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David Doncaster 23 months ago
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Huegel beds , originally I was thinking of trying these , now after a little more searching I believe I have to try these . I am in a zone 5 and every few years peaches in the area get hammered . What a huegel bed is , is a trench filled with deciduous wood , trunks , branches, leaves . Cover these with grass , hay , compost ,then cover everything with soil . Some pictures show these mounds to be 6-8 feet high. The filling composts , creates a fair amount of heat ( like a good working septic ) which allows the growing of product for a zone or two warmer as well as on going fertilizer. Sepp Holzer, the gentleman who started these grows kiwi and lemons at 4000 feet ( not to lose the fact that he has created an amazing ecosystem). This guy has amazing results thinking way outside the box , google his name to see what I mean .
Michael Phillips 23 months ago
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Very interesting! I checked out some of these websites to see how growers have been creating these Huegel beds. A revealing drawing (click that link) on a poster can actually be enlarged on the document that comes up on your browser to visually define what's going on here. I've worked with an orchard in California where wood-filled swales are a key part of holding winter moisture in the ground. A trench was dug on the uphill side of each tree row and filled with ramial wood chips (mixed species, including eucalyptus) from a landscaping operation. A berm was created below the swale with the soil piled up from digging the 3 foot deep trench. Trees were planted here along with specifc tap-rooted plants and berry shrubs. The entire area gets regular sprays of aerated compost tea and is haphazardly mulched with ramial wood chips. What I particularly like here are that growers are embracing ways of acheiving fungal-based fertility for fruit trees.

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