Questions About Mulching
Ruth Stout was all about mulch. Layers, piles, heaps, mounds, more. She captured
Organic Gardening readers' attention with her
passion for no-work gardening. In this entry from How to Grow Vegetables and
Fruits by the Organic Method, Stout addressed readers' FAQs about her approach
to gardening.
 | Ruth Stout, the Maven of Mulch, with her
husband and 2 friends. |
People are always asking Ruth Stout a great many questions about the
year-round mulch method: what kind of mulch to use; how much; when to apply
it. Here are some of her answers.
Kind: Hay, leaves, straw, seaweed, pine needles, sawdust, weeds,
garbageany vegetable matter which rots. Some people write me and complain
the bales of "hay" they bought were all coarse stalks, weeds, etc. That is all
good mulch.
All kinds of leaves: Yes.
Aren't oak leaves too sour? People say so. Put on a little more lime
if your soil is acid.
Don't some leaves decay too slowly? Then they remain mulch just that
much longer.
Don't leaves mat down? Somewhat but that makes no difference, since
they are between the rows of growing things, not on top of them.
Can you use leaves without hay? Yes, but I prefer a combination of the
two, if you can get it.
How much mulch do you need? The answer to that is: more than you would
think. You should start with a good 8 inches of it.
How can tiny plants survive between 8-inch walls? And the answer to
that is: the mulch is trampled on, rained on, and packed down by the time you are
ready to plant; it doesn't stay 8 inches high.
How often do you put it on? Whenever you see a spot that needs it. If
weeds begin to peep through, don't bother to pull them; just toss an armful of
hay on them.
What time of year do you start to mulch? NOW, whatever the date may
be.
Would it be better to wait until the crop is up? No, for by that time
the sun will have had a chance to bake the soil, and the weeds will be making
progress.
Now, the million-dollar question: Where do you get your mulch? That is
difficult to answer but I can say this: if enough people in any community demand
it, I believe that someone will be eager to supply it.
Also, use all your leaves. Clip your cornstalks into foot-length pieces and
use them. Utilize your garbage, tops of perennials, everything. In many
localities the utility companies chop up branches which they cut when they clear
their wires; you can probably get these for nothing if you can haul them away.
Now for the drawbacks. People have complained to me that mulching does not
kill everything. I just got a letter from someone saying that it won't kill
cockleburs, morning glories, Johnson grass, nut grass. She left out witch grass.
I know it won't kill that and neither will it pick your peas or plant your
seeds. I am just saying (in a friendly, sarcastic way) that just because it does
100 things for you, should it be expected to do 101?
Excerpted from the How to Grow Vegetables and Fruits by the Organic
Method. Edited by J.I. Rodale and Staff. Copyright 1961, by J.I.
Rodale. Renewed 1999, Rodale Inc. To get a free 21-day preview of the classics,
call (800)
848-4735.
Organic Gardening has been helping gardeners
and concerned consumers get the most healthful, purest food possible since 1942.
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