[Wil]

just watch what wood you put in the bottom avoid walnut, not too much oak, and most conifers. Pecan does very well in hugelkultur. I have a couple of beds surrounded and raised by old soft pecan and they do pretty well

The wood will consist of some Pin Oak, Ash, and Cherry and possible some Pear. Got to rob most of that from my wood burning pile but will pick up dead fall in the woods.

 

[Wil]

Built the last raised garden this morning.I left the posts proud so I can run a fence around it to half way protect them from the Whitetail deer.

 

[Gypsi]

I have never had to protect from deer. If I ever move I suppose I might have to.

 

[roadkillbobb]

Ok,the manure with pine wood chips have been part of my bullet backstop for several years, has some hay compost in it too from my hay burners.

yeah..NO..unless you want the lead in your garden bed..BAD idea to use that...dont put any soil/compost/manure that has any toxic substance in it into soil where veggies for consumption are being grown..

 

[Wil]

yeah..NO..unless you want the lead in your garden bed..BAD idea to use that...dont put any soil/compost/manure that has any toxic substance in it into soil where veggies for consumption are being grown..

It was actually a new backstop set up that I hadn't even used yet as I was still shooting into my old backstop at my range behind the barn so none of my cast bullets went into it yet.

 

[Wil]

I have never had to protect from deer. If I ever move I suppose I might have to.

What about Horn Toads ?

 

[Gypsi]

What about Horn Toads ?

I wish. They are almost extinct due to the loss of native ants that were their main food source. The fire ant incursion of the early 1980s killed off many native ant species, humans got the rest.

 

[Wil]

I wish. They are almost extinct due to the loss of native ants that were their main food source. The fire ant incursion of the early 1980s killed off many native ant species, humans got the rest.

Wow, didn't know that. What a shame. As a kid, I had many Horned Toads as pets. They were a popular pet at the pet shops around here in my area. Much better then the Skink that my wife has as a pet.

 

[Gypsi]

They are raising some in captivity at the Fort Worth zoo, keeping wild behavior and releasing but we don't know how they will do. I haven't seen one since about 1978

 

[Wil]

They are raising some in captivity at the Fort Worth zoo, keeping wild behavior and releasing but we don't know how they will do. I haven't seen one since about 1978

Sure glad Fort Worth Zoo is trying.

 

[amandabee]

one of the problems with raised beds is they need constant watering...if you dug down 2ft into the ground and did the same thing you would water less and the soil would hold moisture longer, and at the end of the season, the ground would stay warmer for the cool weather crops to keep growing longer..if you live in a warmer climate then thats a moot point, but now you have to water all the time, I havent watered my garden up state other than when I first planted seed or plants, its been rain and dew only...

i used to love my wicking beds when i was in a drier climate. I'd fill them maybe twice over summer

 

[amandabee]

The wood will consist of some Pin Oak, Ash, and Cherry and possible some Pear. Got to rob most of that from my wood burning pile but will pick up dead fall in the woods.

keep in mind that as wood is mostly carbon, it uses a lot of nitrogen to break down, which it will draw out of soil (called nitrogen drawdown). Okay for perennials and trees who have slower biology but with annual veg supplement extra nitrogen. Remember N is water soluble, so hopefully you have rocking biology to keep it cycling, but either way use N near the top so as it leaches downwards it goes past plant roots ( and keep it covered with soil so you don't lose to the atmosphere (-greenhouse gas).

i used to love my wicking beds when i was in a drier climate. I'd fill them maybe twice over summer

and i agree about dug down beds. good sense. Stability is so important, whether in soil- temp and moisture or beehive environment. I always wanted an underground house but it didn't happen

 

[roadkillbobb]

keep in mind that as wood is mostly carbon, it uses a lot of nitrogen to break down, which it will draw out of soil (called nitrogen drawdown). Okay for perennials and trees who have slower biology but with annual veg supplement extra nitrogen. Remember N is water soluble, so hopefully you have rocking biology to keep it cycling, but either way use N near the top so as it leaches downwards it goes past plant roots ( and keep it covered with soil so you don't lose to the atmosphere (-greenhouse gas).

and i agree about dug down beds. good sense. Stability is so important, whether in soil- temp and moisture or beehive environment. I always wanted an underground house but it didn't happen

if I put any logs or sticks into a bed, they are already starting to rot,but I usually just pile any old logs and sticks and let them sit and rot for years to break down, like giant mulch piles.. anything solid in any diameter bigger than 4 inches is firewood, and in the spring I spread all the wood ash back around trees or in the garden beds..since I have plenty of space upstate...I will pile up any branches( fresh cut from cutting trees for firewood) on the side of the fields for rabbits to make their homes and use mostly the aged manure in the garden...next year as this year we had our first frost and my squash plant leaves are shriveling up, im going to plow down much deeper to loosen the soil, this year I just rototilled and that only goes down about 6 inches..plowing will go down about 18 inches..

 

[roadkillbobb]

Wow, didn't know that. What a shame. As a kid, I had many Horned Toads as pets. They were a popular pet at the pet shops around here in my area. Much better then the Skink that my wife has as a pet.

when I was pre teen, I went through my reptile stage and had all kinds of little critters and a skink was one of them...along with newts, salamaders, frogs, toads atc...I would feed the toads chop meat on the end of a thin wire..saved digging or buying worms...and they learned quick to eat from my hand...and I had both box turtles and water turtles...I also had a rodent stage..mice and gerbils...then the fish stage...lol...

 

[Wil]

when I was pre teen, I went through my reptile stage and had all kinds of little critters and a skink was one of them...along with newts, salamaders, frogs, toads atc...I would feed the toads chop meat on the end of a thin wire..saved digging or buying worms...and they learned quick to eat from my hand...and I had both box turtles and water turtles...I also had a rodent stage..mice and gerbils...then the fish stage...lol...

You and I would have had a good buddy relationship growing up as kids and doing show and tell with all our critters that we kept as pets. My wife and I enjoyed our Bearded Dragon and Python just a few years ago. My Bearded Dragon would come out of his little cave just to watch Gunsmoke or a football game, then he would just go right back in after it was over. You had to see it to believe it.

 

[roadkillbobb]

You and I would have had a good buddy relationship growing up as kids and doing show and tell with all our critters that we kept as pets. My wife and I enjoyed our Bearded Dragon and Python just a few years ago. My Bearded Dragon would come out of his little cave just to watch Gunsmoke or a football game, then he would just go right back in after it was over. You had to see it to believe it.

I believe it..I had a koi pond and taught the koi to eat worms out of my hand and when I go to the pond they would come over to me..animals are smart and can learn...we just dont give them credit for it...

 

[Wil]

I believe it..I had a koi pond and taught the koi to eat worms out of my hand and when I go to the pond they would come over to me..animals are smart and can learn...we just dont give them credit for it...

I can believe that too. I have had a Painted turtle in our quarter acre pond that we had in the house for a few years. We put Cactus, that was her name, in the pond 3 years ago and she always comes when I called her to come and eat. She looks up at us as we tossed her some Purina Game Fish Chow. Her and our Amurs and Koi fight over the chow. The Largemouth bass and Bluegills scatter.