Dear Editor,
As we in the central Kansas area clean up from last weekends ice storm damage to so many trees, here is an opportunity we at Heartland Farm are using to make lemonade out of the many fallen branches around our farm: hugulkultur. That strange German word simple means making garden beds out of fallen branches, mimicking what happens in a forest. Check out some websites to see how it works, one helpful one is https://richsouil.com/hugelkultur/
Here are some advantages noted in the website: grow a typical garden without irrigation or fertilization; has been demonstrated to work in deserts as well as backyards; use up rotting wood, twigs, branches and even whole trees that would otherwise go to the dump or be burned; it is pretty much nothing more than buried wood; can be flush with the ground, although raised garden beds are typically better; can start small, and be added to later; can always be small - although bigger is better; you can save the world from global warming by doing carbon sequestration in your own back yard; perfect for places that have had trees blown over by storms; can help end world hunger; give a gift to your future self.
Why not invest in the future and grow some good things in the meantime?
Sister Jane Belanger
OP Heartland Farm, Pawnee Rock