Page 16 - Ananda Mela 2017 eBook

HOW TO GROW CROPS WITH COW DUNG USING THE HUGELKULTUR
METHOD AND ADVANCED TECHNIQUES OF COMPOSTING AND
BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE MICRO‐CULTURE IN THE SOIL

Hugelkultur is a way of making raised garden beds filled with
decomposing wood, which supplies carbon; and other biomass such as
cow dung, grass cu ngs, leaves, and soil, which supply nitrogen. The
ideal ra o of nitrogen to carbon is 25 or 30 nitrogen to 1 carbon. This
makes a raised garden bed replete with organic material, nutrients, and
air pockets for the roots of what you plant. As the years pass, the deep
soil containing decomposing tree trunks of your raised garden bed
becomes incredibly rich and loaded with soil life. As the wood shrinks, it
makes more ny air pockets ‐ so your hugelkultur gives the effect of
aera ng the soil as if you have lled it. The first few years, the
compos ng process will slightly warm your soil giving you a li le longer
growing season. The woody ma er helps to keep nutrient excess from
passing into the ground water ‐ and then refeeding those nutrients to
your garden plants. The decomposing wood trunk and other wood
branches absorb water so much that you will not have to water your
plants much. This reduces the need for irriga on such as a drip system
or daily watering by hand. The best wood trunks are alders, apple,
maple, co onwood, poplar, willow (dry) and birch. Avoid evergreen,
black locust, black cherry, and black walnut trees. Ro ng wood trunks
are best.

Every new year add more cow dung and nitrogen rich biomass
along with wood chips from deciduous trees which supply carbon to the
raised bed. During the winter cover the raised bed with black plas c or a
thick cover of straw to protect the micro‐organisms and worms.

Every spring you will have a Hugelkultur mound ready to grow
lush green and nutrient rich vegetables. To enhance the micro‐
organisms and other growth factors in the mound, use panchagavya,
one quarts per cubic yard of your mound per month of the growing
season.

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