Gardening Without Work

Ruth Stout knows what she is doing but I sensed a tone of irritation in her book with people who need information on what to do. Most of the book is relating her experiences without any real information.

Ruth is pretty much a one-note song (mulch, Mulch, MULCH) but it's nice to know that I'm not alone in using tons of hay to mulch my gardens. This isn't literature and Ruth is, at times, a bit too folksy but given that my method of gardening isn't much different, I would probably write a lot like her.

First published in 1961 when the author was in her late 70s, this book expounds on her philosophy that by constant heavy mulching, gardening can be mastered without weeds, without tilling, without "work." Anyone who has ever walked in a forest or wooded area can tell that nature's system of dropping organic material and letting it lie creates the most healthy and vibrant soils.