Hügelkultur Sundial Garden Build | 8 Raised Beds for Our Homestead

Описание: Hügelkultur Sundial Garden Build | 8 Raised Beds for Our Homestead
Welcome to our family homestead project! In this video, we’re starting our hügelkultur sundial garden — 8 beds radiating like a sundial, blending permaculture design, mandala gardening, and DIY homesteading.
Each bed is 161 sq. ft., for a total of 1,288.5 sq. ft. of growing space. We’re packing in over 724 cubic feet of organic matter per bed (that’s 5,800+ cubic feet total). This design helps us live with our climate, nourish our family with food, and build something meaningful together.

🌱 Why a Sundial Garden?
The sundial layout comes from mandala garden concepts introduced by permaculture founders Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. By arranging beds around a central point, we create microclimates. A center tree casts shade for the north/south beds, while the east/west beds soak up sun — letting each plant thrive in its ideal spot without scattering gardens all over the property.

🌳 Hügelkultur: Hill Culture Gardening
Hügelkultur (“hill culture”) is a German/Eastern European method of filling trenches with logs, branches, and organic matter, then covering them with soil. The result is a nutrient sponge that holds water, feeds soil life, and improves drought resistance. In our sloped garden site, hügelkultur also provides the bulk soil we need for leveling without hauling in thousands of pounds of dirt.

🪵 Using What the Land Provides
Our land requires tree thinning for fire prevention. Instead of wasting it, we’re using every log and branch in our beds. We also weave cut branches between stakes to form woven wood walls — natural barriers that hold soil, add structure, and eventually break down to feed the garden.

📏 Laying Out the Beds
We staked the garden center, measured out 8 equal beds, and left 2.5-foot paths between them. Stakes were leveled to match the base ground line so we could dig consistently and reuse the excavated soil for leveling and paths.

🧱 Building the Retaining Wall
Around the sundial, we’re creating a 3-foot-wide path supported by a stone retaining wall. Our land provides plenty of rock — we’re stacking it with a backward slope so it locks together and stays strong for years. Each layer gets backfilled with soil for stability.

🌿 Filling the Beds
Each trench gets packed with logs, sticks, and debris, then covered with soil and compost. The final raised beds will sit about 2.5 feet above ground, layered on top of the hügelkultur core. This mix creates long-term fertility and minimizes watering needs.

👩‍👩‍👧 Family Values
For us, this project is about more than gardening. We want our kids to learn hard work, patience, and confidence by helping with every step — from hauling branches to stacking rocks. Yes, it’s harder than buying prefab raised beds, but it’s building resilience, skills, and family connection.

🔄 Current Progress
So far we’ve:
Dug 5 of 8 hügelkultur beds
Filled 2 beds with organic matter
Built sections of the retaining wall
Started weaving branch walls

Next: finish the wall, fill all paths, and complete hügelkultur layers. Future plans include terracing around the sundial and (hopefully) drone footage for a full overhead view!

🌍 Why Permaculture Matters
Hügelkultur and permaculture help us work with nature instead of against it. By building soil, capturing water, and designing around microclimates, we’re growing food sustainably while creating a resilient homestead system.

🔎 Found Us By Searching?
You might have searched for:
Hügelkultur beds
Sundial garden design
Mandala garden permaculture
DIY raised bed garden
Off grid homesteading
Organic gardening
Sustainable gardening in Colorado

This channel shares our journey through homesteading, DIY projects, permaculture, and off-grid family living.

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#Hugelkultur #SundialGarden #Permaculture #HomesteadGarden #OffGridLiving #DIYGarden #RaisedBeds #OrganicGardening #SustainableLiving