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Among other benefits, a hügel bed is warmer earlier and longer than an in-ground bed or even a raised bed filled with potting soil — adding precious weeks on both ends of Seattle’s growing season.

In fact, except as an aesthetic choice, you don’t even need walls — the hügel can be the raised bed.

Creating a hügel is a lot like building a free-standing compost pile that is wider at the base and sloped along the sides at approximately 45 degrees.

And unlike beds filled with potting soil which need to be topped off regularly if not replaced, a hügel sustains itself for years.

However, she does not recommend placing one too near a body of water to avoid leaching decomposition byproducts too quickly into the water — or flooding, adding unwanted inputs to the hügel.