Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Mar 31, 2007, at 9:51 AM, VAN DELL JORDAN wrote:

> Does anyone else subscribe to "Small Farm Today",
> www.smallfarmtoday.com?  It is a bimonthly magazine
> oriented more to the farmer than the self sufficient
> homesteader, but has much of interest.

My recollection is that Ron Macher was the editor/publisher. He  
seemed a sound and useful fellow.

> They sponsor a Small Farm Trade Show & Conference in
> Columbia, Missouri each November, 1st-3rd this year.
> Features in this issue include. How to build a straw
> bale chicken house, A cornucopia of catalogs, and the
> Lazy man's garden.
> That last one refers to a book: "The Ruth Stout No
> Work Garden Book".  Is any one familiar with that?
> Recommended?

Stout's book is a classic. Basically, you plant stuff and then cover  
it with a thick layer of straw. Voila!, no weed germination, soil  
retains moisture, straw rots down to humus. Many of us here use a  
variation of her method, essentially just a lot of mulch.

> This does lead to a couple of specific questions.
> We are wanting to start a garden on our farmland.
> Since we are not able to be there ever day the thing
> that comes to mind is potatoes because they take a
> minimum of attention.  Any other suggestions.
> I am attracted to the idea of a low till garden with a
> lot of mulch, but any land available is covered with
> grass.  I'm sure that we will need to plow and disc
> this at least the first year.

I once wrote a pamphlet that included beginning a new garden. I joked  
that if I were as rich as my brother I would select a good garden  
spot with good sun exposure and good drainage, would till the ground,  
then cover it with a foot or more of mixed mulch and manure-- 
essentially sheet composting--add the various minerals and lime  
suggested by a soil report, then would take a trip around the world  
for a year and when I came back to begin gardening the soil would be  
ready.