Raised Garden Beds- How to Make a Hugle Culture Lasagne Masterpiece!

In a post I made last year I added a video from my YouTube Channel Jason Michael Kotarski on a method to create a raised bed that would age in place, continuing to provide the garden with broken down organic matter. HugleCulture is the method of mounding wood debris including logs and branches, covering with more organic material and planting on top of it. Boiled down this is the farmhand style of cleaning up alot of storm debris, stacking in a pile and watching turn into dirt for later use. This is perfect if you have a lot of space but if you're confined and want to keep things tidy a raised garden bed is the perfect way to build up your soil in a natural way.

The previous raised beds have worked wonders already and as this is the fourth year for these beds we've had a full rotation of crops. Ideally I think I would've liked to do units of five instead of four. For instance, each area in our master plan is designed as a unit, scalable up or down in size, but repeatable by duplication. The four beds are typically, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Beans/Peas, and Tomatoes, each moving to the next bed the next year in a clockwise direction and they all over winter as salad greens. I think the fifth would have been a good way to add one fallow box to add to during cleanups, instead we're building a seperate space out the will be insulated with a glass top to increase temperature to kill off weeds and seeds.

Regular trimming, pruning and cleanup debris

Here's' a a quick photographic journey of the raised bed method. In these instances I combined both rotten logs with new logs to jump start the mycelium. Mycelium breaks down the material providing nutrients and minerals to the soil, it also creates a symbiotic relationship with the roots of the plants.

Big logs on the bottom, branches on top. These will help hold water like a natural sponge in the soil

On these raised beds, I used $3 cedar fence pickets. they're six foot so if I buy six boards I can build a 6' x 3' raised bed for $20. Notice I place my stakes on the inside of the boxes, feel free to do as you please as they are technically stronger on the outside but I like to be able to line trim quick and easy around these things. All the water entices grass to grow and grass growing intices slug growing! 

Yup, skip the bagging, these wonderful maple leafs are going to break down just nice! By adding a leaf layer, the leaves will be pushed down into the branch crevices and help keep our soil from washing to the bottom to quickly.

A good wheel barrow heaping should do the trick

Next comes the mulch layer, you can skip it if you only have leaves but the leaves break down very fast. The mulch acts as a bit of weight, and insulation blanket to keep the bed warm, and another sponge layer.

mmmmm......a Summer's worth of compost!!!!!

 This is the part I love! Mabe because its the dirtiest! The worm bin compost is added. Typically by this time of year there is a healthy mix of compost and worms working to break everything down. There is still moe work to be done so we add a layer of coffee grounds over the compost to reduce any smell ( it's not a foul smell, we just don't want the critters digging it up) and heap another layer of mulch on that.

ahhh......all year I keep these little things fed and wen it comes time to plant the soil is a beautiful rich black earth with plenty of aeration. The compost layer will be almost completely gone within two weeks of spreading. The worms will multiply and work it into the bed with ease. The warmth of the beds and the cracks and crevices of the branches allows the worms in the ground to work their way up. The wood chips will be decomposed after the next winter cycle at which time we will add store bought compost as a topping to bring the beds back up. They'll be half of the bed by the end of the Fall and the following year we add the commercial compost that we plant directly into and cover with mulch again after the sprouts are established.

Well that photo looks like shit

I'll leave this video at the bottom for the squeamish! Me personally? That's an amazing thing dans la jardin. Make sure you check out the YouTube page and follow what we're doing, we hope to spin off to ventures from what we've been working on. I'm working on WellHaus Winery and we have the Farming Prospectus (working title)

Landscape Master Plan

Landscape Master Plan

1. To govern the overall maximum benefit to the health of all inhabitants (Humans, Bear, Deer, Rabbits, Mt. Beaver, Birds, bats, bees, etc…)

2. To protect and enhance the watershed

3. To act as a potential Wetland Mitigation Plan in anticipation of any additions, alterations or renovations

4. To provide food, shelter, harvestable materials and beauty.

5. To follow the basic principles of permaculture with an emphasis on native species where appropriate.

6. To include management of soil erosion caused by storm water runoff and bioremediation through phytoremediation and myco remediation.

7. To remove and eradicate invasive species including ivy, knotweed, something and something and something else????

Plant Purpose Abbreviations

PNW

Native Species

M

Medicinal

FB

Fruit Bearing

PA

Pollinator Attractor

N

Nitrogen fixer

EG

Evergreen

BA

Bioaccumlator

T

Edible tube

BR

Bioremediation

Plant List

Plants on this list are to be introduced in addition to the existing landscape of canopy trees, understory fruit and nut trees, shrubs, flowers and herbs, groundcover, and mushroom patches.

