There’s no shortage of cannabis porn on Instagram—epic dab videos, grow room glamour shots, heavily edited close-ups of frosty buds, more glass than you can shake a Bic at. But a humbler trend began this month when outdoor cannabis growers began posting photos of what look like, well, carefully constructed piles of dirt.
The photos, mostly from southern Oregon and California’s Emerald Triangle—prime cannabis-growing territory—include the hashtag #ShowMeYourHugel. Which raises the question:
WTF is a hügel?
Show me your hügels! Love this insta theme started by @livingsoilssymposium !! We definitely want to see your Hügelkulture projects too!! This picture is from about a month ago … but that rainbow just begged to be posted! A current shot is coming soon #showmeyourhugel 💚🌈🍄🌐 #livingsoil #trustinnature #hügelkulture #oregon #dempure #cannabis
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Hügels (HOO-guls) are earthen mounds used in agriculture. They’re common within the eco-conscious permaculture community.
They offer all sorts of benefits to farmers, such as building soil fertility, holding moisture, and even generating enough heat to extend the growing season.
The hugelkultur beds for this years vegetable garden are looking great! They are fully composted and teeming with worms. A healthy mix of chickweed, red dead nettle, wheat grass, and volunteer brassicas carpet the aisles and will be a great source of green biomass to turn in as we fork up the beds in the coming weeks. #regenerativefarming #DEMPure #purefamily #hugelkultur #showmeyourhugel #willamettevalley
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To build a hügel, first you dig a trench. Then you fill it with biomass—stuff like small logs, branches, grass clippings, leaves, or other compostable material. Cover the hügel with a layer of rich topsoil.
A hügel’s woody core acts like a sponge, retaining moisture that would otherwise be lost.
‘Twas a nice day for hüglin #showmeyourhugel #CBDgarden
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And as the stuff inside the hügel decomposes, it releases nutrients into the soil and helps improve drainage and airflow.
The #ShowMeYourHugel trend started earlier this month, after the Living Soils Symposium. It’s a conference focused on soil-grown cannabis, emphasizing biodynamic growing methods and soil regeneration. (Cannabis can be good for the environment!)
We want to see YOUR hugels. Your work, your passion, your soils, your soil food web, your love for your land! Tag us and hashtag it #SHOWMEYOURHUGEL 💚🌱🤘@gooberman_ @la_luna_farmer @humboldtorganics #beyondorganic #livingsoilssymposium #soilfoodweb #livingsoil
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