Learning how to grow your own vegetables is one of the smartest choices you can make. Not only is it satisfying to know that you can provide for yourself and your loved ones, but you can also be sure that you are consuming healthy, chemical-free food.
Conventional gardening methods can be time consuming and strenuous, but there are some excellent natural alternatives that are well worth exploring. The Ruth Stout ‘no-work’ method is one of the very best.
The Story Behind Ruth Stout’s Method
Ruth Stout was born in Kansas in 1894 and lived to the ripe old age of 96. She began gardening when she was in her 40s using conventional techniques. She didn’t enjoy being dependent on the plowman to come and prepare her land, and she also became tired of the heavy labor that the gardening involved. So, in 1944 Ruth decided to try something a little different.
She stopped tilling, she stopped digging, she stopped watering, she stopped composting and she stopped weeding.
So, what exactly did Ruth do?
The Fundamentals Of The No-Work Approach
Having observed that you never see bare soil in nature, Ruth’s main principle was to cover her garden with a thick layer of mulch and leave it in place at all times. This mulch provided a covering that kept the soil cool and moist, and with a consistent level of humidity.
With a thick mulch in place, the soil is protected from the damaging UV rays and heat of the sun, as well as being sheltered from heavy rains or strong winds. This mulch also prevents most weeds from growing. Ruth suggested that everyone should begin with a mulch of at least 8 inches thick to ensure that the most resilient weeds cannot break through to the surface. Over time, the mulch breaks down and adds nutrients to the soil.
What Are The Benefits Of The ‘No-Work’ Method?
The no-work method involves minimal raw materials and is a low-cost way to grow your own vegetables. Neither huge quantities of water nor elaborate and expensive watering systems are not needed for a successful harvest.
There is no digging, plowing, hoeing or laborious weeding involved, which makes this an ideal method for those who aren’t able or willing to do long hours of manual work. The amount of maintenance required by this kind of garden is low, so you’ll be saving your back as well as saving some dollars.
It should go without saying that one of the biggest bonuses of having less work to do in the garden is having more time to spend with family and friends.
Mulching Creates A Rich And Fertile Soil
The benefits of the no-work approach for the gardener are many, but Ruth Stout’s method also treats your garden soil with great kindness. Leaving the soil undisturbed means that worm populations will begin to flourish in your garden.
Worm casts are rich in nutrients, and their movement is good for aerating the soil and ensuring good drainage.
As well as this, the fungi and micro-organisms essential to a happy, healthy soil will increase. A rich and fertile soil means vigorously growing plants and a good yield of crops.
Related: 24 Lost Gardening Tips from 100 Years Ago
What Materials Can I Use For The Mulch?
Ruth had a very flexible approach to the materials that can be used for mulching – straw, hay, leaves, wood chips or any other kind of vegetable matter that will rot.
Consider what you have access to in your local area. Let yourself be guided by Ruth’s no-work principles.
What kind of materials are readily available to you for free? Begin by working with these, and make sure your initial mulch laying is laid to the depth that Ruth suggests.
If you see any weeds that are managing to break through, just add more mulch.
How Do I Sow My Vegetable Seeds Into The Mulch?
When it comes to sowing seeds, the process is very simple.
Pull the mulch apart enough to be able to see where you are placing the seeds.
Plant your seeds in the ground and cover them back up again with a little soil. Leave the mulch apart.
What About Growing Potatoes?
Ruth’s casual approach to potato growing is very refreshing! Take your sprouted potatoes and simply toss them onto your mulch leaving them at around a foot apart.
Place an additional 4 inches of mulch on top of the potatoes. As the sprouts begin to grow, continue adding more mulch. So simple!
Should I Be Using Any Additional Fertilizers Or Manure?
Your vegetables are constantly being fertilized by the rotting mulch, so you never need to feel that they are not being well fed.
Ruth Stout stated that she only used one additional product, and that was a soybean or cottonseed meal. This adds a little additional nitrogen to the soil. If you find that your garden needs additional nitrogen, both grass clippings and coffee grounds are quick and easy ways of doing this.
Food waste can be composted directly in the garden rather than on a separate compost pile, preferably by being placed underneath your main mulch. Remember that with a heavy mulch that is constantly in place, your soil will naturally and inevitably increase in quality over time.
What Else Do I Need To Know?
