Making Dirt

Making Dirt

Hugelkultur Mounds
Lesson: 5.5
Level:
Intermediate
Station: Composting
Format: Class Project
Rating:
Intermediate Lesson 5.5 Making Dirt

Lesson Overview

Hugelkultur is as fun to say as the mounds are to build. These long-term composting structures are extremely effective at maintaining soil nutrient health. In this lesson, students will build one and monitor it over time.

Goals

  • Students will be able to describe the design and function of hugelkultur mounds.

Outcomes

Students will build hugelkultur mounds in order to observe the natural decomposition and benefit to plant production of the mounds over time.

Teach the Teacher

Tools & Materials

  • Branches
  • Leaves
  • Logs
  • Soil
  • Compost

Activity

Systems fall into two general categories, simple and complex. Hugelkultur mounds fall into both.

Their simple design is little more than a mound of organic material placed over a nurse log as the anchor. Over time, the mounds naturally break down releasing nutrients, regulating soil temperature, and holding much needed moisture that benefits plant production in a complex structure mimicking that in nature.

Create a hugelkultur mound on campus that can be monitored over time. Test it by doing soil samples, measuring the height annually, and growing crops on its slopes that are also grown elsewhere on the property.

Did the hugelkultur mound produce as expected? How does production on the mound compare to traditional beds?

Take a periodic soil sample from the mound to measure pH, N, P, K.

Related Lessons

Give the Advanced lesson a try now that you’ve completed the Intermediate Lesson! Or revisit the Beginner Lesson as needed.

This lesson, and all other lessons on this website, are intended for use by teachers in the classroom. These lessons are protected by US and International copyright laws. Reproduction or distribution of lesson content, supporting materials, or digital creative is prohibited with written permission from Modern Steader LLC.