Native Species are labled PNW (Those listed shall be used in any mitigation plans)

Code

Red Flowering Currant   Ribes Sanguineum

FB

PNW

SnowBrush  Ceanothus Veluntinus

PA

PNW

N

EG

Cascade Pentsemon    Pentsemon Serrulatus

PA

PNW

Service Berry   Amelanchier Alnifolia

FB

PNW

Wild Ginger   Asarum caudatum

M

PNW

Kinnikinick  Arctostaphylos uva ursi

M

PNW

FB

EG

Arrowhead   Sagittaria Latifolia

T

PNW

BR

Great Camas Camassia Leichtlinii

T

PNW

PA

Yarrow   Achillea Millefolium

M

PNW

BA

Elderberry   Sambucus Caerulea & Nigra

M

PNW

FB

Agricultural Plants

Camellia Sinensis

Tea

PA

EG

Goumi Elangus multiflora

FB

N

Seaberry

FB

N

Comfrey

BA

Hibiscus

Tea/wine

PA

Jujube

FB

Olive (Arborquina)

FB

Passion Flower

FB

PA

Kiwi

FB

Moringa tree  Moringa oleifera

M

Saffron Crocus    Crocus sativas

Spice

PA

Pineapple Broom   Cytisus Battendieri

N

Social Media and My Generation

I have found that there are two sides to my generation (and other generations as well but I'm not in those generations so I can't speak to that) when it comes to social media, those that can't live without it and those that have to live without it. A classic case of the have's and have not's. well not exactly.

When social media came out I was in college and like most found it a great way to share experiences across the globe as my network grew further and further in terms of distance. I couldn't keep up with it then and I sure as hell can't keep up with it now. When social media started creeping into the lexicon of my work colleagues I was immediately concerned. For the social butterfly this was an eureka moment if there ever was one but for me, I saw the danger in friending my boss for them to see my monster catch out on the water while I had the flu.

As the movement spread, I remember the first time I heard someone say they were the Social Media Director, and a couple of agencies posting adverts for social media coordinators. Sure, there has been some sort of Public Affairs and/or customer relations but this seemed dubious to me. Someone had an office (bigger than mine) that was on Facebook all day? Meh, I had my own projects to work on and they could have their fun.

Turning to today as I struggle to find the centre point in my triangle of entrepreneur, technician and manager, I have realized how freaking time consuming this all is. So much so that I have less to show on my social media because I was busy working on social media. It is the same as working on a portfolio in the old days when you had to physically carry the portfolio around and the construction of the portfolio was as important as the elements of the portfolio. You would spend so much time crafting your portfolio that there wasn't much to put in it!

So, it' 10:20, break time just ended and all I have to show for it is a handful of emails, posts, updates, editing, and general buggery. I wonder how many more platforms will be created this year?

So if you haven't checked out my sites (or ever read this anyway) I'll up date this when I create a copy and paste list of all these sites as links.

Jason Michael Kotarski.com
Spatial RecognitionDesign.com
youtube - https://www.youtube.com/user/jkotar20
JasonMichaelKotarski.blogspot.com
twitter @_KOTARSKI_
Facebook SpatialRecognition
twitter @SpatialRecog
Houzz Spatial Recognition
Thumbtack- Spatial Recognition
Porch- Spatial Recognition
Linkedin- JasonMichaelKotarski
Craigslist Jason Michael Kotarski
Craigslist Spatial Recognition

Hugle Lasagne Garten Kultur (Raised Garden Beds)

We finally got around to processing down last years storm debris, landscape compost, bonfire and bbq ashes and charcoal, and our kitchen compost. I added some logs and branches on the bottom to decay and absorb water and nutrients for the summer months. I'm not sure what I want to plant yet but most likely it will be something that loves sun and heat and will provide some shade to the middle beds for those less heat tolerant plants.

Permaculture- Installling my first beehive

I've been planning to so this for over five years. I would go to beekeeping speaking events, check out books from the library, search and research articles and forums on the net but never did it. I have always had animals, dogs, cats, etc.... but never any livestock or an apiary. I finally decided to just go ahead with some leftover pieces of plywood someone had given me. They're  plywood but at least they are 3/4 inch, 7 ply, A/B cabinet grade plywood! It did occur to me as I lay on the couch drifting into sleep that I forgot to add and entrance. OOPS! No worries, I'll get the jigsaw and do a quick little cut, I should have time still before any swarming occurs. It's still hovering around 40 F so I'll get to it.