Ruth Stout had a deep love for nature and a very light-hearted approach to her gardening. She observed the natural environment and learned from it. Experimenting with her method for yourself can be great fun, especially when this is approached with Ruth’s spirit of playfulness. The advantages of the no-work method are many, and it is well worth trying your hand at it.
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This is pretty good but I like my “cardboard no till garden”
I can get all the free cardboard I want at the local $ store.
The concept is the same, use cardboard instead of mulch but I guess you can use both.
TheSouthernNationalist,
We also use cardboard on part of our garden using the same techniques under a different name: ”Lasagna Gardening: with the name refering to the different layers of cardboard with vegetable scraps, grass clippings, compost and other organic materials.
That’s good to know; but, as an Amazon shopper I have plenty. LOL
You can use any organic material including coffee grounds, vegetable scraps, grass clippings & leaves and in our case, composted chicken litter.
I like cardboard down first then cover with leaves, straw, alfalfa and vegetable waste under mulch ….. Wood chips if you get them – some power companies will drop them for free …..
You have a good formula. Slugs hate cardboard. My sister lives in Penna, near the Susquehanna River, and uses cardboard to chase off slugs and snails. It helps if you have trees. Me? Arizona. I live near a forest. The tallest tree, over 30 years old, is about 15 feet tall. Most of the area is cactus, prickly pear and cholla, both food plants. The weird thing here is, people trim trees and palms, and throw away the trimmings and even whole logs. Even when in Penna (Penn’s Woods!) people didn’t do that. If I lived near Tucson, there are two tree trimming companies that would dump tons (!) of chips and shredded trimmings in the yard for me. good post, nice to hear someone is a success. niio
Sounds good. I do some of that, because a heavy mulch armor the soil from the sun. In the last half-century of life, I have yet to find anything better.
If you have coffee grounds and cardboard, you have a good mix right there. Grounds hold 4% nitrogen and attract nightrcrawlers. For that tough Ohio clay, a cover crop mix in fall makes it mellow and turn black. Oilseed radishes and oats or rye. Turnips will root down as much as 8 feet. It’s a crying shame that last spring so many farmers were demanding money from the ag insurance because they couldn’t get into the fields. My brother’s neighbor borrowed a small plane and overseeded with that mix and more. Later, when the fields dried enough, he bought feeder pigs and calves cheap (no feed being grown for them by their owners) and grazed the fields. He’s sitting pretty now, and his neighbors are looking deeper into going natural. niio
i bought a shreeder to shreed up mail and magazines and when it gets full i pour it into my garden and mix it in the garden does the rest,makes my cabbage grow faster and less wait time for the harvest already have harvested 100 cabbage in the last 60 days andf have now planted 100 more and they already broke ground in 15 days
Wow, I have sooo much shred. Hadn’t thought of this. I have raised beds, with clay type soil. Want to plant something in late september. also will take the abundance of grass clipping and put that in those beds. Thanks for the ideas.
mix your shred with a little compost and potting mix will break it down faster also im useing raised beds and now i grow stuff year round
Shredding includes the ink and plastic, not good for soil or food?
better watch out for slugs and snails if you heavily mulch. You my need need to put Cu wire/screening or CuSO4 in the patch.Rodents etc cn also be a problem.I keep the immediate area around my fruit trees bare for same reason.
Good added information, Lefty. A person would be well served by running their vegetable scraps, food scraps, egg shells and other such materials through the full and complete process of being composted in a properly functioning and managed compost pile or composting drum before adding it to their garden under their straw, cardboard, shredded junk mail and/or newspaper compost layers. If there are “neighborhood” dogs, raccoons, opossums or other animals who use their good sense of smell to find a free “smorgasboard”, you can bet they will locate the “delicatessen” you are providing for them in your garden and “dig” right in to eat their fill. Keeping a compost pile working properly, maintaining the internal heat it requires, and turning the compost over on a scheduled basis is a lot more work, but adding that fully composted material to your garden will provide more satisfaction and fewer problems with your garden than using a method that will pretty much guarantee many more opportunities to see and repair the damage and destruction caused in your garden by the wildlife and neighborhood dogs.
Farmboy, you are so right about attracting wildlife. When we lived in the country the animals would get into the garden no matter what we tried, and tore up melons, tomatoes, and other things. We did use a drum composter there. Now in the city, I have not had animals in my garden YET! My dog or cat are not interested in vege scraps. There are rabbits, squirrels, opossums, and coyotes in the area, but so far no invasion! Birds are my biggest issue. I plant enough to share with them.
