An experiment in Hugelkulture in containers

[Meadowlark]

I am in the middle of harvesting season. the containers that I did HK and just soil are producing almost identical. I did lose 1 hk Tomato plant early. Didnt water enough. learned this early on. I did get tomatoes from it but it died of early.

I have ended up watering hk 2 to 1 on regular containers.

as I get older I will probs do HK more. it is so much easier to move a HK container than it is a regular container. and also as I get older I will not travel as much. making the watering deal not as important.

Great minds think alike

 

[skinyea]

Great minds think alike

great timing!

 

[Susan BBPM]

Two identical celebrity tomato plants and two identical jalapeno pepper plants were selected for this trail.
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After adding identical garden soil, all plants were placed in their respective tub/garden.

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The evaluation factors will be 1) total production of each plant by weight and quality and 2) ease of care including any diseases, insects, or other problems experienced through the end which will be next frost probably early Nov.

I'll be very happy with this if the tubs produce at least 50% of what the garden plants do with no drainage or other problems...but we will see.

The ballyhooed prediction of drainage problems has already had a great test with a fierce storm that dropped 5 inches of toad strangling rain and howling winds....no problem at all for the tubs.

I'll be following this very closely.

We have a big garden (by UK standards!), but we also have a very large patio area so we absolutely NEED to use containers to fill this space. This makes life complicated as I'm not yet confident about making my own potting soil.

I tend to grow Runner Beans, Courgette and Cucumbers in my containers. They do very well but so far it's always been on store bought compost renewed each year.

Last year I put partially composted material at the bottom of my containers (to save money) and it was fine. We have to be wary of creating slug habitat in the UK, but I found this didn't happen in the containers.

EDIT: I posted this before I realized that it was an old, multi page thread. I've now read it through. Great stuff! I'm loving this forum - this is the exactly the kind of thing you miss now that everything is shared on youtube.

 

[Meadowlark]

FALL/WINTER

Having established the feasibility of growing a variety of veggies in Hügelkultur containers in the spring/summer phase of this experiment, the fall/winter phase of the experiment will focus on a wider variety of veggies (emphasizing greens) looking to assess which ones perform the best in the HK containers.

The fall/winter lineup is shown below along with planting dates. (Most varieties started from seed and transplanted). Some of these are already producing and will produce up to first frost. Others are just getting started and will not be harvested until winter is complete.

There are a total of 13 tubs carrying 24 different varieties of veggies. As in spring/summer, production in HK containers will be compared to production of equivalent in ground garden veggies and a ratio computed.

For certain veggie varieties, I’ll be using a length of planting as the measuring stick rather than numbers of individual plants. For example, the turnip production numbers will be based on 12 inches worth of plants compared in HK and garden soil. Likewise, radishes, lettuce, and carrots. Others will be individual plant comparisons.

The next report will likely be in mid-November when our first frost normally takes out the warm weather veggies.

Tub #	Fall/Winter	HK Pro	Gar Pro	Pro Ratio
	Goal	1​	2​	0.50​
1a	Malabar spinach 8-8	4.3​	1.2​	3.58​
1b	Sugar snap peas 8-8	0​	0​	#DIV/0!​
1c	collards 9-2	0.9​	1.5​	0.60​
1d	Toad pumpkin 8-21			#DIV/0!​
2a	Swiss Chard 8-20	1.8​	0.8​	2.25​
2b	Turnips 8-21	0.6​	0.4​	1.50​
3a	Pinkeye Top pick 8-8	0​	0​	#DIV/0!​
3b	Pak Choy 8-20	0​	0​	#DIV/0!​
4a	ButterCrunch lettuce 8-21	2.2​	0.4​	5.50​
4b	Sylyestra lettuce 8-21	1.2​	0.6​	2.00​
4c6b7b	Radish 8-22			#DIV/0!​
5a	Carrot 8-21			#DIV/0!​
5b	Green ice lettuce 8-22			#DIV/0!​
6a	Cabbage 8-20			#DIV/0!​
7a	Broccoli 8-20			#DIV/0!​
8a	Cauliflower 8-26			#DIV/0!​
9a	Brussels Sprouts 8-26			#DIV/0!​
9b	white potato			#DIV/0!​
10a	Little gem lettuce 8-22			#DIV/0!​
10b	Romain lettuce 8-22			#DIV/0!​
11a	Sweet potatoes 8- 16			#DIV/0!​
12a	garlic			#DIV/0!​
12b	leeks			#DIV/0!​
13a	sunchokes			#DIV/0!​
	composite	12​	6.9​	1.74​

