Dorothy Feltner reporting in from Lotts Creek Community School.
Composting in situ is that act of growing dirt while growing plants in the same spot. Lotts Creek Learning Garden has been doing just that with its Hugelkultur beds.
In order to create a Hugelkultur bed start with wood on the bottom, then add some finer material like brush or leaves. Add a little manure to get things going. Cover with straw or grass clippings about a foot thick. Let it be exposed to the elements for the a winter. Then, plant away in the spring.
Huglekultur bed 1 planted with peas.
While installing the high tunnel, I had the pleasure of moving one of our Hugelkultur beds. It was really interesting to see inside the bed. The wood had a lot of fungal activity and the layer on top of the wood was turning into dirt. It was also very moist. It’s said that these beds don’t need to be watered, once established. I have founds this to be true so far. Germination does seem to take a bit longer compared to standard ground planting.
I actually have a question, if anyone could answer I am just looking for safe ways to compost. In Bear territory such as the Appalachia’s in Virginia, its not safe to leave food waste out, is there any tips on doing compost safely such as composting away from the house or where family pets might play? anyone have good tips and tricks?
There are a couple of steps you should take to ensure a safe composting experience in bear country. First, you are right about keeping your compost area away from your home or frequently used areas. Next, I recommend ensuring that you have plenty of high carbon materials (wood chips, shredded dead leaves, straw) to mix with your food scraps to minimize the smell; keep the food scraps covered with these. If you can, constructing an electric fence around your compost area is a good idea to deter feeding (the fence needs to by at least 5,000 volts to be effective for bears). For more information on bear safety in your area, call the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. You can also visit their website on bear safety: https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/bear/living-with-black-bears/