Expanding Zone 1 - New Hugelkultur Bed

     One of the big things I am changing since finding out about permaculture, is to move our vegetable gardens closer to the kitchen.  It just makes sense, and I have already experienced the difference in how much more likely we are to use the garden in our cooking when it is close at hand.  In permaculture design, a property is divided up into zones based on how often an area needs to be accessed.  The living area is zone 0, and the gardens and other features that need to be accessed daily are nearby in zone 1.  There is an excellent explanation of zones on TC Permaculture, check it out if you want to understand the concept better.  Normally chickens are kept in zone 1, but since we are on just 1 acre, I am considering the food forest / chicken paddock area to be our zone 2.

     Last fall, we did our hugelkultur in a swale project just off of the porch (above).  This created a large bed that will be planted with a poly-culture of vegetables, herbs, and flowers along with some support species.  This Spring we were able to expand that to the other side of the sidewalk by creating a long hugelkultur all along the large rocks that separate the yard from the driveway (below).  If you are not familiar with hugelkultur, check out Paul Wheaton's awesome article on richsoil.com. 

     In the pic above you can see that I started out with 3 square foot gardens up close to the house.  Although they worked out ok, we will eventually transition that area into keyhole beds for their more interesting shape and increased edge space.  We are getting the layout started by creating a bed all along the rocks, where we can take advantage of the thermal mass of the rocks regulating the temeratures and the increased solar gain reflecting off the light colored gravel driveway to the South.

4/13/13

We started by cutting a line about 2' off the rocks and removing the sod along the one side.

4/13/13

4/13/13

     This was one of those rare days when we are both home and the weather is not too bad and we are able to work on the yard together.  Happy stuff!

This super high tech and complicated piece of equipment is called an A Frame Level.  Very effective for leveling a trench and it only took me about 10 minutes to build it.

The indicator is a snow stake duct taped to a washer and hanging on a screw.  Works pretty well, though it is tough to read if the wind is bad.

4/16/13

We left an island of undisturbed soil at the corner and trenched around the inside of it, then continued on toward the garage.

4/16/13

There was a height difference of almost 3' from one end of our trench to the other.  Once we got the garage side (above) down to where it would catch water instead of spilling onto the driveway, we started leveling our way back uphill.

4/16/13

Rather than dig out the entire side, we cut a narrower trench level with the other side so that water captured off the slope will hydrate the uphill side of the bed before overflowing onto the driveway.

The idea is that water flowing across the yard will get caught and fill the trench, getting a second chance to hydrate the higher side by the sidewalk and allowing the hugel bed to store as much as possible. 

4/17/13

With heavy rains the next day, we got to see it in action.  The overflow gently seeped onto the driveway through the rocks at several locations. 

4/17/13

4/20/13

We filled the trench completely, as tight as we could pack it, with all different types of wood.  All different varieties in different stages of rot.  Every size, from big logs to tiny twigs, where ever we could jam them in.

4/20/13

4/24/13

When we couldn't fit any more wood in, we covered it all with a couple layers of well rotted wood chips, then put the sod back on upside down.

4/29/13

4/30/13

5/4/13

And here it is finished and ready for planting.  We topped it off with some mushroom compost from River Valley Ranch.  This year it will be alternating tomatoes and peppers every few feet with carrots, lettuce, flowers, and herbs scattered throughout.  Eventually the young Chicago hardy fig I picked up last year will go on the corner, but it is producing so nicely in it's pot on the porch I think I am going to leave it be for now.

So far we only have a few sacrificial plants put in, but with no frost on the forecast it is starting to look more and more like planting time.

Watching the water flow

     It's been a rough last few weeks out here, including a couple rounds with the common cold combined with a few good snow falls.  I'm getting to that point where I'm just plain sick of winter.  Still, I have it on good authority that Spring is just around the corner.  On the last day of February, 4 sandhill cranes took a walk through the alfalfa behind our yard.  Now I happen to believe that the cranes have a much better perspective on these things than a groundhog ever will, more at stake too.  The snow is lingering despite several days above freezing and about an inch of rain.

     The chickens have tracked a lot of that moisture into the coop, leading to damp conditions inside and a bit of ammonia odor.  We have had to add quite a bit of dry straw and pine shavings to keep it under control.  I plan to clean out the bedding again as soon as things are dry enough to get the wheelbarrow around.  Otherwise they are doing well.  We still have all 20 birds (17 hens and 3 roosters) and the 6 that we moved to a farm are also still kicking.  I'm really proud and a little amazed that we have managed to keep everyone safe and healthy for this long.  Egg production has been really good at about 12-15 a day.  Yesterday we got 17 for the first time.

     The great part about this time of year is the opportunity to get out and observe the water moving over the landscape.  It is a great way to understand the direction things are flowing.  Which is an important thing to consider when building, laying out gardens, or planning rain collection or water harvesting land features such as swales and ponds.

     Tracing water's path can also help to locate and identify areas with erosion damage.

      One thing I have noticed is the way that the chickens work to help us capture water and recharge our aquifer by creating texture in the landscape.  Watching the snow melt and slowly seep into the dust baths our hens made has driven this lesson home.  It also leads to another profound concept.  That just as an arc between two points is longer than a straight line between the same points; textured land has more surface area.  Thus, we can literally make the world a bigger place, or at least add square footage to our yards and gardens.  This has me motivated to try my first true hugelkultur bed this year.