Sometimes to hasten the breakdown of scraps I do whiz them in the blender and simply pour this liquid near the plants, by kicking some mulch aside then back again.
If I find later that I need a composter I will get one. So far, I am happy doing as I do.
Get bales of straw and put kitchen scraps under bails – Simply have a few bales and you should be set ….. As bales age spread them out and get new bales!
Have you tried bale gardening? You can plant in a bale of weathered straw or hay and raise a lot of things. I tried it and liked it, but bales were too expensive that year to pay. niio
Just crush your eggshells and continually apply to beds. Or use some dia….earth. slugs will go somewhere else
This is very similar to how Paul Gautschi developed his very similar method. You can see how it works in his documentary Back to Eden (https://vimeo.com/danasarahfilms/backtoeden). I love his explanations. I have already used it and it is working great so far! (4 layers on soil: about 6 pages of newspaper, compost, 6 inches of yard clipping style mulch, with fertilization on top as needed. Water at initial plant in the soil if not damp.) No weeding or watering needed so far!
!!!
I think this is the fifth article I’ve read this month about a woman who made it to such a very, very impressive old age… by not having a man in her life. Some of the others who credited their 100+ years to a no-man policy even smoked cigars and [used to] ride motorcycles.
I’m doomed, since I’ve had the same hubby for 3 decades though :\
LOL!
My mother was married twice, lived to 95 and had always worked hard and was rather independent. Grandma was married 2 times and lived to 94. But she was alone her last 50 years. She was the president of both the local women’s club and garden club for most of those 50 years and she taught an adult Bible class for all of those 50 years.
I have no idea how long I’ll live but I will live till I die. I’ve been widowed twice and married three times. I think those single women focused on interests and helping others to live better. We can all do that with or without a mate. Hope its a happy relationship. I’ve ridden horses bareback and built custom motorcycles. I still use the mechanical ability to repair old sewing machines to give away to younger folks who are interested in sewing or repairing clothing. In the late 1960s I helped write a commodity cookbook for things like dried milk and powdered eggs or bulger wheat. Lots of good but unfamiliar things to use.
Life’s has been a grand adventure and still unfolds with lots of interesting twists and turns. I’m enjoying the overall days that are mine. Prepared to meet eternity with peace. How ever many days come my way I’ll enjoy them All, whatever comes with them.
I’m 71, so I’m not young anymore but I’m not done done living either. I still build things to make life easier. I’m full of plans. I’m a caretaker but I’m taking care of me too. I grow, dehydrate, can, and forrage our food. I continue to learn. Mom always said, “curiosity makes life worth living”. She was sharp as a tack to the end. Dad died -“failure to thrive”- from a stroke. Till that happened he was remodeling homes for mostly poor older women, grew 2 acres of garden to feed himself and Mom, to sell to supliment social security, and to give to food banks. He lived till he died. I think that’s true of most long lived folks. That and some Really good genes.
Live long and prosper.
You need to read Ruth Stout’s books for yourself. She was married for many, many years. She used her maiden name because of her career. She said many people would meet her husband and call him “Mr. Stout.” They both got a kick out of that so didn’t bother to correct them. Her brother, also an avid gardener, was the author of the “Nero Wolfe” mysteries. And she had a long-time friend in Vermont that she exchanged gardening advice, experiences and seeds with. She did not live to such a ripe old age by eschewing men. Rather, she dealt with men as equals and they returned the sentiment …. eventually, in some cases. She did have a few issues with some “educated” scientists who insisted that synthetic- and chemical-laden fertilizers were preferable to her organic approach, but they were never able to get better results than she got.
I tried the keyhole garden this past summer but the grasshoppers and the Texas sun were too much. As soon as seeds sprouted, they were eaten by the grasshoppers. Perhaps it would work to put a foot of hay on top of the soil in the garden. Instead, we deconstructed the Keyhole garden, cleared an area in a spot that is sheltered from the wind and within hose reach of one of the wells, put hog panels and a gate around it, spread the soil and paper left from the keyhole garden into the new garden, then found a local farmer to donate a few old round bales of hay and spread that over top of the soil. The central tube along with the compost that was still in it is wired inside a corner of the fencing and I add kitchen scraps to it as they collect. I will keep doing that all winter. We still have one round bale left that will be used to replenish what decomposes.
