Planted some Chinese Cabbage seedlings, Romaine Lettuce seeds seedlings and Lettuce Bibb seedlings in one of my Ruth Stout style garden beds.
Ruth Stout figured out that she didn't need to plow or till her soil. All she had to do was lay down a thick layer of hay. The Hay would kill out the grass and weeds then she can move the hey aside and plant.
It is really quite a genius idea and she stumbled upon it by accident like so many good ideas in the past!
These beds are pretty simple to make but do take some time and patience. Made these garden beds at the beginning of Last Summer and I'm just now planting in them.
I mow about 3 acres on my property so I get the hay for free! Well if you don't count the mower and the gas. LOL Let me show you how I plant seedlings into it.
First move the hey aside until you get to the ground. Dig a small hole and remove any roots from the previous plants that were smothered by the hay.
After you remove the seedling from the seed tray ruffle up the roots a little bit. This will entice them to spread out their roots after putting it in the hole. If you are transplanting before the seedlings get a little rootbound you won't have to worry about that.
Once you have the seedling in the hole take some of the hay you pulled out and put it back around the plant. This will help block out any of the weeds that will try to grow around your plant. It'll also help with holding moisture so you won't have to water these plants very much or at all once they get going.
After putting some hey back around the plants I gave them a healthy drink of water to help with the shock of transplant. There's about a foot and a half space between each plant. Which gives me plenty of room to enter plant other seedlings when the are ready.
The Lettuces are on the left and the Chinese Cabbage are on the right. Going to be planting Okra seeds in between these plants in about a week. Will also be planning some Basil seedlings throughout this bed when they become ready.
I enjoy planting in "Polycultures" or "Guilds" and I'm always experimenting with different plant combinations. I would love to hear in the comments about your experience with companion planting.
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