Hügelkultur Raised Beds

[akroberts1085]

I am all for exploring new ways and methods of seed starting. If one system works better than another for you, then use it, of course. Having said that, let me respond to your post with my experiences in the toilet paper roll and egg shell methods you mentioned - with the understanding that it was my personal experience and others may have better results.

Starting with the toilet paper roll method. One year I saved up a lot of toilet paper rolls and made lots of pots for seed starting. The seeds started and things looked pretty good at the start. Maybe if I would have transplanted them in the first week or so after sprouting, that paper roll method would have worked for me.

But I start my plants inside about 6-8 weeks before transplanting in my gardens at the end of May where I live. Somewhere around week 3 or 4 of starting the seeds in the toilet paper rolls, the paper rolls developed lots of mold growing on them. Maybe I overwatered them. I don't know. However, the paper roll was always wet and never dried out. Around week 5 or 6, the paper roll pots were overrun with mold, and I had to toss out everything and start over.

I was a complete failure at using the toilet paper roll system. I am open to the suggestion that I could have just done it wrong, but that was my experience.

I had to look for a better seed starting system for me, one that would not grow mold. I ended up finding some YouTube videos on using 3 inch net pots for seed starting. Net pots have slits in them, which allows the excess water to drain out and, in my case, prevented mold from growing. The slits in the net pots also prevent the plants from getting root bound, when the roots circle around the pots until they choke themselves, because the roots will air prune when they reach a slit open to the air.

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Most of the plants I start indoors are pepper and tomato plants that are inside for about 8 weeks. The 3-inch net pots are big enough to carry my plants from spouting to transplant in one pot. I have never had mold problems with the net pots with plants even after 8 weeks.

For anyone more interested in this method, here is a good video that I watched on using net pots...

Since eggshells are so small, you only get days of growth before you need to transplant. I tried it, but it did not work out for me because I grow my plants for about 8 weeks before transplanting. I suppose the eggshell method would be great for plants up to the point of sprouting and maybe a few days longer. In my case, I wanted to find a solution where I did not have to up-pot my plants.

One method I might try this year is the double cup method. I know some people here on the BYC forums really like that method...

No matter what system a person tries, there will be some people that think it's great and others who had problems with it. I prefer the 3-inch net pots, but others here on the BYC forum did not like it and preferred the double cup method.

I guess you just have to try a number of different methods and see what works best for you with the type and length of growing time of your seed starting plants. If you give the toilet paper roll or eggshell methods a try, I would love to hear how it worked out for you.

I have tried so many methods of seed starting but everything seems to start great but then often die before planting season for me. I had some citrus seeds growing great but then I went on the truck with my husband for like 3 days and poof everything died. I realized that it wasn't because of anything I did wrong with the exception of leaving them in the care of my family. My neighbor swore she would take care of my garden another year and yeah when I got home it was completely dead. She asked if I would take care of her garden and I did but after she left mine to die I refused to tend to hers. It's not that I would have been put out by doing it for her but she couldn't even take 10 minutes out of her day to take care of my garden. That's a definite no for me. I will try numerous ways to start my seeds and I will definitely be logging in here to see if what I am doing will work for anyone else here. I hope we all have a great garden year

 

[akroberts1085]

This is the garlic that I started in a jar of water. It aided in 10 cloves sprouting. There is one green top that's 3 cloves but I am happy with it. I'm hoping that I get at least 10 heads of garlic. The problem is that I will need to plant about 100 cloves in order to meet the needs of my family for garlic. I use garlic in almost everything I cook for dinner and I also use some for lunch it just depends on what I'm cooking.

 

[akroberts1085]

I don't know if I have tried to use the toilet paper roll method but I am going to try it just to see if it works out or not. I'm an optimist and tend to try whatever I can to get some seeds started. I think I tried the egg shells and got nothing from it but it's still worth trying because I might not have done something right.

 

[gtaus]

I have tried so many methods of seed starting but everything seems to start great but then often die before planting season for me.

Yep, that's why I mentioned that I grow my plants for about 8 weeks inside the house. Just about every method I have tried works for initial sprouting. It is the following weeks that I started to see problems with some of experiments.

I will try numerous ways to start my seeds and I will definitely be logging in here to see if what I am doing will work for anyone else here. I hope we all have a great garden year

That's the attitude. Win or lose, I would like to hear about your results.

 

[akroberts1085]

Yep, that's why I mentioned that I grow my plants for about 8 weeks inside the house. Just about every method I have tried works for initial sprouting. It is the following weeks that I started to see problems with some of experiments.



That's the attitude. Win or lose, I would like to hear about your results.