After the hay was down for about a month, I ordered some furniture that was shipped in lots of cardboard, so I am gradually moving hay, laying down cardboard, putting the hay back on top and watering for a day or so, to get the decaying process started and to make the cardboard heavier so it doesn’t lift up in the wind and blow away. A few more pieces of cardboard and I will have both sections of the garden put to bed for the winter. I have about 32’ x 60’ of area for garden with a 6’ stretch across the middle that has 2 small trees (you need at least a little shade here in the Panhandle) and acts as a terrace between the levels so one side doesn’t wash down to the other. I may plant some flower corms there – some iris and windflowers – just because I can. 8^} Meanwhile, I have some lettuces, cabbage and green onions planted in flower pots, sitting on a table inside a south-facing window. They have sprouted and are starting to grow. I also planted a piece of ginger root and will see if that grows over the winter. Next year, I will try to garden in earnest.
I put some seed potatoes and a sweet potato that were past their prime into the garden right after the fence and gate were completed. Some of them started sprouting before we got our first frost, so I have high hopes for next year. We also will be building a greenhouse over the winter, as the weather allows, so I am hoping to be able to grow a few things in there, also, including some lemon and orange trees in containers. I am also hoping that this winter we get enough cold weather to kill off all the grasshoppers for a few years.
I originally wanted to try straw bale gardening but have not been able to find straw bales around here, so that method was tossed aside. Then I found out about Ruth Stout and bought her books. The woman was a genius! Another possibility is combining her methods with raised beds, which is what I might do in the greenhouse. We shall see what next spring brings.
the Llanno estacado? that place is so flat, it’s scary. But, I love Ms Stout’s garden books. I even got my grandmother to try organic after showing her Stout ‘s brother wrote her favorite mysteries, Nero Wolfe. Stupid runs in families, Nana said, but so does genius. The she gave me a dirty look! But, she told my uncles to plant cover crops, which they had quit after Pappy died, to plant them under the corn as it ripened. She took to heart what her grandparents did and began to go back to pasture/hay/pasture/crop rotations. She got all of Broomall’s books and a copy of the Plowman’s Folly.
Now I’m back in paradise, in Arizona.
When you clean onions, this time of year, always check under the skins for roots. When I find any, they go in the garden for scallions. There was an article on the Panhandle, a couple had deep berms dug to hold water and planted fruit and nut trees at the tops of the berms. It was in the Permaculture site. I’ve seen that here, in south Arizona, and even in a drought year things do well. niio
Actually, we are in the southwest corner of the Panhandle and our land is not flat. We don’t have mountains like we had in Colorado but we aren’t nearly as flat as the plains in Eastern Colorado, either. We have a lot of varied terrain and a lot of wildlife. We even have a pair of badgers here! We can’t figure out how they got here, always thought they were snow country critters, but apparently not. Maybe they got old and decided to retire down south. 8^}
The biggest advantage of living here is the lack of neighbors. And the few we do have are friendly, helpful and stay out of our business for the most part.
We have a large drainage swale near the gardens where we are planning to put the orchard. We will plant the trees about halfway up the slopes on either side so the roots can get moisture but won’t be standing in water during the rainy season, if we get one. The nut trees will probably get planted closer to the new house. That way, hopefully, the squirrels will stay away from the fruit trees, if they ever find their way here. Right now, we have mesquite trees, cedars and hackberries and I haven’t seen a squirrel on the ranch yet, although a neighbor 5 miles away has some that live in her pecan and mulberry trees.
Btw, what does “niio” mean? I have noticed it on all your comments and am curious.
South Central Arizona. All I know the Panhandle is the interstate thru Amarillo. If the winds weren’t bad, then smoke from the grass fires was 🙂
I’m planting mesquite in the garden as the Indians do for shade, windbreaks, and nitrogen. the garden market is alive and well, now that it cooled off. May your rains be timely and more than enough.
Niio means to walk in beauty. To walk in beauty is to be Godly. niio
Arizona legalized pot because it stopped a lot of mules packing it in. A lot of Native Americans lost money because of that. And good riddance. We don’t have the problems CO does, or Kali-fornia because they’re not tolerated. Winter is when most chichacs come in. In summer, they fry. Penna had amuch bigger problem than we do, and NYC. Dems are usually told to lay off. The cops are friendly, if you’re an Arizonan. We strongly support the police here. We do not tolerate liberalism, much. Except for a few counties, Arizona is Arpio country. Most native Americans, and this is Indian Country, will not tolerate criminal class people–rapists, thieves, liberals, pedophiles. the pot trade is so tightly controlled, and the dems hate it, that it’s hard to get a permit to raise hemp for a summer cover crop.
