German is a fascinating language, isn't it? That a massive word with a complex meaning can be created by merging individual words together!  My favorite is Verknüpfungspunkt, or Junction Point, a sense of buttoning or linking things together.  

This brings us around to Hügelkultur.  Basically, this is a permaculture practice of gardening on mounds, or hills: Hügel means hill or mound, and kultur is culture, meaning management practices.

In a visit to Loganberry Farm, Organic Rose mentioned Hugelkultur as being ideal for berries.  So the wheels started turning.  We weren't in a position to go all out, meaning waiting seasons in order for nature to have worked to build a nice mound over a pile of decaying wood.  We knew we needed to modify the practice a bit to fit our time, space, planting needs, and equipment.  What follows is a photolog of our breaking in a new field.  

For the most part, the mounds were built within a month of planting.  Fortunately, we have a couple of rows/mounds to cure before planting them next year.  This should help with the manure being more fully composted and all the layers settling in together, much like lasagna improving with slow cooking.  

The photos below will give you a sense of how we adapted Hugelkultur to fit the needs at Bramberi Farm for a new planting of Blackberry and Northern Highbush Blueberry.

Every year for the past 18 years, Georgia Organics has held a Conference & Expo to educate, network, and provide resources for all things Organic.  It was as great thrill to attend this year, 21 February!  The hundreds of people from across Georgia from all walks of life, and across all demographic profiles was certainly heart-stirring.  It made me realize that in this era, Organic isn't just a Hippie thing, granola and dread-locks, but that we are all becoming more integrally aware of our health, and the affect of our farming both upon our health and the health of this planet we call home.  Honestly, most of us can't afford to shop exclusively in the Organic Section, but I think that we are, most of us at least, wanting to head in this direction, where it is a gut instinct or from careful research.  I was behind a lady in the grocery store the other day, her cart laden with junk food and sodas, but there lay at the end of the conveyor, bags of Organically Produced apples and pears.  I'm not sure if folks think that such will counter act the junk food or what, but it hit a soft spot.  We really must think that there's something to Organic.

This is a bit of a monumental year for Georgia, in that the State has decided to grow by 100 organic farms in 2015.  Organic, meaning, subscribing to the USDA-NOP standards.  This is all nice and rosy, and surely, the little green and white label is a safety belt for many consumers.  These USDA standards are a tough-pill to swallow for Mom and Pop, who are just beginning, or don't have the resources to go through the certifying process, which costs a few thousand dollars.  So, for many of us small producers in Georgia, and across the nation, we have recognized the customer's want for certification, and have chosen to go a more community-based, small-farm direction, aligning ourselves with Certified Naturally Grown.  

Many will ask, what's the difference.  Basically, the difference is in the paperwork and fees.  Certified farms still have all the NOP standards to follow, like no GMOs, organic sources for fertility and pest management, and no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. But, Uncle Sam doesn't come out to inspect, one of our peers (ahem, competitiors?) will give us an annual inspection, and we sign a legal declaration that we are adhering to organic standards.  So, when you see the Certified Naturally Grown label, you can think Organic.  We just can't say it.  

As we briefly touch on in our post, Life: It's in the Soil, one of the essential crops we need to grow before any other crop can grow is a vigorous Community of organisms in the soil. 
This plays out in how the crops are managed, doing things to nurture the soil organisms, rather than either directly killing them (with fungicides) or letting them fizzle out (leaving the soils bare).

Michael Phillip's book, The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way has been helpful in getting us started.  It led to the purchase of a chip mulcher for Ramial Woodchips (this is chip mulch derived from wood 3" or less in diameter). And the building of a chipping bin, which holds enough chip mulch to cover 4 -72 foot rows

Now, the soil gets a drench of Compost Tea, and is promptly dressed with a new, fresh coat of Ramial chip mulch (branches and twigs 3" diameter or less).  Replace the drip tape, and the Raspberries are ready for a new flush of spring growth --- in three months time!
 
What does this compost tea actually do?  In many ways, it seems counter-intuitive to add more microbes to the soil, since microbial activity actually consumes and reduces the organic matter content of a soil.  In natural, or organic, systems, organic matter IS consumed, but is also added to at a greater rate than it is being consumed, so the resulting soil is ever increasing in organic matter.  These microbes, then, are helpful in making nutrients in the compost, the soil, and the mulch, active to the plants. Certain organisms in this compost tea can also be beneficial by out-competing disease organisms and colonizing roots to generally protect them from attack.  These added organisms play a great role in encouraging greater diversity of all shapes and sizes of living things in the soil, enabling the productivity of the soil and the crop it supports to be sustained.