Easy Organic Gardening Without Digging--It’s All In the Compost!
Posted: Friday, January 18, 2008
by Robyn Cameron-Smith
Frog Holler Organiks
Don't want an aching back this spring? Get rid of your shovel! That's right--you don't need it. Let Mother Nature and the earthworms do the work for you.
Being concerned with the quality of food that I eat, I not only grow my own food but I make my own soil! From much trial and error I have discovered easier methods to handle acres of vegetable and flower gardens and not wear out my 115 pound frame. After years of gardening organically and bio-dynamically, I have perfected methods and short cuts that produce bigger and more nutritious vegetables than I have ever grown. My gardens are also drought-resistant and very low maintenance.
Next, cut any existing weeds or grass as short as possible. To keep them from growing into your new garden, cover them with four or five layers of newspaper and then wet them so they will stay in place. The newspaper will kill the weeds and grass but rot so the plant roots and earthworms can get through.
Now for the most important step: use the very best quality compost you can find.Try to use as many different types of composts as possible. Using many types of composted materials adds a broader mineral spectrum to your soil and your vegetables will contain many more nutrients. When making compost at our farm, we mix at least seven different types of composts and manures together for the healthiest garden soil possible. Some composts and manures which are good to use include chicken manure, leaf mold, vegetable compost, trout compost, mushroom compost, horse manure, cow manure, rabbit manure, goat manure, llama manure, etc. You get the picture. Make sure your compost is well-aged and mixed. The older, the better. If you have a tractor, you can mix up huge batches of compost at one time. We spread the compost over a large area in layers at our farm, put it through a rotovator and then pile it up for it's next use. This not only grinds it into small pieces but mixes it even more when we move the existing pile.
To build your garden, mound the compost about one foot deep on top of the newspaper, sloping it down at the edges. You do not have to dig it into the existing soil--the earthworms will do this for you. One earthworm population can move 18 tons of soil per acre per year! Save your back and put nature's little rototillers to work! Several months after you have established your garden, dig into the existing soil and you will see where the worms have already tilled in the compost. You have just created a big vermiculture bin that you can grow in! The earthworms will continue to produce worm castings which are a very good fertilizer for your plants.
Make sure you always use a good mulch on top of your compost to prevent weeds and keep the compost and plants moist. We use about two or three inches of shredded hardwood mulch. During spring planting, simply pull a little mulch back and dig a small hole to stick your vegetables in. If you are planting seeds, just scrape back the mulch to the bare compost and sprinkle your seeds on the compost. Watering every day will produce fast germination.
For vegetable gardens, you should apply about six inches of fresh compost each winter. This step is not necessary with flower gardens--just vegetable gardens.
Weeding is much easier because of the fluffy and loose compost. Simply pull out the weeds and pat the mulch back in place over the bare compost.
For more information on making your own compost or Frog Holler Helper Compost, contact www.frogholler.net
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Thanks for the fresh insights on this very important subject Robyn
Very sound advice. The strange thing is that folk buy compost new every season when they can make it themselves from kitchen scraps, shredded cardboard and lawn clippings - for free. And even on a patio!
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