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yesterday i finally got around to raking --about 8inches thick--as i raked to the ground i found the dirt was cool and looking better than the dirt without the leaves-- i thought i will have to get some mulch for the area since in our hot dry zone the dirt would bake and crack
that's when i saw the irony of raking up the leaves to go out and buy mulch to put back!!
i did leave a thinner layer of leaves in place--but i think i should have left them all--of course that big ole pecan tree will keep leaving its leaves and more will take their place
i have done lasagna layering a few years back and your article has me thinking i might use ms stouts method of constantly layering ---thanks for introducing me to such an inspirational person!
YouTube used to have three separate videos posted taken from "Ruth Stout's Garden", but they were removed for copyright violation. Margaret Roach had them up on her website, it's where I first saw them. Now they're removed from her website as well.
Thanks for reading my article and you're most welcome!!
I have an odd sense of humor sometimes, but I found this article to be downright hilarious, I laugh til my face hurts every time I read it.
The first page is a little dry, but it picks up...
Thanks so much for the article, TC. It brought back wonderful memories of gardening with my grandparents in Northeastern PA. My grandmother was a devotee of the Stout method of mulching right from the start. I remember the soil being very rich, fluffy and moist. I don't remember them using newspapers, but there were always plenty of spoiled hay bales lined up to be spread in the spring, fall, and whenever an area or rows of the garden had yielded and needed to 'rest.' My grandfather would separate the bales into 'books' and layer them thickly. We'd also be sent out as children to put the potato peelings, squash ends, and other kitchen garbage under the hay, or into the 'mulch pit' at the center of the garden, and let the earthworms spread it around! Johnson grass was a problem in that area too, but much, much less so with the thick mulch all around.