I will definitely be posting about my experiments as well as the results for all. I tried growing/ strawberry plants for years and until last year I had no luck with getting some strawberries. Last year was okay but not prolific so I want to get a different area for them. I did get a couple of decent strawberries but not what I was hoping for.

 

[akroberts1085]

This is the biggest strawberry I got last year

 

[gtaus]

I had some citrus seeds growing great but then I went on the truck with my husband for like 3 days and poof everything died.

I don't know if this will help, but I put my 3-inch net pots in a storage bin lid and bottom water the pots with about 1/4 inch of water, maybe a little bit more. They soak up what they need for a number of days and then I let the soil dry out a bit before refilling the lid. In that system, you would definitely have more than 3 days before your starts would need any more attention.

I'm not a great gardener. I think most of my start failures were due to overwatering. I just don't have that problem with the net pots because the excess water drains through and out the slits. The bottom watering method lets me put water into the lid for a few days, then a few days after the water is gone, I'll put more water in the lid. I think allowing the soil to dry out (on the top only) for a day or two between refilling has prevented the mold growth I had with the toilet paper roll method, for example, when the paper roll pot never really dried out.

What works for me is using the Hefty 72qt totes...

I flip everything upside down. I use the lid for holding my net pots for bottom watering, and the clear tote becomes a mini green house when I want to bring them outside for the afternoon. I got my Hefty totes for less than $10 each on sale. They have lasted for years. Compare that to my standard 10X20 trays and lids which I had to replace almost every year.

The brand/type of tote matters if you want to use them as mini green houses. Some totes are better than others. Here is a great YouTube video in what to look for (spoiler: Hefty totes came out as best) before you buy any...

 

[gtaus]

I tried growing/ strawberry plants for years and until last year I had no luck with getting some strawberries. Last year was okay but not prolific so I want to get a different area for them. I did get a couple of decent strawberries but not what I was hoping for.

My strawberry bed was almost a complete failure. I got some strawberries the first year, the second year almost nothing, and the third even less. I don't care how much strawberries cost at the big box store; it would have been a lot cheaper for me to buy them.

I might get the courage to try growing strawberries again someday. I think a lot of my problem was that I had squirrels, chipmunks, and birds eating all the small green strawberries long before they had a chance to grow and ripen. One summer we had a terrible drought, and the bees and other insects ate the berries. I guess that's a thing. Who knew?

In any case, I'm not too anxious to try strawberries again given my past failures. I think I would need to learn from someone who knows what they are doing. I certainly did not.

 

[gtaus]

I think I tried the egg shells and got nothing from it but it's still worth trying because I might not have done something right.

When it comes to gardening, I am pretty sure I have more failures than successes. That's why I usually overplant what I want, and grow more kinds of plants than I would buy. Depending on the weather that summer, some types of plants might have a better year than other plants.

I just try to keep a good attitude by focusing on my successes and not dwelling on all the failures. However, as a gardener, it seems that I'm much better at building raised beds than actually growing food in them!

Well, that might not be totally true. My hügelkultur raised beds have been doing well filled with good topsoil and my chicken run compost. I had a bumper crop going last year until I got wiped out by deer.

This year, I have wire cages to put on top of my raised beds, so I hope to have a better harvest come fall.

 

[Land of Lincoln]

My strawberry bed was almost a complete failure. I got some strawberries the first year, the second year almost nothing, and the third even less. I don't care how much strawberries cost at the big box store; it would have been a lot cheaper for me to buy them.

I have a little patch of strawberries by the chicken coop, and like you, my production has gone down from one year to the next. I really don’t know what I’m doing and just hope I have good results, but I never get as much as I want. They seem to spread pretty well and I don’t have them contained. I’m pretty sure the squirrels, birds and whatever else beat me to them. The few I do get to enjoy taste so much better than store bought, there’s just never enough of them to really do much with. Only way I learn is to fail and it seems I’ve learned a lot over the past few years.

I’m excited to see how these Hugelkultur raised beds do for me this year. I have some pretty good sized logs in the bottom of each of my beds and I can only imagine their water holding capacity will be beneficial to whatever I plant in them. Water batteries I think was the term I heard, that’s a good way to put it.

I’ve got a lot more flowers to grow this year than I ever have before. I’m hoping to attract beneficial insects and pollinators to the garden by planting them.

I had a lot of weeds last year and that was due to a combination of my laziness and not having near enough mulch on the area and not nearly enough plantings. I think I heard somewhere that Mother Nature doesn’t like bare soil so if i don’t cover it or plant something in it, she will and that’s usually in the form of a weed.

I have a bad case of cabin fever and I’m hoping this is the last cold snap of the year. I’m starting to get some other seeds ready to start so at least I’ve got that to keep me busy.