2014 pledge: more mulch, no spray (inspired by ruth stout)
WITH HELP FROM THE LATE RUTH STOUT, I’m asking you to do two things this year: Use lots of good-quality mulch, and use no sprays or other chemicals. Get two nuggets of Stout’s 1961 wisdom from her book “Gardening Without Work,” and take the pledge.
Don’t know Ruth Stout? As I have written before: Long before phrases like “lasagna garden” were making the rounds of the as-yet-uninvented internet, Stout was layering all her organic materials (chopped up cornstalks, fallen leaves and such) on top of her Connecticut garden soil. The idea behind her sheet composting, as it might be called, was to thwart weeds, reduce the need for fertilizers, conserve moisture and spare herself the work of composting in a conventional heap with all the toting and turning of materials.
Her no-till approach rests on the foundational principle of applying mulch, mulch and more mulch, and then simply moving it back a tiny bit each year a bit to make room for a row of seeds or seedlings. (Less soil-turning equals fewer weed seeds exposed to light, and less soil damage by overworking.)
Stout used everything the garden or the trees nearby produced, combined with loads of “spoiled hay,” to mulch her garden. If that’s too funky a look for you in some areas, then compost every last scrap of organic matter first, top-dressing your beds with the finished material, and also create or locate a source of good-quality, aged mulch that will improve the soil beneath it (more on that in the bullets below; the top photo is the mulch I use–notably not giant bark chips that come in plastic bags).
On the other point of the 2014 pledge I’m proposing, I hope I don’t need to explain why I’d like you all to stop using chemicals—whether fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides or fungicides.
Frankly, I don’t even use “safe” sprays and other products approved for organic growing. I rely on a commitment to building healthy soil; practice good garden sanitation; encourage beneficial insects (more on that in the bullets below), and stay vigilant: checking key crops like cucurbits or brassicas daily, for instance, so I can stay ahead of any pest that might show up. I also accept that a little imperfection is natural; the arugula tastes just fine, even with the occasional flea-beetle hole.
Two of my favorite passages from Ruth Stout’s eccentric “Gardening Without Work: For the Aging, the Busy & the Indolent” (Amazon affiliate link) speak to the power of mulch, and the danger of chemicals. Both give you a sense of her irrepressible tone:
the quotable ruth stout
‘I GET LETTERS complaining that mulch won’t kill cockleburs, morning glories, witch grass, vetch. I could add that neither will it plant your seeds nor harvest your crops: I am only saying in a sarcastic, friendly way that just because mulch does one hundred things for you, should it be expected to do one hundred and one?”
‘I DON’T BELIEVE in spraying, and I’m not talking only about the squirting of poison on vegetables we expect to eat. I am against poisoning our little enemies if at the same time I must kill any of our little friends, such as bees, which might happen to be in the vicinity. As one man put it: what would we think of a general who ordered his soldiers to fire on everybody, including his own troops?”
Can I count on each of you to count less on packaged “remedies” this year, if you still use any, and to count more on mulch to help your garden grow?
more help going greener
- My mulch FAQ page, on what makes good mulch and how to use it
- Author Lee Reich on no-till gardening, and making compost
- How organic seed farmer Frank Morton encourages nature’s allies—beneficial insects—to help him succeed
stout’s ‘gardening without work’
RUTH STOUT’S “Gardening Without Work” (Amazon affiliate link), originally published by Devon-Adair Company in 1961, was reissued in 2011 by North Creek Press. I’ve bought two extra copies to share with you. All you have to do to enter to win is answer this question in the comments box below [NOTE: the giveaway is complete]:
What’s your mulching style and preferred material, and how’s it going with the packaged “remedies” over there (fertilizers, pesticides, weed killers)?
Me? As for mulch: I use chopped, aged leaves in my vegetable beds, and some straw or hay only if I can get it from an organic source. On my flower and shrub beds, I mulch with composted stable bedding (top-of-page photo) from an ethical local provider. As for “remedies,” I use a small amount of all-natural organic fertilizer, including concentrated seaweed and fish emulsion, and some lime on the lawn.
Feeling shy, or have no answer? Just say “count me in” or the equivalent, and I will. But I’d love to hear how you’re doing—and whether you can commit to gardening greener in the new year.
Two winners were picked at random after entries closed at midnight on Sunday, March 2, 2014.
This coming spring/summer is only my second year gardening.
I use no chemicals, if I want that I’ll just buy grocery store produce! But I did buy some liquid kelp to help things along. (I honestly can’t say whether it helped or not…)
For mulch, last year I used the wood chips and it worked fine. This year I’m not sure what I’ll use for mulch. Possibly I’ll use mostly just leaves that I piled on the garden last fall, but I need to get a ton of compost to pile on the (new) garden bed because it’s all topsoil right now with a little bit of organic matter buried beneath the top layer. I probably won’t have enough leaves so I’ll have to buy some other mulch material as well I’m sure. I’ll look through your recommendations :) I may get the woodchips to make my paths through my garden (to keep my kids from trampling the green babies!)
Count me in on the giveaway!
I mulch, mulch, mulch. I don’t fertilize my garden beds, but do use a bit on my annuals in containers.
No commercial sprays here I will be using compost and castings from my worms. I also will use shredded leaves and sometimes grass clippings for mulch.
Absolutely no sprays or anything of the sort… Mulch is old hay or straw, and underseeded clover. Leaves come in handy when there is a shortage of straw/hay. Thanks!
Mulch: YES! I’ll use any organic matter I can find for mulching my beds: composted manure is part of it, but hay, leaves, wood chippings (free from the local electrical utility), leaves, leaf mold, etc.
Count me in!
I have used many materials for mulching over the years—straw, hay, wood chips, leaves, pea gravel, spent garden plants, compost and rabbit poo. I have found that I have favorites for different areas in my garden.
