Over the weekend I finally got motivated and completed the construction of the hugulculture wicking bed and frame for the pest exclusion material. I have been a bit handicapped lately with lower back pain. I wrote about that here lower back pain. This post will be mainly pictures and a few comments so you should shuffle through it pretty quickly.
Testing the hugulculture wicking bed for leaks
The bed didn’t appear to leak so I started to carefully place the wood in to create the hugulculture effect. The carpet below the plastic and above it helped with protection, I am sure.
The next job was to move the compost
After adding the wood, the next job was to move the compost. When Gino was preparing the site with the skidsteer, he moved about 6 cubic metres of compost to this position close to the bed. It made it a short trip for each barrow load.
At the halfway filled mark I added lime and rock dust
The compost had been maturing for 12 months and was looking like a really good growing medium. I added minerals and lime at the half full mark.
Wicking bed all filled with compost and another addition of lime and minerals
After adding the compost, I added another dose of lime and rockdust as well as some blood and bone. I will water this in and the bed will settle a bit. It’s raining at the moment so I may not have to water it in.
The white pipe on the side of the bed is the overflow pipe. It is connected to the filler pipe and the ag pipe that goes around the base of the bed. This pipe is slotted so the water can spread quickly through all of the bed.
The overflow pipe is there in case it rains very heavily (quite likely in Brisbane) and water needs to be evacuated. The ag pipe will collect water as well as distribute it and it will rise up and out the overflow outlet. The other reason is in case I forget to turn off the hose when I am filling the bed.
This weekend I will get the pest exclusion fabric on and work out how to access the bed easily. I will also get some wire hangers in and will be able to show you some good ways to tie up tomatoes. I have bought some Black Russian tomato seed and some Roma. I will plant one of each in the southern end. Thats all for now.