Why I Love My No-Till Garden

Posted on Saturday, August 20th, 2011 by Central PA Gardening

   First of all, I must tell you that my new no-till garden would not look this great without the artistic man behind it – my husband.

   Last year I told him I wanted a no-till garden with permanent beds and permanent paths. He immediately thought of Williamsburg (his favorite place) and started designing a garden layout. Together, we created an ideal garden that is beautiful and practical.

   Our garden was started last September. The first thing we did was mow the lawn short over the whole planned garden area.

   Since my husband wanted a designed garden rather than a basic rectangle with single rows, he outlined the bed shapes with 2-by-4 lumber.

   To smother the grass, we laid a 6-sheet layer of newspaper over the entire area. Topped with 2 inches of compost or mulch, that’s enough to kill the grass without having to till or dig it up.

   We obtained unsold copies of newsprint from the local news company. Cardboard and packing paper work just as well. Whatever you use, be sure to overlap it so light can’t get in and let grass regrow.

    It was a little windy, so I worked quickly to lay the paper down and wet it with a hose. But at times, I still had to chase pieces in flight.

   This spring I learned an easier way to lay the paper. Just fill a bucket with water, and stick a stack of newspaper (still folded) in the water until it is all wet. (Thank you, Dauphin County Master Gardeners).  If only I had known this last fall.

   We worked in sections, adding 2 inches of composted mushroom soil over top of the paper on the beds and 2 inches of wood chips over the paper in the paths. I did not invent this concept but used Lee Reich’s book, “Weedless Gardening,” along with the knowledge I gained through a Penn State Master Gardener course. I suggest you buy Lee’s book if you want to learn all the details.

   We live where there are a lot of wild animals like deer and groundhogs, so we added a picket fence border.  A lot of people have asked if the deer have jumped the fence. I have a theory.  Around the outside of the garden fence there is a 10-inch-wide planting border.  I planted flowers that deer do not like to eat. I believe this has fooled them, and they don’t really know what is on the inside.

   Other animals are restricted by the chicken fence stapled on the outside of the wood fence which is buried into the mushroom soil about 2 inches. So far nothing has entered the garden except for my cat and things that fly.

   A no-till garden has lots of advantages. The soil in a permanent bed is not compacted because you never walk on it.  The bed should only be wide enough for you to reach in from either side without walking in it. My beds are 36 inches wide, and the paths are 24 inches wide.

   The loose soil allows plant roots, air and water to penetrate and move through the soil.  Since you don’t till the soil in the spring, you can plant earlier. You no longer need to wait for the soil to dry before you plant… you remember how wet it was this spring, right?

   One of the biggest benefits is that there are fewer weeds because you won’t be digging or turning the soil, exposing new weed seeds.  It’s very important to remove the weeds while they are small before they go to seed.  I even have a hard time finding weeds anymore!

   Want to see it? Check out the video I posted on YouTube called “Carol’s No Till Garden” at http://youtu.be/387gBqVUO-I

   One more thing I love about my no-till garden is the drip-irrigation system my husband installed. What a blessing during the hot, dry spells this summer. Only the newly planted seeds need to be hand watered until they sprout. The timed irrigation does the rest.   

   Finally, you should protect and feed the soil.  A cover crop planted in the fall and mulch during the growing season will go a long way to protect the soil.  Add a layer of compost to the beds and wood chips to the paths annually.

   If you really get into gardening, you can mix your own fertilizer!  But that’s another subject…

 (About the Author: Carol Crum is a Penn State Master Gardener in Dauphin County who gardens in the scenic hillside not far from the Carsonville Hotel above Halifax. She also has a Penn State-certified Pollinator Friendly Garden. Her garden-building husband, Brad, is better known as an Elvis impersonator. Brad also has an outdoor garden railway that’s opened to the public at selected times during Christmas season and July.)

