Exciting "no dig" article

This is from LA Times today.

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a local man who does "no dig" gardening atop mounds of hay, alfalfa, and compost, that produces bumper crops of food.

An eye-opener!

Persephone

Reply to
Persephone
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Seems anything that was once alive wants to do it again.

Small plants grow Nibbled yet Once thru and recycled Rebirth and death so often it seems it does not happen

Music on

The Enchanted Gypsy 3:22 Donovan A Gift From A Flower To A Garden

Metamorphosis 5:54 Jean-Luc Ponty The Best of Jean-Luc Ponty

Bill who has his dad over in 30 mins and dinner is now my Provence.

Reply to
Bill

Ahhh....caused me to queue up some Jean-Luc as I am cleaning the garage/office and need some motivation to finish....now where is the Donovan.......which box.......

Jean-Luc Ponty "No Absolute Time" 1993......current selection "Caracas"....

Just what I needed.........

Does your Dad like Jean-Luc? I ask this for a reason. Dad had issues with my musical tastes his whole life and didn't much care for music in general, except for Barbershop, which I do enjoy also. On one of my last times taking him for chemo shortly before he died, I was playing David Helpling's "Sleeping on the Edge of the World" and about halfway home he roused a bit said he liked "my" music that was playing. This was a big deal. Maybe it helped him transition. It helped me.

Charlie

Reply to
Charlie

Nothing new here for some of us, but it is good you posted this in order to add mainstream legitimacy to the idea for the Great Unwashed.

Charlie

Reply to
Charlie

And if you can't get your hands upon, here is a good overview.......

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Reply to
Charlie

If you can get your hands on her books, read Ruth Stout.

Gardening without work The Ruth Stout No-work Garden Book

Reply to
phorbin

Or, if you want to read about the person whose method was the source of inspiration to the LA Times gardener, read about Esther Deans here:

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if you want to read about a variety of similar methods try here:
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note that when the LA Times writes, "Marfisi starts with alfalfa hay (Deans recommends Lucerne hay, but it's hard to find locally)", they obviously can't use google. Alfalfa and Lucerne are exactly the same thing.

Reply to
FarmI

She's mentioned in the "no dig" article.

Eons ago I remember reading her method of planting tomatoes. Drop one on the ground and stomp on it.

Reply to
Persephone

Hi Charlie.

My dad listens to talk radio mostly. Then music from 1940's and early fifties. Here are a few artists he likes.

Perry Como Joe Sandford Frank Sinatra Judy Garland Benny Goodman

Bill

Reply to
Bill

Ruth Stout is the pioneer of the no dig method. I have both of her books. They are even first printing, first edition. I found them in an antique store and paid 4 for both.

Later, aft err she was dead, people started experimenting with hay bale gardening. That's where you take a bale, core out two or three holed on top of the bale, fill it with compost, let it cook for a month or so or it will be too hot for the plants, and grow your food directly in the bales. Alfalfa hay is the more desirable since `the potential for coastal Bermuda hay to contain seeds is very likely. Up north, salt marsh hay can be used. I've tried this on tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe and others, with great success.

Reply to
Jangchub

Reply to
dr-solo

Rex Stout is Ruth's brother. He's the author of the Nero Wolfe books among others. I remember Ruth, she was 90+ then, appearing on the OLD Victory Garden show, when the mission was education and information instead of eye candy and it was called Crockett's Victory Garden.

They were filming in Ruth's garden showing her groping through hay handing potatoes to Crockett when he asked her if she always gardened this way. Ruth's answer; "no, I usually garden in the buff." Hahahaha. I'll never forget that program!

Yeah, believe me this is NOT a revolutionary, new gardening method break through. I still have her three books. I bought them new, probably in the early to mid 60's. Not a one is marked over $2 I was a fan of hers even long before her appearance on Victory Garden.

How To Have A Green Thumb Without An Aching Back A New Method Of Mulch Gardening, The Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book Gardening Without Work: For the Aging, the Busy, and the Indolent.

She was quite a gal. Herbert Hoover even had files on her and her brother, considering them radicals...that's gold stars in my book even if they didn't garden!

Val

Reply to
Val

It is flowering, The cut duckweed at the roadside, In the evening rain.

- Buson (1716-1784)

Reply to
Billy

yep been doing similar for a decade meself now!

don't even bother stomping on the tomato just let it fall and it grows back as free volunteer, got lots of plants doing that, cucumbers, bok choi & mustard as well.

anyhow we've got pic's of our gradens on our site.

On Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:00:24 -0700, Persephone wrote: snipped With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

-- "Be Content With What You Have And May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In A World That You May Not Understand."

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Reply to
len gardener

that is to make sure the weed seeds get exposed so they sprout and take over the garden.

it is old fashioned. the new fashion is "no till".

Somebody else said "LMAO"

==============

Just to report that both of them were right on. My veg garden which I dutifully turned, sprouted so many weeds that I was tempted to let them take over & buy my vegs. But with the price of food now, I sighed, picked up the hoe, attacked, and am replanting VERY late in the season! Have to swallow my pride and buy at least some plants.

Live & learn!

Persphone

Reply to
Persephone

Hmmm.....I like these artists also! But I get the generational point.

Charlie

Reply to
Charlie

There was no suggestion that it was a revolutionary, new gardening method.

Reply to
FarmI

Wish it were that easy here. We need the extra bit of growing season we gain by starting earlier...

Early spring was so cloudy for so long that everything we started never reached any size, except the Ayur Vedic and Chinese herbs we're trying which grow as weeds in their native environs and they were planted late. The rest stayed in a light starved holding pattern until they were put out. --Most are about three weeks behind and we had to keep them in until June 2nd due to the danger of frost.

Reply to
phorbin

-to-the-rototiller-daves-garden/

Does anyone here realize how expensive alfalfa hay is? Some places it's $8 a bale. A bale doesn't go far and is often infested with weed seeds.

Reply to
R. & J. Willingham

What herbs are you growing? I'm just getting my medicinals up and growing but they are all western. I have been trying to grow "gynostemma pentaphyllum" but with little luck. Last year I got germination of one plant but it never showed any vigor (mirrored by the rest of my garden until Sept.) and this year I have been unable to germinate at all after two efforts.

Reply to
Billy

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