“Houston, we have sunshine.”
After a March punctuated by heavy snows and frigid temps, I finally got a chance to start work on my home’s farmscape (again).
So far, it’s been a very productive week. I’ve started to spread the composted horse manure I get free from the state police riding academy on my hugelkultur terraces.
I’ve even started to build a stone wall by hand, New England style, and getting a workout in the process. The wall runs along the downslope edge of the terrace in order to keep it in place, improve its looks and steady the soil’s temperature — the stone acts as a heat sink to smooth out soil temps by absorbing heat during the day and releasing it at night.
For those of you who haven’t been with me long, hugelkultur is simply a german word for “hill culture”. In practice, it’s simply a way to use rotten wood (logs, branches, etc.) as the foundation for a garden.
Here’s my earlier discussion of it, and here’s a picture to remind you of the mechanics:
As you can imagine, building a hugelkultur garden takes a bit more work to build than a standard garden.
Digging a trench. Hauling and stacking rotten wood. Covering it all with soil and compost. All of this before you even get to plant something!
The reason I built this type of garden is that I’m not playing to win in the short term. No, that’s for suckers.
I’m playing to win the long game.
This requires making investments in systems that pay out over decades instead a couple of years.
A hugelkultur garden provides an opportunity to build a garden that works as a life support system. One that actually helps me keep the soil fertile and vibrant.
So, to me, the investment of time and muscle required to build it is well worth the effort long term.
Are you playing the long game too?
Resiliently Yours,
JOHN ROBB
PS: The work that goes into playing the long game is one of the most enjoyable things you can do. Building something of value that lasts is a deeply meaningful experience. That experience is a great counter-weight to a world that often doesn’t make sense.
