Hügelkultur or 'mound culture' is a German way of gardening using old branches and logs of wood to build up a planting bed. It is a very 'easy going' type of gardening as the amount of ways you can do it are numerous, but the basic idea is to pile layers of logs and sticks in a pile sandwiching leaves, compost and other organic material in between, a large garden lasagne if you like.
With all the stormy and windy weather we may well have a surplus of branches and twigs to start one! So here is a basic guide on what you need and what common mistakes to avoid.
Firstly you need to decide where you are going to start your pile. Ideally it should be somewhere sunny and open, you want there to be a good flow of air travelling over and around it. This will prevent the unwanted fungi taking too much of a hold.
When you have chosen your spot you can either dig out a rectangle, removing any vegetation or you can smother the existing vegetation with sheets of cardboard or hessian cloth.
Next you have to choose the wood you are going to use to start. If you can put hardwood on the bottom do, because it breaks down more slowly than softwood it makes a great base layer for aeration and drainage, examples of hardwood are Oak, Alder and Birch, if you don't have any don't worry, softwood will work fine, just use the freshest and biggest branches for the bottom.
Your next layer should consist of smaller branches, leaves, grass cuttings and general 'bitty' garden detritus. As long as it is disease and weed free. It should create a kind of support layer between your lowest layer and the higher layers which will consist of smaller materials.
On top of this you want to place compostable stuff, such as potato peelings, apple cores, general un rotted kitchen compost and the like. As this rots it will filter down and warm the lower layers and encourage them to break down.
Lastly your top layer should be your fully composted soil, when first placing on it should be quite thick (around 3/4 of a foot), this is to weight it and so that the plants you are immediately putting in have space to grow. You can finish off the top by adding some bark mulch, this will keep it warm and prevent moisture loss as well as making it look more aesthetically pleasing.
Here I have listed just 4-5 layers but the amount of layers that you put in is purely up to you depending on the size and height of the bed you want.
Some of the things to avoid are using any chemically treated woods, these either won't break down or will leach poisons into the soil, diseases can be rife so only use healthy material. Be sure to put enough wood into it, if you don't you will just end up with a compost pile that will be overly acidic and there won't be enough aeration which is key to the concept.
