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The Simplicity of Deep Mulch GardeningRead the article this discussion is about
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» brionk - Re: no till gardening In response to message posted by Dot69:Thanks for a great article. I'm committed to trying no-till gardening next year in half my vegetable garden. My method is as follows: This fall, I am tilling for the last time! I just need to incorporate all the dead plant material and pick out a few more rocks just to get a "clean start." After tilling, I am going to mound soil into 18-inch mounds, 20 feet long and 3 feet wide, leaving about 3 feet between rows. I'm planting a mix of Mammoth clover, hairy vetch, and winter rye between the mounded rows. I'm going to cover the mounds themselves with a mixture of hay/straw, grass clippings, and wood chips (which a local arborist has generously dumped in a vacant lot across town!). This mulch will be underlaid with several sheets of newspaper. I'm going to leave the clover/vetch/rye cover crop growing all year next year, simply mowing it with a push-mower set to the highest setting. I'm really looking forward to this system next year, but I'll admit that I do have two apprehensions: 1) I already have problems with slugs, and I know from past experience that it is true that slugs love mulch. Not sure how I'm going to control them yet - beer traps don't work for me. I'll probably see what Gardens Alive recommends. 2) I'm a little worried about weeds growing on the sides of the mounds. The tops of the mounds will be well mulched, and the "valleys" between mounds will be mowed, but along the sides where the mulch falls off I am worried about weeds. Despite these misgivings, I'm going to try anyway, because I believe that this really could be the secret to prolific, easy vegetable growing. -- posted by brionk
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