 

[Mr_Yan]

I'll really be watching the carrots here. If your bed fill is anything like mine you'll get some crazy modern art sculptures the first few years as the roots fork around sticks and the like.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I'll really be watching the carrots here. If your bed fill is anything like mine you'll get some crazy modern art sculptures the first few years as the roots fork around sticks and the like.

I heard the starfish come when the soil is too rich?

 

[Susan BBPM]

I heard the starfish come when the soil is too rich?

I created 9 raised beds last year. I thought I was smart and whilst I filled most with sticks etc I had the presence of mind to create a couple of beds with fine compost suited to carrots, parsnips etc. I made them lovely and rich with lots of manure.....and yes.....you are right - star fish, three legs, you name it! Most of my wonky carrots ended up being given to the horses that pooped out the manure!!

 

[Mr_Yan]

I heard the starfish come when the soil is too rich?

I thought the forking happened when the tap root hit a stone or stick.

Around here I have a thin layer of black soil over sand. It's only from mixing in leafs and sticks to compost in place that I can build up organic matter in the ground. Which is why I use this wood core technique best known for use in hugelkulture construction.

But yeah, I can lift a 8" straight carrot from the ground by the tops without using a tool or breaking the tops or root. Sand is good for one thing...

 

[DirtMechanic]

I thought the forking happened when the tap root hit a stone or stick.

Around here I have a thin layer of black soil over sand. It's only from mixing in leafs and sticks to compost in place that I can build up organic matter in the ground. Which is why I use this wood core technique best known for use in hugelkulture construction.

But yeah, I can lift a 8" straight carrot from the ground by the tops without using a tool or breaking the tops or root. Sand is good for one thing...

I gathered the idea that the forking comes from the plant following near sources of nutrient rather than growing deep in search of nutrient that has not yet leached away from surface applications. Generally my clay is too dense for carrot although this spring I had the best shape so far after adding char and a bunch of leaves from the fall that normally would have been in my compost pile. No fertilizer at all this year was a theme. It was a test year since the herbicide in the cow compost caused trouble 3 years ago. They were perfectly formed but not large. I recall being amused that they grew well in the remediated soil but disappointed that I had bought a smaller variety seed. My expectations were not high for carrots so it was still a good experience.

 

[Meadowlark]

Some pictures of the hk plants w/emphasis on the lettuce varieties which are going great and in general surpassing the in-ground plants.


Buttercrunch/Sylestra

Green Ice and carrots:

Little gem & romaine

Cabbage:

Broccoli:

Bok Choy:

Sweet Potatoes:

 

[lifegardener]

Beautiful!

 

[headfullofbees]

From what you've posted here & elsewhere, I'd say your hk trials have been a huge success.
I hope this keeps you & Chuck growing for many years to come!
Congratulations!

 

[Meadowlark]

Thank you for the comments. I admit I have been surprised by the results this fall...very surprised.

I have several different types of lettuce growing in HK tubs and they are outproducing in-ground plants by up to 5 to 1. Shocking! And I don't understand it?

I have never ever been able to grow lettuce successfully before here in Texas but now have a way. If nothing else, this experiment was worth it just finding that out. HK tubs will be a regular fixture in my garden from now on.

Thank you again for your comments.

 

[headfullofbees]

Thank you for the comments. I admit I have been surprised by the results this fall...very surprised.

I have several different types of lettuce growing in HK tubs and they are outproducing in-ground plants by up to 5 to 1. Shocking! And I don't understand it?

I have never ever been able to grow lettuce successfully before here in Texas but now have a way. If nothing else, this experiment was worth it just finding that out. HK tubs will be a regular fixture in my garden from now on.

Thank you again for your comments.

Could it be that the wood helps with moisture regulation of lettuces?

 

[Meadowlark]

Yes, that could well be the case.