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Re: Ruth Stout's mulching method

Hello Rob,

I've been using the deep mulch method for a few years. This is such a
fabulous method to simultaneously control weeds, improve the soil, eliminate
watering, and severly decrease pests and diseases. I can't imagine going back
to my old method of tilling, and insecticides. I have used this method in my
large garden in which I use the square foot method in long rows. For example
I plant carrots in rows 18 feet long and 2 feet wide, using Mel's spacing
methods of 16 carrots to a square. I have also used mulching in my raised
square foot garden that I keep at the library in town. I mulch the isles with
thick chopped grass. I mulch the planting areas with straw, not hay. Hay has
seeds that can germinate in the spring. Straw has no seeds.

Someone told me that I would attract rodents if I grew potatoes in mulch but
that hasn't been the case for me. I have blight free potatoes and lots of
them, and no rodents.

I mulch through the winter. This is where you will hear differences of
opinion. Some say mulching through the winter allows the soil borne bacteria
and viruses to live through the winter. Others say the mulch decomposes and
improves the soil. I plant lots of onions, garlic, leeks, horseradish, and
carrots in the fall (zone 4). I mulch with about eight inches of straw. In
the spring I have the juiciest veggies ready to harvest without any work. The
onions taste as sweet as Vidalia onions using this method. My neighbors hover
around my garden starting in March, about the time the crocus' bloom, asking
me to uncover the veggies now please. I usually wait until April.

If I remember correctly, I read about Ruth Stout's mulching methods in the
Organic Gardening Book by Rodale Press, circa 1965 this summer. It is a good
article.

Lorrie (Vermont)

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