Grab Rake

 

This afternoon I went to Emma & Andy's home to help them cut their hedging to their property and took my new grab rake to trial. It's a game changer and made clearing up the cuttings easier on my back. 

The cuttings were going to the dump, but I decided that I would rescue them and take them to the allotment as they would be useful making a form of Hugelkulture Garden beds especially in the new climbing frame greenhouse.

For the various type of bed constructions see this post   

6 Benefits of Hugelkultur Raised Garden Beds

1. Water retention

The bottom layer of wood acts like a sponge, drinking up rainwater and slowing making it available to plant roots.  I’ve heard that hugelkultur raised garden beds do require some watering during the first year as they get started, but should be largely self sufficient from then on

2. Good drainage

This is true of raised beds in general, but especially of hulgelkultur raised garden beds.  The stacked layers of organic materials plus the wood at the bottom make hugel beds resistant to flooding.

3. Soil improvement

The organic ingredients of a Hugel bed combine to create a rich, nutrient dense soil.

4. Soil temperature

Similar to a compost pile, the decaying biomass inside hugelkultur raised garden beds heats up and warms the soil.  This can actually extend the growing season by allowing the gardener to plant warm weather plants a bit earlier in the spring and keep them growing a bit longer in the fall.

5. Maximized growing space

True hugel beds mounded on the ground or in trenches can be quite tall.  Plants can grow up one side and down the other, which yields much more growing space than a traditional flat raised garden bed.

6. Recycled tree waste

Organic gardeners love to compost any organic biomass they can get their hands on.  But logs and branches often pose a challenge because they can take so long to break down in a compost pile.  Incorporating fallen trees and branches on your property (and maybe from the neighbors, too!) into hugelkultur raised garden beds is an efficient way to compost all that valuable wood.