I had a new layer of mulch to my perennial beds every fall and sometimes add a bit more in the spring if needed.
I’ve also played some with living mulches like red clover and growing cover crops that I pull and leave in place for mulch (my favorites are annual rye and buckwheat so far.)
I continue to be shocked at how much better my plants have been doing through our ridiculous summers (I’m in Northeast Oklahoma) than they used to before I began mulching.
I have a decent stash of organic “chemical’ -icides and some fertilizers. I haven’t used any in two or three years. I’m finding it’s more enjoyable to watch what happens when things are somewhat left to their own devices. I do hand pick pests some. But, as much as it may sound like magic, the more mulch and richer soil I have, the less pests are an issue.
Happy growing! (Oh, and please count me in!)
No sprays ever. I have been using dried pine needles from the huge tree in our new yard.
No sprays ever. I have been using dried pine needles from the huge pine tree in our yard.
I mulch all kitchen scraps and add leaves, hay, paper add lime and wait for it to desenegrate over the winter. In spring I add to garden. Lea ves are usually not completly mulchedbut I add them too. Never enough so i go and buy manure. Thanks
Count me in! I don’t use sprays at all. I like to use leaves or anything in the bed that I have just cut down for mulch. Have used lots of different things over the years.
Kitchen scraps, grass clippings, shredded leaves, straw. Every year about this time I kind of want to spray the honeysuckle, but I don’t. I pledge not to this year as well.
Yes, I pledge not to use chemicals and to continue to mulch! Thanks for highlighting this!
Hello, Margaret. Like you, I use aged leaves and compost, and some fish/seaweed emulsion. I use no sprays of any kind because even the so called natural ones can harm the bees and ladybugs. The best “remedy” is helping the plants to be as healthy as possible. The aphids will always attack the weaklings. Feeding, composting and all manner of good garden hygiene goes much further than any artificial remedy ever could! I also practice companion planting, such as pairing tomatoes and basil in the same beds – the flavors are enhanced and the tomatoes are protected (some basil is sacrificed to Japanese beetles). I plant cucumbers with sunflowers and radishes and chives – everyone is happy together! And marigolds and calendula everywhere. Thank you again for your beautiful blog and your rare personal sweetness.
I order bulk compost from a local company and have it delivered. Then I spread it where it is needed. I have raised beds and large containers.
I have only had one vegetable garden and I did not compost it, however; I would like to learn more about this method.
I use cardboard, newspapers, leaves woodchips and my compost. I have put cardboard and chips over my garden in the fall to neaten it up. In the spring my perennials come through with fewer weeds. Some people had cautioned me wood chips would rob my plants of nitrogen but I never saw that happen. I think it has to do with the slow decomposition. I also love to use this method when I want to start a new garden. The soil is easy to plant in and it has the nutrients of the smothered grass. I would love a copy of Ruth Stouts book. She is an entertaining author.
Compost year-round, alternating bins and using this to fertilize our vegetable gardens. Going to use one or more of the mulch suggestions given. We use natural remedies for Japanese beetles, grubs, things that destroy our plants, trees and lawn. Try to discourage them rather than kill them, but it is hard!
I use leaves & grass clippings for mulch. I make my own compost & fertilize with compost tea, fish & seaweed emulsion.
This year we have built an enclosed raised bed garden. I plan on using NO commercial products at all. Instead of pressure treated lumber, we used cedar. We have installed a drip irrigation system and we plan on building a soil out of organic matter and continue to mulch after seeds/transplants are in.
I order Organic Mulch from Hudson Valley Organics because they are so close to me and the mulch is EXCELLENT! This will be my third year- and definitely not my last- I had started a couple years back with the dreaded bagged mulched- dyed and all….AHHHH which will tell you how uneducated i was about my role in gardening….but now i can see major benefits and a healthy improvement in my crappy soil…
In my veggie garden- i have started composting leaves from our yard and look forward to layering that in this year.
As far as pests…and chemicals….I stopped with all that death! I really only seem to have a problem with rust and japanese beetles on my rosebushes and unfortunately was using a japanese beetle killer – without realizing the negative effects for everyone else. I now hand pick (which no longer makes me freak out) and am using Milky spore (also organic) to help control my population in the soil.
Count me in. I use no sprays of any kind and mulch with whatever I have available to me like straw, leaves etc.
Count me in please ~ I need to learn more about how to make and use mulch.
After years of joking that I had a “black thumb” – I could kill a silk flower – I learned to garden over the past five years. I don’t feel like I mastered decent yields, but I learned to build raised beds, research plants and seeds and bugs, and how to compost. That last is probably what I did best. Lots of shredded leaves, kitchen scraps, last year’s hay and manure from a friend’s stable. It always amazed me that you could put a pile of identifiable stuff together and watch it turn into dirt. And made me chuckle when I realized the middle of the pile was HOT – “It’s working!” Black thumb no more.
I’ve never used chemicals, but there were plenty of times I was so frustrated I wondered if they might have helped me grow more. Never gave into the temptation, though. Just chalked it all up to learning.
Thanks for all your help, too, Margaret! Sign me up for the book!
ps We’re retiring this year, so I’m LEAVING my beautiful made-all-by-myself garden for a warmer zone with completely different soil. More learning and a chance to do it all again from scratch, applying all I’ve learned in this garden! Happy!
leaves and hay are my favorite mulch.
No pesticides or herbicides here, and I prefer to use compost and compost tea to fertilize the gardens. And I like strips of weeds and flowers and grasses. It give the beneficial bugs a place to hangout. For mulch, I’ve used grass clippings and leaves that I saved from the year before. This year, I found a source for organic straw and would like to give that a try.