I recently saw a
video discussing the Japanese ring growing system. You use the standard mesh wire fencing, and form it into a tall cylinder. You stake this down with tall stakes, and then fill the bottom with
compost. The
tomatoes are then planted around the outside of this mesh fencing system. It's claimed that they then
feed off of the
compost from inside of this ring. Here is the video that I watched which describes this system:
Now, I ponder the question if it's possible to combine this ring growing system and
hugelkultur. They didn't use much compost in the video, but I propose that one could build a larger hugel base, and then cover that with a good bit of compost. I would imagine that it would be best to use
wood that you have already had going through the compost process, but that this need is lessened with the higher amount of compost that you put on the top of it. Of course, I would layer the wood and compost to create a firmer hugel bed, and then I would cover with a nice layer of just compost. I also would consider planting the inside of the ring with some short legumes or other nitrogen fixing plants, to help give the tomatoes everything that they need to grow.
I guess this could turn into a form of three sisters planting with
hugelkultur in a Japanese ring. In this video, he talks about using kitchen scraps and making this japanese ring an active compost bed. Personally, I would want to add my already composted material for the best results.