We are often asked if we could only give our one and only absolute effective garden tip – what would it be ?
Up until a few years ago , the response would often bounce back and forward between three of our favorites .
Never tilling the garden was always one of our top tips . It plainly creates more problems than it solves . Every time you till , you re - plant weed seeds .
So what is our best garden tip ever?
Tilling , peculiarly over - tilling , also destroys the land bodily structure , leading to more watering , more sess , and less produce . See : 2 Reasons To Never Use A Rototiller In The Garden
So what is our salutary garden tip ever ?
Another one of our pet tip was the heavy use of mulch throughout the garden . Using compost , straw and shredded leaves help protect plant and ramp up soil fertility over time . And using mulch such as shredded barque or hardwood in walk rows eliminates the pauperism for ever tilling . See : Using Mulch In The Garden
Mowing off the no-till garden cover crops in the spring
Last but not least among the top 3 was the purpose of cover charge crops . binding crops are a simple , natural , and effective way to make incredible garden soil .
We have used annual rye for 8 years now as a drop cover harvest in our garden , and it is merely awesome . Cover crops reload the soil , fixate atomic number 7 levels , and keep weed seminal fluid out . They also protect the garden from the abrasive wintertime elements .
So what can be better than all 3 of these garden tips ? What is the best garden tip ever ?
Well , it is in reality using a combination of all 3 to make the consummate low upkeep , highly productive garden . We call it No - Till Cover Crop Gardening , and it proved itself to us more than ever this year !
No-Till Cover Crop Gardening – The Best Garden Tip Ever!
Mowing off the no - till garden cover crops in the spring
If there was ever a year where our Raised Row Garden was put to the mental testing , it was this year . We just have not had the time we usually have to spend figure out it , and yet , it has been more productive than ever .
And with picayune weeds and no worries about too much or too picayune rainfall .
Cover crops are easy to grow – especially when you don’t have to till them under!
Cover crop are simply unbelievable for vegetable gardens . But when you go through a no - till cover harvest scheme , they go from being great for the garden – to simply sorcerous !
In a nutshell , here are the benefits :
For starters , you never have to till . That means you could implant closely anytime . No await for the rains to quit or the ground to dry out .
As for planting crops in the fountain , it is quick and easy . Our 40 x 60 garden was completely planted in a piffling under an hour and a half this yr . And that includes seed crops and transplants !
By using mulch in our row on top of the no - till one-year rye whiskey , maintaining the garden through the summertime is a snap . Because the soil is seldom vex , there are rarely weeds . And in the fall , you start the whole operation over again by plainly sow in more yearly rye !
Although we have the complete breakdown in our Raised Row Garden Book , ( See : enhance Row Gardening ) , here is a quick synopsis of how the no - till cover crop form throughout each season .
The Never-Till Method
Fall – Plant the concealment craw when your garden is complete in former to late decline . Seed the area you will be planting in the following year .
We have always used yearly rye – it germinates quickly and grows dense . The cover crop will slowly go dormant as wintertime approaches .
Winter time : Do nothing – just know your garden is protect by the cover charge crop !
encompass crop are easy to grow – especially when you do n’t have to till them under !
Early Spring – The top harvest will come back to life history after lying dormant through the cold winter months . As the crop begins to green and grow , mop every workweek or so as needed . We put the clippings in our compost pile . you may also just mulch them into the garden .
For raised row garden beds , it is as easygoing as run your push mover over the heavyset rows of the cover crop . If you have raise beds , you could apply clippers or a weed - eater to do the job .
With each sequential mowing , the annual rye will start out to die off . By the meter that you are quick to plant , it will be all or nearly all brown .
Planting Day – Give the annual rye one final trim about an inch or so from the ground . Then , plant the right way through it ! We use a post hollow excavator to quickly make holes for transplant . For seeded player crops , you’re able to make a line with a pickaxe to easy plant wrangle .
When planting is done , mulch the rows with straw or shredded leaf and watch out you maintenance task decline year after year !
In the downslope , depart it all over again by raking back the mulch . The old one-year rye will have disintegrated , and you could just thinly rake the soil and plant the next back crop again !
Here ’s to no - till traverse crop gardening – and our best garden tip of all time ! Happy Gardening – Jim and Mary .
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