CO is dem country. I pay almost 700 a year on the house and a third of an acre. Yet, this are is big for tourists, as well. Ranchers around here pay 50c/acre taxes, and 2.85 (might be more now) per animal unit, which takes 56-80 acres pasture per unit (a cow and calf, 1.3 horses, 10 goats, 5 sheep, ect). that’s what pays for teachers, and every penny has to be accounted for.
Yeah, Hickenlooper was miffed at Obama and got pot legalized. He had a running fight with Obama, and did exactly the one thing to PO the dnc, he killed one of their high and mighty diaper laws. Most of those dopers will take off for AZ, and Kali, and are. Half the out of state tags we see are CO. Most will go to Tucson or Phoenix, or towns along the border where they can walk across to buy coke and heroin cheap. where I live, everyone has a gun or guns (in Native America, we tend to have as many per person on average as entire family would in Texas–we know the dems want to give us to Mexico, and Mexican Americans are waking up to that horror). niio, you live in a beautiful state.
73-74 I lived in Quanah. A few miles east of the panhandle. For the most part I liked the area.
We are not too far from Quanah. It’s not bad around here. We are out of the hurricane zones, no earthquakes that I know of, so far. We have had pretty severe winds but no tornadoes and we have had some pretty severe hail storms but no broken windows from them. A little snow each winter but no avalanches and a seasonal river at the north end of the ranch but most of the ranch is uphill from its banks do we aren’t worried about flooding. The growing season is longer than in our previous residence and the soil is not nearly as rocky, so I expect to have greater success with a garden than in our previous home. And we have many more acres here than we had before so there have to be at least a few places where we can grow food, plus we are able to harvest deer, turkey, quail and dove on our own land without any zoning laws forbidding it. And as a bonus, there are no laws here against harvesting rainwater nor limiting the number of water wells per lot. And the property taxes are much lower than our previous residence, as are auto insurance rates and car registration fees.
All in all, it is nice to be back in the Republic of Texas. I lived here in the early to mid ‘80s but had to leave when the oil economy ranked. I was hoping to live out my retirement in Colorado but the politics there headed downhill in 2012 and have gone absolutely crazy ever since they legalized recreational marijuana so we decided it was time to change our plans and we headed down here. Considering the direction the country and the world appear to be going, it is probably for the best.
Hope you enjoy.
Do watch the river. I’ve seen some gully washers in that part of the country. Don’t get caught by surprise.
Growing season there is longer than we have here. That should be a blessing.
For the most part folks are friendly. I liked that. New Mexico seems to be wanting to copy Colorado on the marijuana bandwagon. I wish they wouldn’t.
A wash cut along the east side of the town. While it don’t get a lot of water, when a monsoon hits, not even wannabe teenagers (the 30-something oddballs) go bajaing in it. the sand is deep, and it doesn’t take a lot of water moving fast to bury a 4-wheeler, or the rider. The San Pedro River, where it empties, rarely has more than a trickle up here, but when it floods, it can leave 4 feet of mud on the roads. People down stream found that out in the 70s when they lost homes near the river. Same happened in NM, as I recall, when Richardson permitted developers to build in flood zones, and never told buyers they were flood zones.
Pot is not so bad. Anyone who uses it and goes on to stronger stuff usually will even without pot. Switzerland saw that with heroin. I can’t be around the smoke, I’m allergic. But, if I needed to go berserk, it would come in handy. Durn stuff acts like datura root in me and stinks like burning chicken manure. niio
Sabel: Sounds like you found your spot! A place to walk in beauty
Several big problems with legalizing marijuana –
The proponents of it said it would generate lots of tax money that would go to education. Nobody seems to know where all that money for the schools went but nearly every school district in the state had bond issues on the ballot last year and a bunch of them passed. My property taxes there jumped from about $2200 to $3400 in one year!
The supporters theorized that legalizing it would convince the cartels to stay out. Yeah, how’s that working for you?
