Mud and Sweat

On Saturday, I went to an awesome workshop at Renee’s schoolhouse on Hugelkultur. You might ask what that is. I did. The basic idea is to use buried rotting wood to hold moisture and build soil in your garden. For us here in Central Texas, where our main crop is rocks and we are suffering from what appears to be endless drought, anything that helps build soil and reduce water use is worth a try.

About 20 of us gathered at the schoolhouse, and after a brief introduction to the concept, got to work digging a semi-circular trench in front of the house and deconstructing a raised bed in the vegetable garden across the street for the good top soil it contained. I volunteered for raised bed demolition, but progress was significantly side-tracked by my daughters who discovered it was a terrific habitat for wolf spiders. A couple of the guys digging the trench had pick-axes, and we discovered an interesting scientific truth. In the battle between pick-axe and PVC, pick-axe trumps. In other words, do make sure you know where your water lines are before you try this at home! At least the kids got an interesting lesson in emergency plumbing.

While we waited for the plumbing repairs, a few of us scrounged around the back yard and the vegetable garden for old firewood and lumber. The older the better. The stuff you can’t even burn in the fireplace because you can stick your fingers into the decomposing wood; that’s the best stuff. We made a huge pile of it. Some of the pieces were too large to be useful, so I grabbed the bow saw and started cutting it down to size. A couple of the younger children watched me saw for a minute, then one little boy said “I could help you with that.” It’s a sign of how the schoolhouse has changed me that I didn’t look around for a parent, I just said “sure,” handed him the saw, and showed him how to use it. Of course, then all the kids wanted a turn. It took a long time to cut that log, but efficiency wasn’t the point.

Finally the PVC was repaired, the trench was completed, and we piled the wood in, filling the trench and then mounding it up a foot or more above grade. After the wood was in place, we shoveled all of the dirt over the wood. When we finished, it looked a lot like an oversized grave. Plot ideas for murder mysteries skipped through my brain. The final step was to edge the bed with rocks and bricks to prevent the mounded dirt from washing away.

The theory behind Hugelkultur is that the rotting wood absorbs moisture like a sponge, releasing it slowly and eliminating the need for irrigation. It also releases nutrients and builds the soil. By all accounts it’s a very effective and sustainable gardening method, and I can’t wait to try a variation of it in my own not-yet vegetable garden, a very rocky strip of backyard with almost no topsoil. I don’t know how long the bed will continue to serve its purpose before it must be replenished. One article I read said “up to 20 years,” but I suspect there are a lot of variables that will affect that. Still, I’ve had limited success with traditional raised beds and mulch, so I’m bought in to the concept. It makes sense.

The best part of the day wasn’t that we created a great new gardening spot at the schoolhouse. It was the event itself. A few snacks, some rusty shovels, two wobbly wheelbarrows, a pitcher of ice water, and an odd assortment of Austinites working and learning together in a community of sweat and dirt and laughter – a reminder of what could be and should be.