I am happy to see the beans in the hugelkultur raised bed didn't suffer at all. Another plus for the huggies! I have tons of beans up and coming, so this frost may have just saved me a ton of work, without a big loss. Definitely more huggies going in next spring!
Wendy - sorry you got nailed with a late frost - ouch! but really glad to hear the your huggie protected the beans! i am doing more huggies next year too - so far they are working out great!
ReplyDeleteyour friend,
kymber
Thanks, kymber. I am really impressed with it so far. I think the next one will be more traditional, without the raised bed frame though. I'm finding it's a little too big to reach into the centre to weed as is, and I'm looking forward to growing and harvesting crops by height.
DeleteHere in Northern California, we've been having crappy garden weather too. it's been blowing for weeks now drying everything out. Have to water every morning. Now we have the heat too. It's been in the 80's which is nice but today it 110. Things are burning up. My poor potatos are a goner. Glad to hear your experiment is working so well. It sure is a cool concept.
ReplyDeleteI cannot imagine having to deal with that kind of heat. On the rare occasion we might hit 90, and if I leave the house at all, it'll be to plant my ass in a lake! Sorry about your potatoes! I hope you can salvage some of your garden!
DeleteI wondered about walking around on all those logs. So, hugling in narrow strips would be best? Will your abundance of boys, can you not have them put down newspaper, cloth, just anything the night before a predicted frost? My neighbor put milk jugs over her beans. I have been known to take a sacrificial sheet and drape over things.
ReplyDeleteThere will be no log hugelkultur here. Do you think stacks of sticks and fallen dead limbs would work? That I can do. I do think a three-foot wide frame would help it to look contained for mowing here in my yard.
Maybe the beans will recover?
Um... lol. Hey, I'm experimenting, not an expert, lol. I think most people do raised beds about 4 feet wide, so they can reach across two feet from each side. I'm having some trouble with that, with short arms. So I think 3 feet would be wide enough for me. True hugelkultur should be eye height, and narrow at the top, so you're really just reaching in front of you.
DeleteAs for frost protection- cold air sinks. Having the plants up higher keeps them out of the coldest air. With a light frost like we had the other night (no frost warnings), the height appears to be sufficient. I don't know how it'll work with a heavy frost.
When we have frost warnings in the fall, we will try to extend the season a bit by covering some things. I don't have enough plastic, sheets, or blankets to cover everything.
I think if you're going to build a raised bed, any branches, limbs, twigs, etc that you can use as filler will help absorb water and fertilize your plants. And you won't need so much dirt to fill the box. I even put wood chips in the bottom of my tomato pots when I repotted earlier in the season. They did really well. I have a tendency to forget to water every day once the weather heats up, and I kill a bunch of seedlings every year. The tomatoes could go three to four days between waterings with no ill effect.