The pot tourism brings people and cash in to the state. Unfortunately, a lot of those folks spend their money on pot, then they don’t go back home. Instead, they end up in flea bag motels or on the street. So now, the feel-good liberals in Denver and Boulder have decided that anyone should be able to camp out anywhere – that includes on the sidewalks, in the local parks, in the national forests and parks. Who wants to take their kids to a park or playground with homeless encampments, fecal matter and drug paraphernalia all around? Now that winter has arrived, how are those people in the encampments going to stay warm and alive? And what about anybody out in the forest? I still have a house in the mountains outside of Denver. Our biggest threat up there is forest fires.
The feel-gooders thought they were doing those folks a favor by letting them live anywhere. Now… not so much.
So, the biggest problem that I see was the fact that when the amendment to legalize marijuana got put on the ballot, all the stoners who hadn’t paid attention to politics for the past 20 years got off their couches and came out of their holes to vote for it and voted for any name with a “D” behind it, all the way down the page. That put both houses of the state legislature and the governor’s office in the hands of the Democrats. Remember Gov. Hickenlooper? That subsequently put the anti-2A people in the majority and, being involved in the business of firearms training, that put us in an untenable situation. Hence the move to a friendlier state. Voting with logic didn’t work so we voted with our feet.
As for the river, it is fairly wide, has a very sandy bottom and is a good 50’ lower in elevation than any of the houses on the ranch with fairly wide bottomlands along its path. Several springs ago, we got an incredible amount of rain for several months that finally broke the drought. Cotton fields looked like rice paddies. Both the paved and unpaved roads were mud pits as the fields overflowed the drainage ditches but the house here is on high ground and we didn’t have any troubles aside from needing to drive through the fields to get to the highway since the dirt county road was too slick for 4WD every time we got more rain. We usually only go into town for groceries once a week so we are usually pretty well stocked on everything but eggs and orange juice. Eventually, we will get some chickens, so the only issue will be getting fresh OJ and Diet Mtn Dew for my DH. Fortunately, he is trying to drink more iced green tea and less ‘Dew.
Namaste.
Sabel,
You have a good list; but, one you forgot that has already happened, is the disposition of the narcotics detection canines. They are normally trained for all illicit drugs from cocaine and meth to marijuana; but, with marijuana now legal, those dogs now often get hits on lrgal amounts and tie up police doing what amounts to busy work.
Statistically people who live the longest are married. (Happily that is) Next are eunichs, and the celebate.
Ruth Stout was married starting about age 45 til his death when she was aged 76 or so
When I can get something like weeds or trimmings and cardboard I use them. I also use a lot of rabbit droppings. They are a cold manure so nothing gets burned. They make green growth quick. I often throw kitchen trimmings and egg shells in a large container full of water. I water plants with that. Its desert here so no lawn trimmings or lush piles of weeds. My few Coffee grounds, trimmings, cut off weeds et. do end up on or mixed in the soil. I’ve even used fermented grain from a brewery but the chickens love it so much it’s hard to keep the free range gals out of the garden so now its strictly chicken feed. Everything adds to build richer dirt, helps retain moisture, draws worms to live there, and I enjoy the garden.
My parents had Ruth Stout’s books and articles.
I’m planning to buy hay for the garden this fall and to mulch the new Strawberrys. When I lived here before the garden was getting better and better. It sat unused for 13 years but this years garden is doing well. It was large in past years to feed a large family and many guests. This year I’m starting small. It’s just two of us and rare company. Also I’m working on reestablishing free trees here.
A lot of what’s coming up that might be called weeds are in fact amaranth and purslane. I eat those and welcome them. Also a lot of puncture vine has been coming up. I’ve been pulling them and letting them lay and dry up where they were growing. Any value in those returns to the garden.
As I’m able to get it, cardboard is being laid on a new area. It won’t breakdown enough to plant this year but its prep for next spring. Cottonwood leaves will help mulch the strawberries over winter. My fall planting will be where a stack of old corrugated metal is currently stacked. The ground is moist and worms are beginning to show up there. It should be good for planting broccoli and peas…probably lettuce as well. All will love the cooler weather of fall.
