November 01, 2024

Book - The Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book

Since returning from England in 2023, I decided to stop reading the news every morning with my coffee and started reading my gardening books as my morning ritual.  I have not read most of my gardening books from cover to cover.  But since I changed my habit, I have finished over a dozen or more.   So I am starting a new series about my book collection.

First up a book I have had since my City College Horticultural days.  It is a simple premise that doesn't require a full book to understand although there are good ideas throughout, mostly for vegetable gardening.   Mulch your soil with hay and over a course of three years, you will see a dramatic improvement in your soil.  I am one that believes that I am really tending to the soil and the plants are on a separate level.  

Over the last few years, I have created a system much like The Stout System but geared more for a flower garden in an urban environment.  My system is simple too.  Leave all green waste in place to nourish the next season of plants.  In practice, I simple cut of all my perennials greens and mulch the soil usually right around the perennial it came from.  In the case of annuals, I chop up the entire dried plant: roots, stems and seeds, and mulch the area I want them to self-sow.

Above in September, I just finished "cleaning" up the dead annuals.  All golden straw, chopped up and left in place.   This protects the soil from the sun, keeps the soil moist and provides a perfect strata for seeds to germinate.  Creating next year's annual crop with no work or other expenses. 

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