The Lazy Man’s Gardening Tool

What is the lazy man’s gardening tool? A tool which saves him/her hours of weeding and watering? You guessed it! Mulch! “Mulching” is a beautiful word for gardeners.

Right now in my garden I have 4-5 different kinds of mulch. I have some shredded wood on some of the garden pathways and some simple black plastic on some of the pathways between the rows. I gathered some straw from the barn and placed it on my pea row. I may buy a bale of straw from Stauffers of Kissel Hill Garden Center when they are allowed to open (closed now because of Covid).

I placed some newspaper (layers of just 3 sheets) under my tomatoes. The newspaper keeps weeds from coming up and holds moisture in the ground.

Last fall Jim put a four foot high “box” of burlap around his two prized fig trees to protect them from the coldest weather. He filled that “box” with shredded leaves. This spring I took those leaves and put them on some of my garden beds.

Read about my love of gardening in my memoir, Searching for the Sacred, My Life on a Homestead. You can purchase it on Amazon here.