New Project: Adapting the Ruth Stout Method for the UK Climate

I am so excited to announce a new project for the vegetable garden which involved ripping out 3 raised beds. The inspiration came from deciding what to do with the old raised beds and also an interest in seeing if there can be an effective system of growing food using only hay for the UK climate. There has been a lot of speculation with hay and other mulches in the UK due to them creating perfect environments for slugs to hide and breed. But how I see it is that there must be a solution to every problem, and with grass being such an abundant natural resource it makes sense to do a trial to see if you can grow productive annual and tuber vegetables instead of just using it as a mulch for perennials. I don’t think every vegetable will work, especially salads, but then again if we look at effective slug control such as using ducks then perhaps it won’t be as big of a problem as initially thought.

Of course, this whole experiment could turn out to be a huge flop, but you would just never know the answer if you never try. And even if only a few annual vegetables work well, I would consider it a success because of how little work is required to look after them. The project will be running for 3 years and I will be documenting every step of the way, sharing the successes and failures. I start this with an open mind and mentally prepared for failures, but I know one thing will happen, there will be an end result and time will tell what that result will be. In this video I also highlight the 5 rules I must follow during this no-dig experiment, which I must strictly follow.

This year I am also going to experiment with composting a mix of hay and fresh grass to see if that is worth the time and effort and what ratios of both are needed. I would love to hear your thoughts about this video.

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