Potential Application of Hügelkultur to Increase Water Holding Capacity of Central Missouri Farmland

Project Overview

FNC24-1411
Project Type: Farmer/Rancher
Funds awarded in 2024: $11,902.00
Projected End Date: 02/15/2026
Grant Recipient: Rosy Buck Farm
Region: North Central
State: Missouri
Project Coordinator:
Holly Evans
Rosy Buck Farm

Commodities

Not commodity specific

Practices

  • Crop Production: drought tolerance, irrigation, water management

    Proposal summary:

    While many climate models have
    predicted a continued increase in spring precipitation for
    central Missouri, that forecast is tempered with the accompanying
    prediction of hotter, drier summers. Farmers in this area have
    experienced the impact of such summers, as many counties are
    frequently determined to be in moderate, severe, and occasionally
    extreme drought. 

    The use of hügelkultur, a
    horticultural technique in which a mound constructed from
    decaying wood debris and other compostable biomass plant
    materials is planted as a raised bed, may help alleviate drought
    induced difficulties by more effectively retaining water from
    rainfall and irrigation. In a region where 40% of the entire
    annual rainfall occurs on the ten wettest days of the year and
    the four wettest days have experienced a 35% increase in
    precipitation over the past 50 years, a passive water collection
    system that can absorb, hold, and gradually release the water
    produced in a substantial precipitation event will be beneficial
    in both alleviating drought pressure and preventing a large
    portion of this region's rainfall being lost as run off.

    Project objectives from proposal:

    Solution:

    Two types of hugelkultur will be
    tested in this experiment; above ground and
    inground. 

    The above ground test sites will
    each consist of two beds (44’x3.5’ upslope and 26’x3.25’
    downslope; both placed perpendicular to the slope of the field
    (X% slope) and curved towards upslope). These beds will be
    constructed with a 22” deep base layer of logs, branches, and
    manure, a 8” deep layer of leaf/grass mulch, a 10” deep layer of
    compost, and finally a layer of soil roughly 3” deep. The two
    inground test sites will be placed and constructed exactly the
    same except that the base layer will be placed in a 9” deep
    trench.

    In addition, two control sites
    will be made to the same dimensions and placement but only raised
    6” and containing only soil. All six sites will be covered with
    3” of leaf/wood chip mulch.

    Hugelkultur requires the
    saturation of its multiple layers as they are assembled to
    promote the breakdown of the internal biomass. The water used in
    this step will be documented via a water flow meter. 

    Two test sites and one control
    site will be irrigated regularly to maintain field capacity. This
    will be accomplished with existing gravity fed drip irrigation
    systems. All test site and control site reservoirs will be
    independent of each other to aid in accurate recording of water
    usage. These
    sites will
    provide data indicating if the overall gallons of water used in
    irrigation is affected by the presence of either type of
    hugelkultur. 

    Two test sites and one control
    site will be left unirrigated. These sites will provide data
    indicating the extent to which either type of hugelculture aids
    in water retention in relation to rainfall alone. Rainfall will
    be recorded daily from the time all sites are completed until the
    end of the experiment using a rain gauge.

    All sites will be planted with an
    identical row footage of peas (to be replaced with beans later in
    the season), kale, beets, leeks, and winter squash. These plants
    will help to more accurately represent the evapotranspiration
    occurring in an active farm plot. 

    Two types of measurements will be
    used over the course of this experiment to help quantify the
    amount of water in the soil; gravimetric water content and soil
    water tension.

    The gravimetric water content
    will be determined biweekly by collecting soil samples with a
    soil probe, weighing those samples, heating the samples to remove
    any moisture, and reweighing the samples. This data will be used
    to ascertain what percentage of the soil mass is water.

    The soil water tension will be
    measured by tensiometers. Readings will be taken daily from 3
    tensiometers per site. This data will demonstrate how much energy
    is required to pull water from the soil (which will roughly
    indicate the difficulty plants have in acquiring that
    water).

    Objectives:

    1. Determine if hugelkultur facilitates a significant reduction
      in the need for irrigation compared to traditional raised beds.
    2. Determine the quantity of water hugelculture can store from
      sizable precipitation events and for what length of time that
      water is retained.
    3. If the first two objectives are met positively, demonstrate
      the construction and uses of hugelkultur through an on-farm
      presentation, website and social media, and direct outreach to
      local farmers and consumers through Known and Grown STL.

     

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.