I learned through my research that black or dark colored clothing was the worst option for beekeepers. Well, the plywood used to be a school theatre set and it was already painted black. Turns out it's not that bad actually for the hive and more than one long time beekeeper noted they do better than their other colored ones. Well, it is what it is and if they can make a hive in a old tire I think they'll be fine. Besides, I think they'll get morning sun to warm up and afternoon shade to stay cool along with a breeze off of the lake. Well, I guess we'll see!!!

Now, remember that blueberry mead I made? Oh yea, it'll bee back soon!

Field Stone Foundation Pier for the WellHaus

To start the WellHaus we took a look at the slope to determine where the lowest point was, and that just happened to be the Northwest corner. As this is the lowest point, it will be the tallest pier. With the finished height targeted at below 30 inches we are looking to establish enough height so that the  on the mountain side remain above grade. This also will allow us to have a deck that does not require a balustrade.

To determine where our corners would be we needed to take into account all of the restrictions and conditions present. Knowing that we want to stay under 200 square feet we selected the site and upon analysis we decided the site condition really only allowed somewhere near 200 sqft. With that in mind we took to configuring out plan, a rectangle is the most efficient shape for a work space.

Step 1- Draw it out!

Pier Detail

 Step 2- Set your forms. Pull centre from your batter boards and measure your height. For our rebar risers we're gonna go sustainable ( ok ok cheap) and clean up the site by breaking the bricks length wise to use the holes as rebar holders. Tie the rebar together with wire and drive four 3 foot sections of rebar into the ground per detail section.

Pier footing form

Step 3- Mix and pour your concrete,

Poured concrete footer

Step 4- Go and find some stone!

Stone pile

Step 5- Watch the Laying a Fieldstone Pier video 

Fieldstone pier

And there you have it! The cast concrete capstone was also made on site. The final step here will be to screw a temporary skirt board on the framing to create a form to pack high strength grout between the capstone and the framing on the inside corner. Notice the "Floating Column" making a cameo appearance! More on that later! Cheers. 

The Ivy War

The Great war started like all others before it. After a few initial contacts the differences between the two sides were slowly magnified, like a scientist zooming in with a microscope so close that the resemblances of what was and what is became vastly different. A small grievance that evolved into contempt, pitched battles, proxy wars and ultimately direct open conflict. The slippery slope and the fog of war compounded the decent.

As I looked across the landscape I was annoyed by an incursion into our territory. After scouting and an investigation I had found the enemy had penetrated deep into our area and was establishing a foothold. What I thought was an establishment of agreed upon lines was actually the launching pad for their offensive. Having spotted this just in time I was able to beat back the incursions and reestablish the front lines.

This is how these things start and slowly unravel. I went to battle at first with light weapons and now it has become a series of pitched battles, tactical warfare with strategic purpose. Having taken out my first salvo, I descended into the woods. The Ivy had worked its tendrils into every garden bed and taken over the hill. They had taken the high ground and were choking us out with a patient siege and war of attrition that we could not sustain. I broke the siege by cutting them off at the base.



Jason Kotarski

 

Thus the battle begun. The small hatchet and machete struck the first blows. The ivy fought back, grabbing ahold of my foot and tripping me causing a tumble. I didn't even notice the Ivy had allied with the Blackberries causing a mess to my fingers, hands, arms, and face. I ratcheted it up a notch and invoked fire to burn through the root mass that had strangled the landscape to death. I hacked and piled and torched small circles to the earth and tilled the ashes and tinder to the soil. I was moving the frontlines of the war and in these circles I planted our counter offensive. The ivy had strangled the native species and specimen plants leaving behind a green carpet of landslide danger. The counter offensive was to reinforce our position and entrench the battle lines.

 

Jason Kotarski

 

The enemy had infiltrated our transportation corridor necessary for supply lines and reinforcements. The rocks were to be our foothold and we had to press the advance.

 

Jason Kotarski

 

We spotted the enemy position and plotted our attack. We would wait for a Saturday when the enemy would be vulnerable and waited for the sun to set to mask our movements before we sprung our trap. We had flanked the enemy and were advancing on two fronts in a pincer movement to divert the attention of this infiltrator. They were deeply entrenched in their position and we invoked Sun Zhu as we planned to hold our ground. It was hand to hand combat, grappling and twisting, pulling and wrestling to yank them from the trenches. 

 

Jason Kotarski

  

 The southern flank had succeeded but we knew we would be tested on this side again. By only attacking the exposed positions we left the main forces to regroup later. We need to establish an observation post to monitor the situation.

 

Jason Kotarski

The initial pitched battles are showing signs of stabilization with new habitation in the controlled sectors. These are becoming excellent rear guards to sustain our Forward Operating Bases (FOB).

Oh adversary Ivy and your proxy Blackberry, we will defeat you and on the fourth day of the month of July we will declare our independence and watch you burn in the flames of our success!