Here's An Easy Way To Garden

Here's An Easy Way To Garden CROPS New Techniques 34-2-35 Planting a garden directly into bags of potting mix may seem a bit different, but it can make gardening a lot easier, especially for the elderly or anyone with physical limitations. The idea is to put bags of potting soil on the ground or on raised beds, then slit the bags open. The bottom of each bag should be punctured for drainage. Once planted you can throw some mulch on top to hide the bags. Credit for the idea goes to researcher Dr. Clydette Alsup-Egbers, an agronomist with Missouri State University in Springfield. She got the idea after watching an urban couple struggle to break up their compacted ground to plant their first garden. "Gardening should be enjoyable, not back-breaking work," she says. Dr. Alsup-Egbers says there are several advantages to her system of planting directly into bags of potting mix. She says soil problems are fewer in the bagged gardens. Also, the potting soil warms up faster than does the ground. As with anything new, it's a good idea to go slow at first. Strawberries, radishes, cherry tomatoes and other small crops may be the best way to go at first. You can keep planting into plastic bags from year to year. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dr. Clydette Alsup-Egbers, 901 S. National Ave., Springfield, Mo. 65897.

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