When are you going to write another article for us? walk in joy
I read Ruth Stout’s book years ago and never forgot her ideas, even though our country gardens were done conventionally. Finally I am able to do something similar to Stout’s. We bought a small city property in Jan 2017 because my husband’s health was failing and the country place was too much. This is my third year with the small city garden. I started on top of lawn grass on heavy red clay. There were NO earthworms. First season I grew a few things in topsoil bags, with moderate success. I did not attempt to kill or dig out the grass. All over the garden and around the bags I mulched with leaves I had saved from roadsides while were property hunting. So I had 18 bags of nice leaves to start with. I added the season’s lawn clippings, and in the fall leaves from our own trees and those from neighbors. Lots of big earthworms at season’s end. I did put a short netting fence all around mainly to keep the leaves in, also rabbits out. In 2018 I had plenty of veges for freezing and sharing. Last fall (2018) I gathered more than 100 bags of leaves from the neighborhood! I used them around shrubbery and fruit-bearing plants, as well as the vege garden. Gathering those bags of leaves was the hardest thing I have done for my garden! I have never turned or tilled the soil. The condition of it is much improved already. My garden is producing abundantly! I do add fresh vege scraps under the mulch too — to feed the worms and other critters in the soil. No pesticides, very little fertilizer. I do use Azomite to add trace minerals but mainly depend on the decaying matter to feed the soil. Weeds don’t make it but sometimes grass comes through but is easy to pull out. I am very pleased with the results in such a short time! I expect my garden to get better and better as time goes on! Try this method. You will love it!
i read one comment i recieaved today about fixing sewing machines lmao im 65 and i still have a hand cranked leather sewing machine to do all my sewing with and shoe repairs and im a male lol but on most composting if you will throw a little dirt in with the mix will help it breakdown faster and also useing all that cardboard take and wet it before laying it down and layer dirt on it will help prep it faster
That sounds like an interesting sewing machine. My treadle machine will sew several layers of denim or lighter weight leather. Of course I saw my mother in law sew the thinnest fine materials for brides maid dresses on her well oiled treadle machine.
Well, Ruth Stout never gardened on the Blackland Prairie soil of Texas. The weeds here will push up through 3 feet of mulch, root into it, seed it, and just go hog wild. The weeds here break up concrete and asphalt. No matter what gardening technique you use if you don’t pull weeds twice a week you will be in deep doodoo. For vegetables I build keyhole style raised beds so I don’t have to bend over, but my butterfly gardens are ground level, so it’s stoop labor several hours a week. I think the proper definition of Gardener is ‘one who pulls weeds and pretends to like it.’
Bad weeds. I use cardboard under the mulch and that takes care of most. Chopping them off just under grown level does,, as well, and leaves roots intact to build the soil. If they’re legumes, they can stay and I just cut them back to keep them from blooming and a little extra mulch. Each time they get cut back, a lot of roots die, leaving a lot of nitrogen in the soil. When the roots are about depleted, not growing the plant well, then it’s cut off completely. niio
We did the Ruth Stout method this year using left over round bale hay from our goats. We just unrolled it right on the garden. It really works. We could have used even more. Some weeds came up in areas that only got one layer, but the areas that got two layers were perfect.
Yes! If you can, get her book, Make Mine Mulch. By mulching, she was still able to garden right to the end of life. Modern agriculture calls mulch armor on the soil. Here, no mulch, forget the garden. The soil dries to brick and most will die. hay bale gardening works well here. place rows of hay or straw bales down with a few feet of space between them and plant in the space.
I’m 71, and remember that name from when I was a kid, my mom was into organic gardening when I was a kid. We had the usual small yard and she grew stuff our there. It was maybe, 10′ x 14′.. my dad would split a 2×4 and make tomato cages and connect them together on top and we could walk under and in between them. and when we went fishing she would barry the scrapes in the soil around the plants. Any organic matteral would go in the gardn or the compost box my dad built in the back yard. Everything grew great. later we moved to a farm and took bails of hay and took the leaves and piled them up about 2 feet high, anybe 25 feet long and put the potatoes in between the leaves and all you had to do is left the hay off them and you had nice beautiful potatoes and pretty clean. But here in texas you have fire ants to have to watch out for.. I do throw out old potatoes that are starting to grow in the bags and always get potatoes from my compost.. Don;’t let anyone tell you they wont grow right, cause they do…
I’m 72. My parents had Ruth’s books and articles, subscribed to Mother Earth Magazine and more. We gardened every place we lived. Dad always dug a compost pit.
I learned a lot from them.
This year my husbands Alzheimer’s is too advanced for him to help. I had several injuries and two surgeries. I collected the scraps that should have gone in compost on an old laundry tub. When I did plant a garden I just added water to the tub. Now I supliment watering with the compost tea. The garden is lush and productive. I still like a compost pile or layered garden with scraps in the layers but I did what I was able to do and it’s working. I’m enjoying the garden. And we’re beginning to eat from the garden.
