Hugelkultur - Anyone With Experiences To Share?

I recently came across this video:



This seems so cool! Does anyone have any experience with them? I am really considering building one.

 

That is looking good! You will have to let me know your large scale design turns out!

 

https://richsoil.com/hugelkultur/

I use a bunch of peat moss and manure in my garden each year. The peat, of course, holds water and the manure (better if it be dried horse sh##) lots of nutrients.

https://www.gardenmyths.com/peat-moss-alternatives/

https://inhabitat.com/diy-hugelkultur-how-build-raised-permaculture-garden-beds/

Throw in already rotting wood and some char atop it:
https://permies.com/t/24173/charred-logs-biochar

Where I live, keeping the soil wet is no big challenge. Having written the latter, my 2017 garden went dry, so I had to water it. Go figure. Getting at least one rain barrel (roof runoff) for to water 2018 garden -- if I live and feel well enough; must work on my health or I am going to be the rot for the garden.

 

I have a somewhat modified hugelkltur running along a fence on the north side of my property. It is a natural seep that stays wet during the rainy season. It sits on a rock ledge and the soil is about 6 inches deep. When we bought the property we decided to let it alone. We had rotten trees to cut and so we stacked the rotten wood along the seep. No digging ( or dynamiting). We simply hauled in horse poop and stacked it on top of the wood and started adding to it. Chopped up leaves from the 8 large oaks and 4 large hickories on the property. Straw from the chicken house and duck house are added regularly. After an ice storm a couple winters ago the county was looking for someplace to dump the wood chips. They were put on top. After several years the height of the bed has gone down as the wood rots. Last year we grew huge sweet potatoes in the bed. This year we have plum tomatoes, cucumber and mini cantaloupes growing on the fence. In the front of the bed we planted elderberries that now have heads the size of dinner plates. 2 Mayhaw trees that like the elderberry love the water and stay somewhat smaller and we also have American Highbush cranberry and pawpaw trees growing in the shadier part of the bed. Everything we have planted there has thrived and we continue to add to the mound all through the year.