in hopes of having the hugelkultur at work below making and enriching the soil and still be able to grow some veggies in the bed in the dirt I'm adding to the top.

I can see how this method is a great way to improve poor soil just by using what is at hand. I would much rather get rid of the leaves and fallen wood this way than by burning.

This bed was a lot of work. To make it easy on myself (and to learn) I don't plan on doing the next beds exactly the same way. I'm going to experiment and make them each differently.

Sprout update: I took the lentils out of the water and put them between a damp dishtowel. I really don't think there is any hope for these lentil ever sprouting.

Peek at the Past

(March 19, 2009)

( 3 eggs today)

~:>

Smiles

Hugelkultur Underway

Yesterday I used stakes and marked out where I wanted the planter boxes. Today I marked the area with the shovel and cut out the bottom of a bed and piled the dirt to the side.


The dirt will go back on top when I get the other layers done.


I dug out the far end of the bed first and put down some old logs. Then I took a break. This is hard work!


The Wyandotte looks like she is asking me if I'm coming back to finish the job. Bossy hen!



I finally (after a few more breaks) got the rest of the bed dug out. Screamer is going to walk around on the logs while Morgan is doing her chicken watching routine.

I didn't have enough old wood at hand so I spent a lot of time walking the property picking up down wood and hauling it back to the bed.

 The first layer is done!

Tomorrow I'm going to clean out the chicken coop and put  layers of chicken stuff, leaves, and sticks. I'll sprinkle a bit of dirt in there too. I'll top the bed off with dirt and some of the leaf compost that has been cooking for many years.

The chickens are so funny. They wouldn't come in the garden area when I was working, but when I left to take a break or take photos some of them would zip in there and check the place out.

Sprout update: Argh! Nothing is happening. Tom got these lentils at the local  market and they are a store brand. Maybe these are old, old sad lentils and are not going to sprout. I'll wait a bit longer.

Peek at the Past

(March 18, 2009)

Jean's ankle is healed and she is home!

[5 eggs today]

~:>

Smiles

Hugelkultur - First Step

I love my happy chickens! We were all happy to have some time in the sun. I sprinkle scratch in this area for them, but not much because Morgan will try to lick it up. Bad dog.

Big fluffy chickens!

Today since the sun was out I woke up enough to actually get outside and carry some old cut wood that has been laying around for ten years or so. The wood is mostly pine and hasn't decayed very much. But it is full of water and heavy.

Tomorrow it is going to rain so I left the wood uncovered so it will get a good soak before I put on the next layer. I tried to keep a space between the boards and the logs so the wet logs won't help the boards decay.

I read that some people put down a layer of snow on the logs before they start layering. Hmmm... it might snow tomorrow?

I found a discontinued blog that has some neat photos of hugelkultur beds compared to regular planting. Kinda neat to see how the bed works in real life in a home setting.

Peek at the Past

(March 7, 2009)

[6 eggs today]

~:>

Smiles

Hugelkultur? Skillets? Eggs?

Yesterday during a walk in the sunshine I took this photo of our poor empty planter boxes.

I'm going to use the Hugelkultur idea and put fallen branches, twigs and logs in the bottom of the planter boxes. This is a before photo to spur me into gardening action when it ever stops raining.

The plan is to put a layer of wood at the bottom of the boxes, then a layer of chicken pen stuff, then a layer of twigs, then a layer of leaves and then dirt. The wood is supposed to act as a sponge and hold water in the soil through the dry California months.

I'm good for everything but the dirt. Well, maybe I do have some good dirt? I have been raking and piling up leaves for ten years. I'll go check those piles of old leaves. It would be so great if there was beautiful composted dirt at the bottom.

While searching for info on hugelkulture I found info on permaculture, where I found info about building ponds, building sheds out of rocks, dirt and trees, etc., and then info on iron skillets.

I'm interested in all that stuff, but especially in iron skillets. This fellow wrote a big article about using iron skillets and then he made a video. He explained that in the '30's and before skillets used to be machined smooth. Not anymore. That's why grandma's skillet was so good.

Here is the video he made of his old skillets. More "how to cook an egg stuff," but I think he overcooks his eggs. Neat skillets.

Here is the page that got me sidetracked when I started clicking on all the links. 

Peek at the Past

(March 2, 2009)
I love my little chicken pot lid holders.
Last night the rains started up again,
so the chickens and Morgan won't be able to go outside this week.
Maybe there will be a break on Thursday?

[3 eggs today in the wood shavings)

I put some fake eggs in the nest boxes until we can get some straw. I took the eggs out of the nest boxes because some of the hens were going broody sitting on the fake eggs. I finally got the brilliant idea to take the fake eggs out of the nests when I collect eggs to keep the hens from going broody and then put the fake eggs back in the nest boxes when I lock up the coop at night. We'll try that and see what happens. 

~:>

Smiles