Lazy Man's Garden

Lazy Man's Garden FARM HOME Miscellaneous 29-3-5 Frequent FARM SHOW contributor Dan Krenzel recently wrote to tell us about his "lazy man's" way to garden. He originally got the idea from a woman named Ruth Stout who wrote a book called "Ruth Stout's No Work Gardening". The idea is simple, and you might have seen a similar idea with carpet or newspaper. But Krenzel says cardboard is somewhere in the middle in terms of ease of use and durability. In the fall, you simply lay down large pieces of cardboard right over untilled ground. It doesn't matter how grassy or weedy the ground is. Secure the edges with rocks or stakes. Come spring, the cardboard will still be there and will have molded itself to the contour of the ground. Beneath it, all vegetation will be dead and the earthworms will be churning away, tilling up the ground for you. When it's time to plant, just cut holes in the cardboard and plant away. As you dig holes for tomato and cucumber plants, you'll notice that, there are a lot more worms under the cardboard as compared to the untouched ground right next to your cardboard garden. You can cut rows out of the cardboard for vegetables planted in rows. As the season progresses, Krenzel the ground stays moist in the cardboarded area as compared to the soil around it. "We've had fantastic luck with this method. It's a lot less work and, with no competition from weeds, vegetables grow like I've never seen," Krenzel says.

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