Indoor No Till Hugel Beds

Thanks guys!
Yeah, I was crushed and pretty humiliated at the same time... worst disaster I’ve had in years... ever actually.
And all this when I finally get the balls to put up a grow journal. Oh well, warts and all as the Brits say!
Overall, I did learn a couple of things. Aside from the friggin obvious, I’m amazed at how much heartache, suffering, and pain these amazing plants can handle and keep right on chugging away. I basically poisoned them and they still want to live.
I’m also certain that the environment created by the Hugel bed really helped them to recover better. Even in new soil ( first run) those three fared way better than the older beds. I’ll bet the consistently available moisture provided by the logs/ chips base gave them a leg up.
I’m planting a ton (25+) of cannabis and veggie plants into 25- 35 gallon fabric pots for the indoor grow as well as the greenhouses (x3!) I built. I will absolutely be applying a 3-4” base of the cottonwood chipped material to the bottom of each pot.
Mini Hugels!

 

I’m a Hugel addict now... completely obsessed!
I’ll be borrowing a skid steer next week to dig out a large, shallow trench to begin a true outdoor Hugel. It’s gonna be big, and I’m going to build it in a classic hill formation, tall enough to keep me from gardening on my knees!

 

From what I read, you can do either one depending on what you plan on growing. A north /south orientation will give you an option for a shaded side in the afternoon and an East/ west version will give you more consistent light on all sides. I’m probably going to build my first on north /south.

That’s true, but I read an article about doing it on hillsides or filling swales with Hugel tech. It did not recommend it due to the fact that as the wooden base collects all of that water like a sponge during a heavy rain it will become incredibly heavy and unstable, potentially leading to a landslide down the slope of all you’re hard work!

That’s how ya do it right there! Good job... I’m next!

 

No worries! Those look great!
I’ve been researching quite a bit on these, but the technique is so simple that most of the information is basically the same. Here is one article that breaks it down nicely..
Permaculture magazine
IMO... those beds look like about the right depth. I think you might want some larger diameter material as the base layer though. Those look like they will be big, long term Hugels, so you’ll want to give them plenty of fuel for the long haul. I’d try and get some logs in there, the bigger the better for the base. If you can get hardwoods, use those at the base as well, with a mix of the softwoods if possible. Try to source wood that is already fallen and is various stages of decay. The soggy, rotten, fungus laden material is what you want. I’ve read that if you use too much green wood material that it won’t be releasing any of that nitrogen anytime soon, so adding a nitrogen source would be important in that scenario. As the green wood decays and begins to breakdown it will release the nitrogen more easily, so starting with aged wood is helpful (but not necessary).
Anyway, larger base material, then all of those smaller branches on top of that. If you can get aged wood chips those make a great addition as well, and they really help fill in the dead spaces in between the wood layer. Your leaves and grass can do the same thing I guess. Humus and compost, maybe some topsoil and a mulch layer and you should be good to go!
It’s snowing here this weekend or I’d be out building one myself. I did just put together a sweet hot tub Hugel house, I’ll get up some pics!

 

Looks like you’re moving right along.
One of the articles I read said to strive for a ratio of 30% wood materials to 70% compost, soil and mulch.