Looking to save some money on soil, one gardener attempted to follow the “hügelkultur” gardening method, which involves building a raised garden bed with base layers of wood debris like logs.
They asked the r/Gardening subreddit whether their dead backyard weeds and brush would be fine to substitute for wood.
Photo Credit: Reddit
The scoop
“Just seeing if I could save some on soil costs a bit,” the original poster wrote, attaching a picture of the dead weeds and brush they had recently pulled out of their lawn.
“I know Hugelkultur is usually done with wood but would this be the same kind of principle?” they asked.
Hügelkultur is an old gardening practice derived from Eastern Europe and Germany. The word “hügelkultur” translates to “mound culture,” according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
Gardens are established on a hill or a mound containing wood debris, like logs or branches, and soil to fill the garden bed in. As the wooden debris decomposes, the material adds back to the soil, creating a permaculture system that benefits the plants in your garden bed.
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How it’s helping
Hügelkultur leverages the natural resources around to create a healthy and sustainable garden. Not only does this technique improve soil health by adding back to the soil as the wood debris breaks down, but it also helps the plants retain moisture, providing a self-watering system for the garden bed.
Hügelkultur is proof that home gardeners don’t need to buy fertilizer or similar nutrient additives to produce healthy-growing crops. Wood debris is free and plentiful in nature, saving gardeners between $12 and $30 on store-bought fertilizer products.
Building a healthy and sustainable garden, such as by using hügelkultur, to grow your own food helps develop food independence.
By growing your own food, you rely less on mass-produced, store-bought, and globally shipped produce, reducing the environmental impact of your daily food. Locally grown or homegrown food is better-tasting and much more nutritious than food that was mass-produced and shipped across the world.
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Studies have also found that home gardeners tend to eat healthier and have improved mental health compared to those who don’t garden.
What everyone’s saying
Commenters were supportive of the OP’s resourcefulness but added disclaimers to help the OP manage their expectations and maximize their garden success.
“If you know where is from, and it’s free of chemical exposure Then it would make a great base layer,” one commenter said.
“It will disintegrate so fast it won’t save on soil. Hugelculture is done with actual wood. This will rot down to nice compost,” another commenter warned.
A third commenter suggested: “As long as you can get roughly 12 inches of soil on top of the brush, then you are completely fine to throw it in to the garden bed. You don’t need to burn it.”
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