Sometimes I think I’m a bit of a funny gardener… If I wander round the garden and thus the vegetable plot, at least five times a day, it’s mainly to greet everyone, check that all is well and, in season, nose about a rose or nibble a few berries. Because, after all, I don’t work there all that much. For one thing, I run out of time, like everyone does, and I admit I baulk at gardening in the rain (Breton weather, that’s the one…) as much as in the heat.
My secret? It’s simple and it consists of mixing organisation, method and anticipation. Is that all? Let me explain…
Tip 1: In the vegetable garden, smother rather than clear
I’ve never even tried taking up a hoe. Given my build, it would be a lost cause and perfectly ridiculous. And since there was never any question of using a rotavator, a real earthworm chopper, I, from the start, got into the habit of smothering the grass to create a new vegetable plot or a new perennial border.
My method is very simple and resembles the 'lasagne' technique:
- mow very short,
- spread a generous layer of compost,
- lay down one large or several medium-sized cardboard sheets, wet them and hold them down on the ground with a few large stones,
- add on the cardboard, over the weeks, some grass clippings, dead leaves or other shredded green waste to create a temperate microclimate (humidity, warmth in winter, coolness in summer) conducive to earthworm activity.
A few months later, joy, joy: beneath the various layers I discover the cleared patch. All that remains is to remove any remaining roots (couch grass is tenacious), quickly loosen the soil and plant.
For very large areas, I also use the solarisation weeding method. For this, I simply mow and lay a black plastic sheet. It’s very quick, it works brilliantly, but soil life is less favoured.
Tip 2: Plant rather than sow directly in the vegetable garden
All the vegetables and herbs that can be planted as plants in the vegetable garden are sown warm at home or under cover (a bright, sunlit shelter at home). Well organised, I thus produce the summer vegetables but also the flowers needed for three gardens: mine and the vegetable plots of two couples of friends.
Seedlings indoors in warmth at home... a real joy on rainy days!
It does take time, but the period of the first warm-season sowings coincides with the end of winter, and the impatience is such that getting a feel for the soil is simply thrilling. And then, in the evenings and at weekends, some people watch TV, others read or knit; me, from February to April, I sow…
I also sometimes buy a few plug plants when I fancy trying something new, a grafted variety, I’ve forgotten a sowing or that buying yet another packet of seeds seems superfluous…
This approach saves me time and effort on three levels:
- Soil doesn’t need to be worked finely, a simple fork loosening is more than enough,
- it spares me the thinning job (the spindly ones have already been removed)
- I can mulch very quickly after planting, which brings us to the next point…
Tip 3: never leave the soil bare: mulch, mulch and mulch again !
Trained in the vegetable garden by Luc Bienvenu, mulching is almost a religion here: I mulch everything, with anything and all the time because I mulch in all seasons: when the plot is occupied by a crop, but also in winter when some beds lie idle. The only obstacle to this practice is a shortage of material. In that case, I use green manures… or I collect the lawn clippings from my neighbour (his lawn, regularly weeded by hand, deserves at least four stars) or the fallen leaves from my council as well as pruning waste wood chips, which are delivered to my home, often in 3 or 5 cubic metres.
In my garden, at the foot of the beetroots, dry grass, for the alchemillas, wood chips, and for the rhubarb, a mix of dead leaves and grass.
Admittedly, it does require a bit of wheelbarrow work, but this practice has many advantages, not the least because it:
- limits weed growth,
- reduces the watering frequency,
- protects soil from heavy rainfall, nutrient leaching, and from cold in winter and drought in summer,
- improves soil fertility and structure as earthworms and other soil-dwelling organisms are nourished by the gradual decomposition of mulches.
In conclusion, it’s mainly the ornamental garden that keeps me busiest: mowing, cutting back borders, pruning and moving perennials (the musical chairs game, you know?)…
So who said that the vegetable plot is a lot of work? You certainly have your own habits or a few lazy gardener tricks… Please feel free to share them by leaving a comment!
Comments