No-Till Gardening revisited

[moonwolf]

I'm wanting to consider doing more 'no till' gardening, especially considering the price of fuel and the time it takes.

A plot to 're start' a garden next year is 'over clovered', that is much red clover is on the past enriched garden. Other weeds also there, which I'll leave to the imagination. I'm thinking the best thing to do when snow is gone in spring to cover with newspaper or cardboard and layer that with straw. I want vetch or clover or buckwheat to grow up to about 6 inches and use a string trimmer and let that decay for enrichment which also would encourage more earthworms.
I used to till in everything and plant buckwheat, and then till that in. It was pretty time consuming and intesive, fuel consuming, but effective.
Changing tacticts to mulch or no-till methods is something on my mind.

What is anyones thoughts on this? Has no till methods worked well for your gardening? How is the best approach without losing the battle? I'm also wondering about dry condtions and watering necessity, and such things to get that estabilshed.

Rich

[countrygrrrl]

This is my first year doing a heavily modified lasagna style garden and I will NEVER go back!

I know there are huge variations between what I'm doing and what you're describing --- I am doing no cover crops, for example, but am simply building the beds up on top of the ground, using old straw and a couple kinds of manure (mostly horse and goat).

Our ground here is very rocky (note, if you will, that I live right next to what is called Rocky Mountain :haha: ), and the lasagna modified approach has been a lifesaver for me. The biggest problem is the chance I might run out of my well-nourished straw , but I do still have a nice barn fairly full of it, as well as a thick layer beneath the straw of lovely soil still inside the barn.

I've heard others comment that they love the paper method --- I do plan on incorporating paper as soon as things slow down a bit --- I just don't have time right now to make that big a shift in what I'm doing.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, IOW, and by the end of next season, will be asking yourself why you didn't think of this years ago.

[moonwolf]

countrygrrrrrl,
Thanks for that.
I'm not familiar with the term 'lasagna' garden.
Can you elaborrrrate on that please?
Thanks,

Rich

[dot]

try this http://www.lasagnagardening.com

[Cyngbaeld]

I will never do another 'tilled' garden! Too much work for my poor back!

If you have enough cardboard and newspaper avail now, why don't you go ahead and pile it up on the weeds where you want your garden. Make sure the ground is fairly moist first and it helps to have the paper and cardboard wet as you lay it down. Some straw or grass clippings on top of the paper will help to keep it from blowing away before the snow comes. Any leaves you rake up can go on top and any manure you have can go on there too.