If you’re a lazy gardener like me, you might benefit from Ruth Stout’s no-till gardening method. Ruth Stout is a savvy gardener and has decided that she will not till the soil before planting her garden. She pioneered the concept of permanent mulch that enriches soil and produces amazing results with less effort. She is known as the “Queen of Mantles” and has written many books on the subject.
Who is Ruth Stout?
Ruth was born in the United States in 1884 and realized at a young age that traditional gardening methods were a waste of time and effort. In 1930, she and her husband moved to a farm in Connecticut. According to gardening lore, she was frustrated that the man they hired to plow their fields each year was late. Noticing her asparagus plants sprouting, she wondered why she had to plow if she didn’t have to plow to plant them. This began her lifelong habit of mulching. In fact, she used rotten hay that was not good for anything else. The result was fewer weeds, more moisture retention, and the hay slowly released nutrients to her plants as it decomposed.
What is the Ruth Stout Method?
If you observe a lush forest with many trees and understory plants, consider the soil. It is made up of layer upon layer of fallen organic material. Soil is warmer in winter, cooler in summer, rich in nutrients and retains moisture. The natural layering of nature in this way may have inspired Ruth. Ruth Stout’s garden begins with a layer of dry grass. Add to this every year. The result is a garden that requires no tilling, requires less water, fertilizer and fewer weeds. Her methods have inspired many famous gardening experts and are the basis for many other growing strategies.
Advantages and disadvantages of the Ruth Stout method
If you are a gardener who is picky about the neatness of your landscape, this method may not be for you. Although effortless and resource-efficient, gardening using the Ruth Stout method is messy at first. But when vegetables begin to grow, the landscape becomes much more aesthetically pleasing. Another great thing is that this method doesn’t necessarily require hay. You can spread multiple layers of any organic matter and get the same results. Fallen leaves, herbaceous branches, and dried grass clippings all work as sustainable mulches. The Ruth Stout method of gardening saves time and energy. No need to dig, just layer and plant.
How to Create a Ruth Stout Garden
While this method is less time-consuming and requires no special equipment, it does require a little planning for best results. If your soil is clay, it is best to till before mulching. If your soil is sandy, incorporate some organic amendments. Next, mulch with hay in late summer or fall. This will help the hay or other organic material decompose a bit and warm the soil earlier in the spring. You can use hay or straw, but hay is higher in nitrogen and decomposes faster, while straw is coarse, tough, and has more carbon than nitrogen.
Spread an 8-inch (20 cm) layer, which will shrink by half in the spring. This layer is thick enough to suppress weeds while still allowing seed plants to grow. Ruth sprinkled the seeds and then just patted the mulch with her hands to let the seeds fall to the ground.
Maintaining a Garden Ruth Stout
Like any garden, the plant will need regular watering during hot summers. But only occasionally when the soil under the mulch dries out. Sprinkle some free-release fertilizer over the mulch and water in. Once the plants are large enough, add mulch around them to keep the soil moist and reduce weeds. After harvesting each plant, simply leave the dead plant in place and compost it into mulch and soil. Cover it with another layer of mulch 20 cm thick and wait for spring.
What to plant
Because mulch retains heat, you can grow late-season crops successfully. Kale, collard greens and other cool-season crops will thrive. You can also grow most standard garden vegetables, such as:
- Corn
- Lettuce
- Bean
- Onion
- The potatoes
- Squash
- Asparagus
- Garlic
- Tomato
- Strawberry
- Tomato
- Cabbage
- Radish
- Peas
