NEW HUGELCULTURE BED!
Hugelculture is a style of garden bed making that uses rotting wood buried under the dirt to help hold moisture... which helps a lot in Arkansas summers! The decaying wood also is perfect for Mycelia to grow in, which helps the roots of our plants stay happy by helping to create a great bio-diverse system right in our soil! After digging a 15" deep trenches where the hugel bed was to be... Amara, Jack N., Justice, Meredith, Kyle, Zach and I collected rotting wood and began breaking it into smaller pieces and laying it in the trench. As the wood breaks down and eventually becomes dirt itself, the wood will hold wetness. Water held in the soil (or in rotting wood in the soil) does not evaporate like surface water does. Afterward, we packed some straw on to further help hold moisture into our new beds. Finally, we piled up all the dirt back on top of the wood and carved out 2 nice rows that stood about a foot off the ground! Our last hugel beds we made (last year for our figs) are still holding moisture perfectly! I had to dig into one of them recently and noticed that even about 8 INCHES INTO THE SOIL it was still quite damp... the perfect amount of dampness to keep plants happy! (not soggy!)
