Comments on: 5 Secrets to a ‘No-work’ Garden

By: Greg Seaman

Greg Seaman — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:18:00 +0000

Perfect. The straw will be a big help in reducing watering while retaining soil surface moisture.

By: Greg Seaman

Greg Seaman — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:19:00 +0000

Hi Joellyn,
Thank you for your comments. We have a lot in common in gardening techniques.
Your question is a good one. There are several variables, such as the diameter of the soaker hose, the needs of the plants (starters vs. mature), the weather and the drainage characteristics of your soil. So you will need to do a test run ot two before you know the best watering schedule for your beds.
In our garden we run the soaker hose for maximum 1 hour on most beds, such as tomatoes, beans, squash, salad greens, etc. For the fruit trees we triple the time. For your garden, I suggest that you run the system for 45 minutes, wait 15 minutes, then poke your finger down into the soil – your fingertip should be in moist soil. You can dig a small hole if you want a better idea. The top 6″ of soil should be damp. In very hot weather, you may want to run the system a bit longer. After a few tests you will have a more precise watering schedule for your garden.

By: Lindsey Le corre

Lindsey Le corre — Sun, 12 May 2013 10:38:00 +0000

Love my 18” garden beds

By: Greg Seaman

Greg Seaman — Sat, 04 May 2013 16:45:00 +0000

Thank you Maria. Also useful for a bad back is to build your beds taller. Our newer beds are 18″ tall and it sure makes a difference from the 12″ ones. It’s easier on our backs.

By: Greg Seaman

Greg Seaman — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:31:00 +0000

Great comment Lance.
We also see the white mold when pulling back the mulch but this seems to have no negative effect, just part of the breakdown of the mulch and the moist soil conditions beneath the mulch.
We hold back a bit on mulch in early spring since it can delay the warming of the soil, and it provides habitat for sow bugs, and others, which nibble the young plant shoots. Once it warms up, we then close in the mulch around the plants and pile it thicker.

By: Lance Snodgrass

Lance Snodgrass — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:40:00 +0000

I have also seen the benefits of using grass clippings as a mulch, and used them extensively in my garden in which I grew tomatoes, sweetcorn, squash, strawberries, blackberries, watermelons and cantaloupe.
The grass clippings do smother weeds as long as its applied thick enough that it doesn’t blow away in the wind. However, keep watch for bumble bees that may nest in the grass clippings as a result.
Also, I noticed some type of fungus or white mold, not sure of what particular species, that grew on the underside of the mulch, which makes sense because the moisture would be contained underneath the mulch like you said. I’m just curious if a fungicide might be called for in some instances where a certain crop would be vulnerable to those types of mold. I didn’t see any negative effects when used with the crops I used grass clippings on, so there probably isn’t any need for worry.

By: Greg Seaman

Greg Seaman — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:16:00 +0000

If you let cover crops go to seed, they will start a new crop in your garden bed. This will interfere with the crops you intend to plant and harvest.

By: James Buckwalter

James Buckwalter — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:12:00 +0000

Why should over crops be turned under before going to seed?

By: Bren Kirksey

Bren Kirksey — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 14:12:00 +0000

great article…we did two raised beds last year and it was awesome…hardly a weed..so this year much easier to have more of them…fantastic produce…

By: Maggie@SquarePennies

Maggie@SquarePennies — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 02:39:00 +0000

Love these methods. This seems like a lot less work than hugelkultur and with more produce too. Thanks very much. I’ll be linking to your article at my blog if you don’t mind. Happy gardening!

By: Patrick Gibson

Patrick Gibson — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 16:56:00 +0000

I do mostly container gardening and almost all of that is in my greenhouse on tables.
The hardest work I do is hauling the water hose in for watering. It was extra cost and effort to build the tables, but I almost never bend over.

By: Patrick Gibson

Patrick Gibson — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 16:54:00 +0000

convert picnic tables into raised beds? cut the benches off to allow access to the table and frame in a bed underneath the table face.

By: Greg Seaman

Greg Seaman — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:18:00 +0000

I suggest you try a bed height of two feet before building up to three feet. It’s easiest when the bed height is close to the wheelbarrow height so there is less lifting. The pathway width should be a minimum of 24″, and preferably 30″. This gives you room for a folding gardening seat which really helps when weeding and transplanting. Keep beds under 4′ wide, in your case maybe the width should be 3′ so there is ess reaching out towards the middle of the bed.
Keep an eye out for sources of mulch such as straw, leaves, grass clippings so you can top dress your amendments and cover with mulch. This way you can reduce tilling which is the strenuous part of gardening. Using mulch will also reduce the need to weed.
You might want to consider buying starters instead of growing from seed, at least for your first year back in the garden.
Good luck to you.

By: Anita Rivera

Anita Rivera — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:57:00 +0000

I have been practicing this method my whole gardening career without realizing it was technically a real method! However, I need to take it many steps further as I had a spine injury that makes even daily house work very painful. I missed out on gardening for 2 years now, & am missing it terribly. I would love more input about even less work in the garden without having to hire it out. If I have to do that, the point of gardening is lost! I will see if my hubby will build me 3ft high beds, but other than that, I don’t know how I will be able to garden. Any suggestions?

By: polfeck

polfeck — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 20:46:00 +0000

As I get older I will certainly require an easy garden to manage