hügel-type bed one

the section closest to primary structure has greens in front...swiss chard spinach endive garlic onion pepper and the leftover/ smallest tomatoes...the part near the house is for native flowers and pollinator attractors. aesthetics, also!

<mid-may: greens garlics onions etc>

^april: endives and a few garlics^

^everybody poops^

^insert plants here^

raised bed strategy

Using the basic method for building hugelkultur beds (steps described below) I am implementing a similar strategy to create raised beds near the primary structure (house) of my design site.  This will use local (on-site) wood scraps and materials to create raised beds that will help to retain moisture during drought summers and prevent gardens from flooding during rainy seasons.  Hugelkultur beds also slightly extend the growing season due to retained warmth in the soil from decomposting organic materials later in the season.  We are seeding the beds with worms from on site vermiculture bins so the decomposting organic wood materials and the worms (red wigglers: Eisenia fetida) can help improve soil fertility and turn the local clay-heavy soil into soil that will be more appropriate for cover crops, greens, and herbs.  I am implementing this strategy to improve both moisture control and fertility.  The buried logs and wood materials will help absorb water and release the water more slowly, reducing standing water in wet seasons and keeping the soils moist during drier seasons.  According to the soil survey of this county in east TN, the soils in this region can be low in natural fertility and organic content so the hugelkultur method may be of benefit.  The first hugelkultur is in place and I am researching a good crop to grow as a cover crop to help fix nitrogen (decomposting wood materials requires a good deal of nitrogen...we used very old wood chunks that were nearly falling apart, so they will not require as much nitrogen as newer wood but this is still an important factor to take into consideration).  Pictures and designs to follow as we proceed.

How to Build a Hugelkultur Bed

1. Gather woody waste materials such as dead logs, extra firewood, pruned or clipped branches, and more. The wood can be either rotting or fresh, although already rotting wood decomposes fastest.
2. Lay the wood in a mound about 1-2 feet high and stomp on it a bit to break it up. You can dig a trench to lay the wood in, if you wish.
3. Cover the wood with other compost materials such as autumn leaves, grass clippings, garden wastes, and manure. (This stage is optional if you aren't planning to plant the bed immediately.)
4. Cover the wood and compost with a few inches of dirt and/or prepared compost.

Steps found at: http://kerryg.hubpages.com/hub/Hugelkultur-Using-Woody-Waste-in-Composting

NRCS and soil tests

let's see...what are we working with here. Soil data for design site from NRCS:

Soil data from the National Cooperative Soil Survey/ Web Soil Survey from the Natural Resources Conservation Service:

Data Source Information

Survey Area Data: Version 10, Sep 18, 2012

Setting

Landform: Ridges

Landform position (three-dimensional): Side slope, crest

Parent material: Clayey residuum or creep deposits over clayey residuum weathered from cherty limestone

Properties and qualities

Slope: 3 to 40 percent

Depth to restrictive feature (water table): More than 80 inches

Drainage class: Well drained

Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Moderately high to high (0.60 to 2.00 in/hr)

Depth to water table: More than 80 inches

Frequency of flooding: None

Frequency of ponding: None

Available water capacity: Moderate (about 7.3 inches)

Interpretive groups

Farmland classification: Not prime farmland

Land capability (nonirrigated): 6e

Hydrologic Soil Group: B (Soils having a moderate infiltration rate when thoroughly wet. These consist chiefly of moderately deep or deep, moderately well drained or well drained soils that have moderately fine texture to moderately coarse texture. These soils have a moderate rate of water transmission.)

Typical profile

0 to 3 inches: Gravelly silt loam

3 to 10 inches: Gravelly silt loam

10 to 14 inches: Gravelly silty clay loam

14 to 65 inches: Gravelly clay

Data Source Information: Soil Survey Area: Hamilton County, Tennessee

This information reinforces what I found in my soil jar tests: gravelly silt loam, gravelly silty clay loam, with several patches of gravelly clay throughout the yard.

I did the soil test a few times in different areas of the yard (multiple pictures).  All areas are similar but it was interesting to find which parts of the yard are more clay-heavy and which have more loam and silt.  There are a few patches of straight clay, if I had a kiln I would use it for ceramics!

doing homesteady stuffs around the ol' domicile aka primary structure aka zone 0

compost resources

Compost Resources: composting and soil building resources available on design project site.

On this design project site there is leaf litter from two maple trees in the front of the house, leaf litter from two crepe myrtle bushes on the east side of the site, and leaf litter from one tree (unidentified, no current leaves, possibly maple) on the north side of the house.  Periodically there is leaf/ branch litter from brush and trees on the perimeter of the site, and there is a patch about 60 ft x 15 ft on the north side of the house that is a brush area needing to be cleared.  There is lawn litter from all grass areas.  Currently we are using wood, tree, and leaf litter scraps & remnants to form small hugelkultur/ raised beds starting on the south side of the site in zone 1.  We compost green organic materials and shred all paper and most of our cardboard scraps in vermiculture bins.  This biomass is added to the gardens for additional organic material and worm tea is applied to some plants.  Very little biomass is being exported at this time (pathogenic materials from the kitchen such as meat scraps and the cat box are disposed of in the trash...the vermiculture on site is not used at this time for complex organic materials, only green scraps and wood/ cardboard/ paper scraps).

H2O flow

Rainwater Site Flow Map & Volume Calculations for design project site: 

• Water running off from higher elevations to the south by southwest of the property enters primarily from the southwest corner of the site and leaves the site largely to the northeast, running in a diagonal direction from one corner of the property, flowing around the house, and flowing out the opposite corner of the property.
• The major impermeable surface of the site is the main structure (residential house).  This square footage is approximately 650 sq ft (tiny!), and this drains off of asphalt/ shingled roof material (runoff coefficient is 90%).  The water flows off of impermeable surface through gutters to the four corners of the house, with the largest volume of water flowing out the gutter on the northwest side of the house. 
• Volume of water is draining off of impermeable surfaces at the discharge locations:  Average annual rainfall: 54.52 in/ yr.  For my calculations I am using 55 in/ yr.
  1 cubic ft of water = 7.48 gallons
  55in/12 in = 4.583 ft of rain per yr
  --->  4.583 ft/yr * 650 sq ft = 2979.17 cubic ft of water that runs off the roof per yr
  --->  2979.17 cubic ft/ water * 7.48 gallons/ cubic ft = 22282.55 gallons
  --->  22282.55 gallons * 90% (runoff coefficient of asphalt/shingle roof) =  20054.29 gallons of runoff water that could potentially be harvested off the roof per year