trailwest
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Hugelkultur Container Gardening

Has anyone tried Hugelkultur in a container garden?

I put some logs in the bottom of a pot, filled it with potting soil, and put it next to another identical one without the logs to do an experiment. I have planted them both with seed from the same pack.

Anybody tried this before?

[img]https://cubicfootgardening.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Hulgelkultur_in_a_pot.jpg[/img]

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rainbowgardener
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Nope, never thought about it. But I love it when people do the experiment, make comparisons like that. Definitely keep us posted on the results!

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applestar
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You might try watering with fungal AACT (short brew time) to help speed the process. Did you add any compost? (the log does look aged and should help)

I leave bigger sticks -- up to 1" or so in diameter -- and bark that have decomposed and easily broken by hand that are normally screened out of the compost for smaller containers when using in big containers like this. I have also put some wood chips and composted brk mulch in the lower layers of larger containers for added drainage, but have never tried using whole small logs like this.

Looking forward to hearing progress reports. :D

trailwest
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Applestar, RainbowGardener,
Thanks for the feedback. I have already buried the wood in a combination of loose potting soil and turkey compost. I didn't get a chance to cover it in fungul starter (AACT) although that is a good idea.

I think Hugelkultur is one of those things where you get very long life from the wood. In a container, I probably won't keep the same wood/soil for 10 years like in a buried wood type garden.

The fungul starter is a great idea for that reason alone. Get things going quickly. Another approach would be to find really rotten wood to start with.

Thanks for the great suggestion.

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klevelyn
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I have not heard of this method before. What is the purpose of the log. Too decompose and add nutrition?

DoubleDogFarm
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I believe the decaying wood is a moisture retentive, nutrient / fungal sponge.

Eric

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rainbowgardener
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Yeah, look up Hugelkultur.

Trailwest, any updates on how your containers are doing and the comparison between Hugelkultur and non-H. containers?

trailwest
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This turned out to be a very interesting experiement. All of the bad things associated with nutrients being consumed by rotting wood turned out to be true. The Hugelkultur container with the wood in it has anemic and underperforming plants. It was obvious from the start. and never got better. I planted watermelon seeds in three different containers. All of the containers have the same soil.
1) Big pot with just soil - Doing very well, healthy growth, Watermelon is producing many runners and flowers.
2) Sub Irrigated Planter - A type of wicking bed design where a container sits at the bottom of the container and water wicks up from the bottom. Same result as big pot with just soil. Doing very well. This planter requires less water since the water is coming from the bottom and evaporates less.
3) Hugelkultur Container - Watermelons came up slowly, looked very poor from the start, and are about half the size of the plants from the other two containers.

About 1 month into the test, I fed all of the plants with organic 8-2-4 fertilizer (Ladybug brand available in Austin). This still did not spur the Hugelkultur container into better growth.

Initial Thoughts: The wood used in this experiment was not rotten. It was fully dried firewood but not rotten. Most people experience poor performance in the first year of a hugelkultur bed. My guess is that the container is so small and the initial rotting of the wood is consuming all of the nutrients in the container, taking everything away from the plants. What is surprising is how immediate the affect was, all the way through the soil. The seeds were planted the same day the container was filled and it didn't matter. They performed very poorly from the start. This signals that the soil condition changes rapidly with the presence of wood.

I'll post pictures soon with more details...

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rainbowgardener
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Thanks so much for the quick update! Makes sense. If you leave your logs there over winter and continue the experiment next year, it may start doing better.

Also, I think you are right about starting with logs less dry and more broken down and trying applestar's idea about watering well with AACT to provide micro-organisms to help break down the wood.

Growing in a container is a lot different than the typical hugelkulture bed, but you are right that even in beds, I think they get better results in later years.

But hey, you never know unless you try the experiment, right!? :) Thanks for doing this!

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prettygurl
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I do this with all my container plants. I even use branches instead of logs.



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