Try out an unconventional vegetable garden

Last year was my first year putting in a vegetable garden. I have always wanted to, but I am not one to jump right into things, and I always had so much going on and very little time to dedicate to a garden. But last year, I had more time on my hands, and my children are old enough to be involved, so it was the right time for me.

However, I had several requirements. I did not want to do a lot of weeding. I hate weeding! I also wanted to use what I knew about biology and ecosystems to my advantage and use the least amount of fertilizers or pesticides possible — maybe even none at all. Basically, I wanted an “easy” garden that worked with nature instead of fighting nature.

Hay

I ended up using a heavy layer of old hay over the entire garden. You read that right, I said hay. So many people were very concerned when they saw the garden. I’ll admit, it did look very non-traditional, but I do not care about looks. But others were very concerned about the grass and weed seed from the hay.

I reassured those who stopped to talk to me that I was never going to allow the garden to be uncovered, and if I kept the hay on the garden thick, it would be OK. And it was. In fact, it was amazing!

Benefits

I watered very little throughout the entire summer, and the worm activity was great. I even made a few “mistakes,” like planting some things too close, but the plants were healthy and productive. My first attempt, overall, was a success. I have learned so much and have plans to improve.

The benefits I noted were water retention, weed suppression, hay decaying fast (nutrients being incorporated into the soil), worms everywhere, cooler soil temperatures and covered soil that could reduce or prevent runoff.

Methods

This year is my first year with a no-till garden, and planting was very different. I made “nests” in the hay for the seeds and have had good results. I am still learning, and I would not say I am following one particular method.

I have pulled many concepts together, but the main one is known as the Ruth Stout method. All the things I am doing are intentional to help me meet my goals and have multiple benefits. The hay I have used is old hay, or hay that was baled too wet. This has been an amazing way to get all the benefits I wanted without spending money on things like black weed barrier, or sprays.

There is a good bit of upfront labor, but throughout the season, it is very low maintenance. If I see any weeds, I simply cover them with more hay — and I do go through an impressive amount of hay.

Even though the garden may have not looked like the typical garden, by harvest time, it was lush, green, very productive and, in my opinion, beautiful.

Cover crops

This method of gardening mirrors the benefits of an established cover crop on cropland. A cover crop can suppress weeds, increase water filtration and retention, build soil fertility, increase soil biology, increase nutrients when it is terminated, act as erosion control and has the extra benefit of having a living root throughout the year.

The living roots throughout the year help reduce compaction, bring nutrients to the surface and, perhaps most importantly, produce root exudes. These exudes allow communication between soil microbes and roots. Keeping a living root through the winter helps the new plants get established more quickly and access nutrients more effectively.

I am working on a plan to implement a cover crop this year in the garden. This will not be as easy as a traditional gardening system, but I have some experiments in mind to try at the end of the summer or in the fall.

Young gardeners

Perhaps my favorite benefit from my garden is watching my children learn and enjoy the fruits of their labor. They have grown more excited over fresh vegetables. They are involved in the entire process, and I help them understand what we are doing. Not to mention, they have fun helping me come up with new ways to use the produce.

They still grumble a bit when labor is involved, but come July and August, they will be running out the door, first thing in the morning, to see what is ready to harvest. Of all the things I loved about the garden, that is my favorite thing of all.

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