Hugelkultur at The Shack

Hügelkultur - Zilker Botanical Garden - Austin, Texas

What is Hugelkultur? It is a type of no-till, raised bed gardening that I've only recently learned about.  I am NOT an expert gardener and I know next-to-nothing about Hugelkulture (pronounced HOO-gul-culture). But it is something that seems like it would make sense to use up at The Shack. Frankly, I'm mostly writing this so I can keep track of the name of the technique and when/where/how I'm trying to use it. And to spread the word to others who have not heard of this raised-bed gardening technique.

Hugelkultur

I belong to a homesteading group and on that group I was sharing that due to my very steep slope at The Shack, the raised bed I had been planning for berries was not going to work out quite like I had envisioned.  I asked for advice.

One person mentioned Hugelkultur. I had never heard of it. So I "Google'd" and "youtubed" that term for days. This is the summary of what I've learned so far:

• Hugelkultur is German for "mound culture" or "hill mound"
• A garden mound (biomass) is created using a pile of wood covered by soil
• The resulting biomass retains warmth and water
• The slowly decaying wood creates a richer soil via all of the processes that happen during composting

insert from photo above

Oh man, oh man... Hugelkultur, or using some of the aspects of it, might be just the thing for my rocky, compacted, DRY, ridge-top future homestead. 

The Land at The Shack

Half of my land is open "yard" and half is wooded area. My land was previously an apple orchard. So I know that it can grow fruit trees. The wooded section seems to have far better "soil" than the yard section. But there's not even really rich soil in the woods. 

There are MANY things that make my land an unlikely choice for gardening.  The lack of an onsite water source, the extremely rocky/gravel terrain, steep slope, and the herds of deer that immediately try to eat every plant I put out are just a few of the things stacked against me at growing any of my own food.

Sufficient water is one of my main concerns. While camping at The Shack, I sit on my deck and look across the valley, watching it rain below. But it seems that little of the rain falls on my yard. For that reason alone, Hugelkultur was a very exciting idea.

Rain clouds moving across the valley

It will be years until I live up there full-time, and I intend to retire up there and happily putter around my yard and gardens rather than raise huge amounts of food. So I've got some time to start several small gardens, try a variety of plants and ways to plant them.  

The Berry Patch

Using a combination of Hugelkulture and Back-to-Eden gardening, I started a berry patch during my last visit to The Shack.  Later, I will write a separate post about the berries and the berry patch; how it came to be and how it's growing.  Right now I will share that I used "green" wood (sticks and chunks of green firewood) that I had gathered around the yard. I filled the hole first with cardboard (from Back-to-Eden gardening). I covered the cardboard with the sticks and firewood chunks (Hugelkultur) and made a mound. Then I covered the wood with hardwood mulch (Back-to-Eden gardening).  

My little berry patch is not as raised as other Hugelkultur beds are. Frankly, I started in a hole... filling a low spot in the yard. But I am optimistic about the decaying wood that is going to be composting and retaining moisture in my horribly rocky and dry "soil". I have seen some videos in which people claim that Hugelkultur was not helpful.  But I noted that it seemed those folks used a combination of what looked like dried/old barn timbers and very poor soil.  I made sure to start with very green wood from recently fallen trees.  

The photo below is my little Hugelkultur-esque berry bed in process.  I know, it looks a mess but it is at that point in the process that you can see the layers.

black berry patch at The Shack in process

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Photo Attribution: Hugelkultur - Zilker Botanical Garden - Austin, Texas - public domain CC.0

Bird Journal: Cedar Waxwings

Cedar Waxwing with red tips

The Shack is a wonderful place to watch birds. There are many different species to watch. It is just a matter of me becoming more adept at identifying them. This past weekend, a large flock of birds was watching me while I worked in the yard, trying to make a berry patch and plant some thornless blackberries. I was nearly certain they were Cedar Waxwings. I snapped some photos and looked closely at the photos after I returned home. Yes indeed, they were Cedar Waxwings. And I was very excited about that sighting.

Cedar Waxwings

I am familiar with Cedar Waxwings from growing up in Indiana. I would see them in the woods, near small lakes. Then in Maryland, I would find them along river banks. I cannot describe their calls, but their sound catches my attention. When I hear them, I know there is a familiar bird in the area and I should look closely. That was what caught my attention this weekend - the familiar chirping sounds. As soon as I looked, a flash of narrow yellow stripe at the end of a tail caught my eye.

I was surprised to see a large flock of them at The Shack - not along a river but atop a ridge. They were sitting in the trees watching me work in the yard. My photos aren't the best quality, but they were good enough to verify that they were indeed Cedar Waxwings.

click to enlarge

Now that I know they are there, I want to continue to attract them to my yard. So I looked up their habitat information.

Food. All About Birds advises planting of native, fruit-bearing trees and shrubs to attract Cedar Waxwings. This list of plants includes: dogwood, serviceberry, juniper, cedar, hawthorn, and winterberry. I'd imagine that the birds will be very pleased when the blackberries I planted bear fruit!

Note to self: buy some bird netting for the berry patch. 

According to Project Feeder Watch, they prefer platform feeders and fruit.

Nest Boxes. So far, it doesn't look as though bird nest boxes are helpful. Waxwings tend to build their nest in the crooks of trees.

Birdbaths. My research indicates that Cedar Waxwings enjoy birdbaths. That is good news since a really nice birdbath is on my wish list (I love the Stone Creation granite birdbaths and included a link to one below). 

Bohemian Waxwing (Cedar Waxwing Look-alike) 

I have trouble with "similar" birds and identification so I am trying to pay more attention to birds that could confuse me. The Bohemian Waxwing is very similar in appearance to the Cedar Waxwing.  The Bohemian Waxwing lives further north than my place in West Virginia. On the maps, it would be a "rare" sighting at my place.  But just in case, I want to be informed. 

The Bohemian Waxwing has a "rust" colored underside - under it's tail. And a bit of white on the wing. Otherwise, it is very similar in appearance to the Cedar Waxwing.

Bohemian Waxwing

*This article may contain affiliate links. If you shop via one of the affiliate links, I may earn a small commission - at no additional cost to you. I am very appreciative of every reader who visits my articles. Thank you.

Photograph attribution:
Intro photo - from Wikimedia Commons CC 2.0 - Dawn Huczek
Bohemian Waxwing photo - courtesy Wikimedia Commons CC 2.0 - Randen Pedersen