In damper areas, potato blight caused a lot of deaths because the potatoes weren’t disposed of, but dumped by the fields. That’s how plagues start. Fire Ants!: We’re not as plagued as Texas, but we also have a lot more varieties. Horned toads eat them, but they tend to get out of hand. A cup of cornflour or corn meal over the nest kills most of them. They love the stuff but eat it dry, and can’t digest it, then drink something. Usually have to follow up ever few weeks for a while. But, this is the first year I actually had seeds growing well in the garden. Ants and doves would steal them all. niio
I have both red and black ants here near the garden. Black ants never both the garden or me BUT the RED ant when they crawl up a pant leg when you’re working could make a dead man dance. Boy do they hurt!
I usually feed them baking soda and corn meal. That seems to get rid of them but it doesn’t seem like too long and I find more moving in. TRESPASSERS!
I’ve been nailed by the black ants, too, and they’re just as bad. There’s one red ant nest left, the horned toads ate the others. Red ants are bad for coming in the house, as well. The black ant nest on the north side of the garden was getting big stealing lost turnips seeds, but after a week with the cornflour, seems to mostly be gone. At least till surviving grubs come out. All the ants I saw were big ones, older, and those are usually guards, not scavengers. No nests left on the east or south side of the house. I need to get out in the morning to check anything north of the fence. niio
you can take your compost and put it in a blender and pour it in your garden around your plants and cover it with grass clippings from the mower or whatever mulch you use…
I’m in south central Arizona. Lawns are only now starting to grow. A lady from Arkansas had a brilliant idea. She has her husband dig holes 3 feet deep in the yard and fills them with kitchen scraps and junk mail. She’s developing a nice garden out of adobe and caliche soil. niio
Ruth gardened in wetter country. I live in high mountain desert. Watering will always be part of having a garden but the better the dirt gets, the longer it helps some moisture.
The joyful rumble of lawnmowers fills my ears every Saturday now. As for as I’m concerned, the only excuse Round Up has to exist is bermuda grass. But, some get a thrill out of green in good desert lawns. I’ll take Indian Rice, any day. niio
Rice grass is our state grass. I have quite a bit of larger seeded grasses. My chickens love it. I’m going to cut that wild rye this week. I’ll let the stems dry to mulch the new strawberry bed and save the seed. I may try cleaning it and cooking it or grind it for flour. I have two larger seeded grasses making seed right now. Those I usually save for the chickens or younger Ducks.
I have a lot of the native buffalo grass here. If the land remains untouched that fills and and makes a good ground cover. If land is disturbed it takes years for it to fill back in.
I keep one are pretty much untouched. Maxican hat and other wild flowers grow there. The buffalo grass is thick. Usually it is green already this time of year.this year it just starting to grow. It gets 6 to 8 ” at the tallest so I never consider cutting it.
You walk in beauty. Forgive me, but I’ve been up too long. Tomorrow, I’m gonna walk all the way around the fence to the back alley! Be happy when I can get out and walk for miles, again. niio
Strength will return. I’m still working on conditioning and strength after the injuries and surgeries. Its slower than I want but I can tell it’s getting better.
Walk in blessings
I know, but it’s been months since I could do any real work. Half the garden is empty, most of the seedlings planted died. Then I saw that picture of Bill Clinton in the blue dress and nearly wound up in the emergency ward! Laughter is supposed to be good medicine. Then, the dog had a major horror. Food bit back. I had dropped some pieces of hotdog on the floor that morning and he missed one. He found it early in the afternoon but it bit him! He ran from it scrubbing at his face, and I went to offer it to him, and saw some small house ants. It all evaporated and since then, tho sore from laughing, I feel blessed, again. niio. You’re a strong-heart and an encouragement to all of us.
Our nearer Wal-Mart is selling off this years garden stuff. I bought My favorite gardening gloves for less than half price, 50 ft hoses were $7, fruit tree feeding stakes were 75% off and fish emulation was also 75% off. I bought several of each thing I usually do use. I also bought a hose to attach water to my little motor home.
Looks like rain again this week. Starting either Tuesday or Wednesday. I need to pick yellow squash tomorrow. Probably Should pick another gallon bowl of amaranth leaves as well. We’re really enjoying them this year.
My egg shells are already spoken for… Back to the chickens.