The rototiller roared, wheelbarrows trundled and gardeners groaned this weekend as the Common Ground Garden in Saranac Lake held its spring workday. Looking around at the plots filled with thriving crops of weeds, and the energy being expended to rip them out, move them off, and smooth the soil, I thought of Ruth Stout and her "no-work garden."
Taking up gardening at the age of 45, Stout turned her unconventional mind to watching natural processes and incorporating them into her garden. Plants grow very well, she reasoned, without digging up the ground every spring. Instead of plowing the soil she layered her gardens with 8 inches of mulch, pushing it aside to plant her seeds. In this delightful video, filmed when she was about 90 years old, she explains her philosophy and plants a few potatoes for the camera.
The second half of the video covers more stories from her colorful life – including smashing saloons with Carrie Nation and gardening in the nude. Watching Ruth Stout handle a hoe in her slippers inspires me to take her advice and "pay attention to my inner voice."
Tags: mulch, No-work garden, Ruth Stout
The Garden Plot
Oh, many thanks Ellen! What a delight! I hadn't thought of Ruth Stout for years. A friend in Canton decades ago was giving Ruth's methods a try…including, as I remember it, throwing food waste directly on the old hay mulch. I mean, it makes sense…right? She gave it up though, I think because she was in quite a tight spot in the village. Maybe the neighbors weren't so relaxed about the no-compost pile composting!
But I'm a big mulch fan, and can foresee returning to some of Ruth's ways. I certainly like her attitude!!
I'm going to share this post with everyone I know. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. Instead of weeding this afternoon, I'm just going to dump grass clippings on the garden and then go sit on the porch.
Let's do that, and raise a glass to Carrie Nation!
I am looking for Connie Bardell..Please have her call us..Old friends lost touch…Thank you
Yesterday I planted potatoes just as she did in the video, using aged bedding from my horse stalls. Can't wait to see how it works. They were "left over" sprouted spuds from the kitchen same as hers.