Updated Food Forest Design

I love it when things come together in a synergistic way.  I am so happy I started this blog right now, as writing seems to help focus my thoughts.  I have to give some credit to Toby Hemenway, since I am currently reading his book Gaia's Garden.  The section on patterns definitely changed my view on things, and I am borrowing somewhat from the natural fractal shape found in leaf veins and rivers and such.  But it was while writing my last bit on Food Forest design that this design popped into my head.  Specifically it was while typing the word "trapezoid" that got me literally thinking outside the box.  I realized that I could achieve my basic goals of having straight fence runs while using much more interesting shapes and increasing edge space.

 

I like this design better for numerous reasons.  I am having a much easier time visualizing earthworks for water harvesting without making the paths too rugged.  We still get 7 forest gardens that can each be encircled by a 164' section of movable electric poultry netting, but the edges are much longer than in my first drawing.  The shape allows one to use the paths to get around the gardens much more efficiently, and the shapes offer a lot more interesting design opportunities.  It also incorporates the existing fire pit in a more fluid way.

 

 

 

Thanks for reading, I welcome constructive comments and suggestions.



Hugelkultur in a Swale with Lasagna on top Rain garden

Click on images to view larger 

The front bed of our house needed a major revamping.  It was completely overgrown with grass, alfalfa, and field bindweed among other things.  We pulled out some over sized burning bushes, which left the terrain uneven.  The soil is heavy with clay and has lots of rocks.  To make matters worse, the base of the ill advised concrete porch that some genius poured up against the foundation of our 160 year old house was uncovered and even undermined at points.

06/19/2012

The design I came up with is an amalgamation of several techniques I have either tried or read about.  The goals are to collect and store water in the bed while diverting it away from the house.  We also want to smother the weeds and build a healthy productive bed, that eventually will be a mixed garden of flowers herbs and vegetables.

If you can read my scrawl, this drawing gives a cross section of the design.

7/12/12

I used a string level to even the grade on top, near the porch, and I cut a curvy but level swale into the ground.  I tamped and filled the slope up to the porch to a nice even grade away from the porch with the clay I dug.   All the decent looking black dirt I pulled out went to the other side of the house into a small terrace where Nikki's serviceberry is now.

7/12/12

7/17/12

7/17/2012

7/25/2012

I got the rough level from the string.  Spraying a little water over everything helped with compacting the slope.  The water pooled in the swale revealing the low spots.  Once it dried again, it was easy to see where I needed to scrape out soil to get a perfectly level bottom.

7/25/12

8/5/2012

8/19/12

Nikki is weeding the hens and chicks while I install the kill layer.

8/19/12

8/19/2012

It's Hugelkultur time!

8/19/12

Our neighbor gave us some old burlap sacks that I cut open and layed out in the swale so the logs wouldn't puncture the wet cardboard and newspaper.  The burlap formed nicely to the swale edge.  The open part at this end overflows onto a flat part of the driveway that I'm hoping will be effective as a level spillway.

8/22/12

8/25/12

9/6/12

No need for a gym membership when you've got a shovel and a wheel barrow! 

9/14/12

After the logs were in place I covered everything with some slightly aged wood chips. Above that the layers are just compost from bins I started this spring. They were only half broken down, but had heated up nicely when I first filled the bins.  The bulk of the material is just wood chips mixed with coffee grounds, so I plan to cut leaf mulch from dynamic accumulators such as comfrey and yarrow after planting this Spring.  This should help add minor nutrients that may be lacking from my compost.

9/20/12

I set large stones with flat tops on top of the swale edge and filled in on either side of them with compost leaving the flats exposed for stepping stones.

9/25/12

I finally tuck pointed the porch foundation, so I can finish the West side of the bed.

10/11/12

Here it is after a little grading, a layer of cardboard, some logs, and layers of mulch and compost.



10/11/12

A little crumbles and some Gardeners Delight cherry tomatoes was all it took to convince the chickens to till the mulch and fertilize for me!

One of my goals for next Spring is to install some Rain barrels over by the remaining burning bush that can be used to irrigate this area, as well as the 2'x6' box next to it.

In the early Spring we will get a pickup load of mushroom compost from River Valley Ranch and top off the bed.  Then its ready for planting.

This is my first attempt at several different design ideas, so wish me luck! 

I'm calling it my Hugelkultur in a Swale with Lasagna on top Rain Garden.  The neighbors probably think I'm crazy, and it's entirely possible that they are right.

A drainage solution for concrete

     Our house came with a concrete porch that was poured in sections right up against the original 160 year old rock wall foundation on the south side up against our bedroom.  There is a low spot up against the wall where, in some one's infinite wisdom, there is a 2x? piece of lumber between the house and the slab.  Water puddling on this spot has infiltrated and caused settling issues.

 

 

 

     Mud jacking isn't going to work, as I am worried that the pressure would heave the rock wall foundation next to it.  Replacing the concrete isn't really an option for us right now, so I came up with an alternate solution. 

 

 

Using a laser level, I determined that the house side was 3/4" lower than the edge of the concrete.  So I snapped a chalk line to the lowest point, and cut a kerf into the slab.  I used a concrete blade on my circular saw, making a series of full passes towards the house until I achieved a 1" cut on the edge.  Since the blade wears away as I am cutting, the cut tapers up automatically to nothing at the low point that I am trying to drain.

 



 

     So far it is working pretty well.  Instead of pooling up near the house, water is drained into the garden bed next to the porch.  I may run into issues with the kerf clogging with debris, or cracking in the winter.  It will be interesting to see how it performs over the long haul.  But for now, at least I have slowed down the erosion and bought us some time without spending a lot of money.