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The Case for Clover

Posted on Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 by Lorrie Preston

Is it my imagination or are there more south-central Pennsylvania lawns sporting white clover blossoms this summer?  White clover flowers sticking up above the mowed grass during the summer indicate that the property owners, for whatever reason, have made a healthy decision for the environment.  They have not recently treated their lawn with a blanket application of weed killer.  

To many lawn-obsessed homeowners, clover may be viewed as a thug in an otherwise manageable field of green.  It is highly persistent and seems to spread overnight.  Within a day or two of mowing, the clover blossoms stretch up above the blades to catch the sun and the services of passing pollinators – giving an uneven appearance to the lawn.   Our reaction is to mow again before the grass really needs it or get out the weed killer and wage war.   Why?  Is the clover really harming anything?  The subject is worth a closer look. 

In the late 1940’s and 50’s, white clover seeds were actually included in lawn seed mixes – the more clover seeds in the mix, the higher the quality.  But then, along came the invention of 2,4-D  – a potent broad-leaf weed killer, which is still in use today.   I have read that the inventor of 2,4-D actually apologized that this new miracle product – the lawn weed killer, also killed clover.  Marketers then changed their tune and began convincing the public that clover was an eyesore in an otherwise perfect and uniform green lawn.  It wasn’t long, and most people bought into this marketing ploy.  In the quest for the perfect lawn, many of us copied our neighbors, creating large weed and clover-free neighborhoods, and lining the pockets of lawn-chemical producers and applicators in the process.   We also inadvertently introduced toxins into the environment which have negative health impacts to humans, pets, and wildlife.  

I must admit that there were many years that I also had a nearly weed-free lawn.  I was gardening for wildlife, but I still made an annual application of weed killer on my lawn.  Then one day about 15 years ago, I had my Audubon friends over for a picnic.   As I showcased my gardening efforts for wildlife, the Audubon president, who I highly respected and counted a friend, remarked “And not a clover to be seen.”   Ouch!  Those words convicted me.  He passed away much too young, but those words have stayed with me ever since.  

For years now, I have lived happily with a clover-laden lawn.   Clover is low-growing and sturdy, standing up to foot traffic.  It is evergreen and drought resistant – providing green during the hot summer when grass browns and goes dormant.   Clover stores nitrogen, so it is actually a fertilizer for the lawn.  It resists insects and disease damage, including that of the Japanese beetle grub.  It crowds out other nuisance weeds.  It provides diversity.  I get great pleasure in watching bees and small butterflies as they gather nectar from the clover blossoms.  Clover even feeds my “herd” of rabbits, providing an alternative food source instead of my gardens, at least some of the time!   Best of all, I know that the neighborhood children can play barefoot safely here, and their dog is safe here, too.  The birds and butterflies that inhabit and visit my property are safe here, as well.   It is a good feeling to know that I am not contributing to the poisoning of our soil and waterways, as toxic lawn products run off into storm water drains. 

These days I apply organic corn gluten to the lawn in weed-prone areas in the early spring when the forsythia blooms.  I hand-dig dandelions before they go to seed, just to keep them to a minimum.  (They are great for pollinators, too, but I don’t want to make enemies of my neighbors!)  I fertilize the lawn 2 or 3 times a year with an organic fertilizer that provides the nutrients indicated by a Penn State soil test.  We mow our vigorous dwarf-type tall-fescue lawn high at 3” so the thick grass can shade the soil and minimize open areas where new weeds can get started.  The clippings stay on the lawn, adding fertilizer as they break down and not contributing to our landfills.  If I do see unwanted weeds, nutsedge, or crabgrass in the lawn, I simply pull them or dig them out before they go to seed – it takes just a few minutes, a few times a week, while I walk the garden.   The lawn is not perfect, but by keeping up with mowing and regular garden maintenance, the property looks well-cared for – not neglected.    

While our goal should be less lawn and more native plants that provide food, shelter, and nesting places for wildlife, I don’t see the American lawn going away completely anytime soon.  Maybe we can start a trend and re-claim our lawns and neighborhoods, making them healthy zones in which to live and play once more.   Let’s learn to appreciate clover, like back in the good old days, and teach others to do the same.

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