I remember when you were doing these beds. Great article!

And I like that you give all the options too such as regular vs a modified huglekulture & all the photos are wonderful!
Ya done GOOD!

Great job!

Thanks, everyone!

Great job. Love the photos. You can bet I will be forwarding this to several friends. I may still end up helping them build the raised beds, but that's much easier than helping them dig!

Great tutorial! You've inspired me to get out and make some more beds. I like your modified hugelkultur approach.

dave said:Great tutorial! You've inspired me to get out and make some more beds. I like your modified hugelkultur approach.

Thanks! It's because I live in a subdivision...as long as I have a wood frame around it, they don't fuss about how long it takes me to fill in a bed.

Very nice article, Mary. I really like your two-tiered bed.

blue23rose said:Very nice article, Mary. I really like your two-tiered bed.

Thanks! You should see the other ones I built this year...I'm saving those for another article.

Ooh, you just gave me an idea.
I paid a neighbor to cut down a cypress tree and the trunk is lying on the ground. Instead of paying someone to cut up the tree trunk into manageable pieces I will build a raised bed around it - right there where it lies. Ta-da!

greene said:Ooh, you just gave me an idea.
I paid a neighbor to cut down a cypress tree and the trunk is lying on the ground. Instead of paying someone to cut up the tree trunk into manageable pieces I will build a raised bed around it - right there where it lies. Ta-da!

Brilliant!

Ya know what else you could do.... drill some holes in the trunk and use it as a planter.

Thanks, but nope, can't...it's not the stump; it's the entire trunk of the tree with the limbs and branches removed. I'm sticking with the raised bed idea.

I'm not an authority on trees, but I believe cypress trees are pretty rot resistant. Meaning that if you bury the tree in a bed it will be a great way to 'dispose' of it. But it won't rot and make compost/soil for you any time soon.

greene said:Thanks, but nope, can't...it's not the stump; it's the entire trunk of the tree with the limbs and branches removed. I'm sticking with the raised bed idea.

I realize that -- you've got the tree lying on the ground, right? I was thinking of a long horizontal planter while you waited for it to decompose. It was just a thought. No pressure.

Fantastic article! Thank you!

You're very welcome! Glad you liked it!

Just saying, but you could drill holes into the tree and pour Epsom Salt in there to speed up decomposition.

http://www.ehow.com/way_572075...

@virginiarose You are more than welcome to come to my house, bring your tools, and do the work if you want to help something decompose quickly. If you do come, I can pay you in lemonade and cookies.

I planned on going with the easier method of building a raised bed similar to what @fiwit showed us and I will completely ignore the tree trunk for the rest of my natural life.

Like the pictures and step by step and especially the comment on taking time to fill them up. Well done!

greene said:@virginiarose You are more than welcome to come to my house, bring your tools, and do the work if you want to help something decompose quickly. If you do come, I can pay you in lemonade and cookies.

I planned on going with the easier method of building a raised bed similar to what @fiwit showed us and I will completely ignore the tree trunk for the rest of my natural life.

Sounds like a plan!