Meadowlark
Member
- Location
- East Texas
- Hardiness zone
- 9a
This thread will span data for two growing seasons 1) spring/summer and 2) fall/winter and include data on 38 different varieties of veggies.
In each instance, two identical plants of each variety were planted at the same time one in an HK container and the other in nearby garden soil. Each plant was treated identically, and the harvests were tabulated and compared. For each variety, a production ratio of the amount of HK produce/amount of garden produce was calculated. The target objective was a ratio > .5
SUMMARY
Across 38 different vegetables planted in HK containers and duplicated in ground planting, across spring /summer growing season and /fall/early winter 2022 growing season, a total of 3077 ounces of produce (87,231 grams) was harvested from the HK containers and 1990 ounces (56415 grams) harvested from identical in ground planted veggies. There were no, zero, nada veggies that failed to meet the targeted goal of equal to or greater production ratio of .5. The production ratio across the entire experiment was 1.6. Meaning on average, for the 38 varieties chosen, the HK production was actually higher on average than the identical in ground plants.
Spring/Summer
For the spring/summer season, 6 different varieties were selected for study:
Tub 1: celebrity tomato
Tub 2: jalapeno pepper
Tub 3: green bell pepper
Tub 4: butter nut squash
Tub 5: black beauty egg plant
Tub 6: okra
The production data was collected in an Excel spreadsheet and summarized as follows:
HP = Hugelkulture Productivity,
GSP = Garden Soil Productivity,
PR = Productivity Ratio
The PR is derived by dividing the HP/GSP with a target of at least .5 for feasibility.
Documentation photos were taken of all data collection and is available upon request.
Harvests were completed by July and tabulated as follows:
Fall/Winter
For the fall/winter growing season, the number of varieties were expanded and grouped into 1) leafy veggies, 2) root veggies, and 3) brassicas and 4) other.
Leafy veggies: Malabar Spinach, Spinach, Kale, Collards, Swiss Chard, Turnips (tops) Bok Choy, Buttercrunch Lettuce, Sylvestra Lettuce, Little Gem Lettuce, Romain Lettuce, Iceberg Lettuce
Root Veggies: Turnips (bottom), Radish, Carrot, Parsnip, Parsley, Sprouted Onions, Leeks, Garlic, Beets, Sweet Potatoes, Yukon Gold Potato
Brassicas: Red Cabbage, Asprabroc, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts,
Other: Sugar Snap Peas, Toad Pumpkins
A summary of the results for each category of veggie is shown below. Results for each of the individual varieties are available upon request and could not be included here due to system space limitations. Also, photos of each variety in HK containers are also available upon request and could not be included due to space limits.
Note that in general the fall/winter HK plants had significantly higher production ratios than the spring/summer. This is in part due to 1) a learning curve on my part paying attention more to the watering requirements of HK containers and 2) the over performance of the varieties chosen for the fall. For example, lettuce varieties were simply stunning in their HK results. From this point on, HK containers will be the tool of choice for growing lettuce here.
In each instance, two identical plants of each variety were planted at the same time one in an HK container and the other in nearby garden soil. Each plant was treated identically, and the harvests were tabulated and compared. For each variety, a production ratio of the amount of HK produce/amount of garden produce was calculated. The target objective was a ratio > .5
SUMMARY
Across 38 different vegetables planted in HK containers and duplicated in ground planting, across spring /summer growing season and /fall/early winter 2022 growing season, a total of 3077 ounces of produce (87,231 grams) was harvested from the HK containers and 1990 ounces (56415 grams) harvested from identical in ground planted veggies. There were no, zero, nada veggies that failed to meet the targeted goal of equal to or greater production ratio of .5. The production ratio across the entire experiment was 1.6. Meaning on average, for the 38 varieties chosen, the HK production was actually higher on average than the identical in ground plants.
Spring/Summer
For the spring/summer season, 6 different varieties were selected for study:
Tub 1: celebrity tomato
Tub 2: jalapeno pepper
Tub 3: green bell pepper
Tub 4: butter nut squash
Tub 5: black beauty egg plant
Tub 6: okra
The production data was collected in an Excel spreadsheet and summarized as follows:
Plant | HP | GSP | PR |
Tub 1 celebrity tomato | |||
Tub 2 jap pepper | #DIV/0! | ||
Tub 3 Green Bell | #DIV/0! | ||
Tub 4 butter nut squash | #DIV/0! | ||
Tub 5 BB Egg Plant | #DIV/0! | ||
Tub 6 okra | #DIV/0! | ||
Composite | 5 | 10 | 0.5 |
HP = Hugelkulture Productivity,
GSP = Garden Soil Productivity,
PR = Productivity Ratio
The PR is derived by dividing the HP/GSP with a target of at least .5 for feasibility.
Documentation photos were taken of all data collection and is available upon request.
Harvests were completed by July and tabulated as follows:
| Plant | HP | GSP | PR |
| Celebrity tomato | 275.70 | 371.80 | 0.74 |
| Jalapeno pepper | 155.30 | 144.40 | 1.08 |
| Green Bell | 54.30 | 55.30 | 0.98 |
| Butter nut squash | 59.60 | 100.00 | 0.60 |
| Cucumber | 24.00 | 29.00 | 0.83 |
| BB Egg Plant | 137.00 | 149.80 | 0.91 |
| Okra | 23.80 | 24.30 | 0.98 |
| Composite | 729.70 | 874.60 | 0.83 |
The lowest production ratio of the above was the butternut squash which struggled from extended dry periods during the season.Fall/Winter
For the fall/winter growing season, the number of varieties were expanded and grouped into 1) leafy veggies, 2) root veggies, and 3) brassicas and 4) other.
Leafy veggies: Malabar Spinach, Spinach, Kale, Collards, Swiss Chard, Turnips (tops) Bok Choy, Buttercrunch Lettuce, Sylvestra Lettuce, Little Gem Lettuce, Romain Lettuce, Iceberg Lettuce
Root Veggies: Turnips (bottom), Radish, Carrot, Parsnip, Parsley, Sprouted Onions, Leeks, Garlic, Beets, Sweet Potatoes, Yukon Gold Potato
Brassicas: Red Cabbage, Asprabroc, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts,
Other: Sugar Snap Peas, Toad Pumpkins
| Leafly Veggie Fall/Winter (12) | 409.5 | 197.1 | 2.08 |
| Root Veggies Fall/Winter (12) | 373 | 174.6 | 2.14 |
| Brassicas (5) | 782.5 | 371.7 | 2.11 |
| other fall (2) | 782.5 | 371.7 | 0.30 |
| other spring (7) | 729.70 | 874.60 | 0.83 |
| Grand Total (38) | 3077.20 | 1989.7 | 1.55 |
Note that in general the fall/winter HK plants had significantly higher production ratios than the spring/summer. This is in part due to 1) a learning curve on my part paying attention more to the watering requirements of HK containers and 2) the over performance of the varieties chosen for the fall. For example, lettuce varieties were simply stunning in their HK results. From this point on, HK containers will be the tool of choice for growing lettuce here.
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