I feel sorry for new gardeners, of which there are many now, due to fears of food shortages, and lots of time at home. There are so many things for newbies to learn, from what plants help (or hinder) their neighbors, to how to rotate various crops around the garden yearly, to how to build and turn compost piles. It's enough to make a gardener throw arms up and run for the peace and safety of the great indoors.
Or garden differently. In my quest for more food and fun, with less work, I've given up worrying about many rules considered sacred cows by orthodox gardeners. In the years since I first strayed from the straight and narrow garden path, I have not met with catastrophe. Plants thrive, I get good harvests, and the garden hasn't been overrun by insect pests or other unwanted critters. It's taken some time, but it has been well worth it to figure out which rules MUST be followed, and which were made to be broken.
Compost pile construction is a good example of a simple process made unnecessarily complicated. I throw weeds, manure, and the occasional dead chicken in a pile with no mind to layering greens and browns, and leave it for a year. I don't turn or water. Why not let time do the work for me instead of killing myself just to get finished compost in a shorter period? As long as I start out with sufficient appropriate materials, my end product is high quality and helps the garden thrive.
Rotating crops is too much work for me also. After a few seasons of making detailed maps of what is planted where, and trying to stick to the plan, I gave it all up. My current method is grabbing a seed packet or young plants, and finding a bed that's empty and ready to go. In go the seeds or plants, and I'm off the fight ground ivy.
With this method, companion planting has gone out the window as well. I'm skeptical of the science to begin with, and simply try to plant as diverse a garden as possible, with a wide variety of plants sharing beds when appropriate. I haven't observed any mysterious death of plants or failure to thrive. Year after year, the garden is a jungly tangle of growth, consistently producing plenty of veggies and fruits.
My success raises the question of why labor intensive practices are continually promoted. Often the more complicated method requires the purchase of a specific device, which will then "save labor." No mystery there. In most cases though, it seems that orthodoxies are followed simply because they are orthodoxies.
Choosing to take the mulched path less traveled may lead to accusations of laziness. In my case nothing could be further from the truth. Time saved by not turning compost is time available for establishing new garden areas, acquiring more plants, and conducting more experimentation in gardening techniques. These are my preferred tasks, and they are also what makes gardening so much fun. Perhaps for some building the perfect compost pile and shaving off minutes from start to finished product is fascinating. Or perhaps you are in dire need of high quality organic matter and producing large amounts of weed-free compost quickly is crucial to success. I'm not criticizing those who mindfully garden in ways that work best for them, but rather those who needlessly saddle beginners with unnecessary tasks. Keeping rules to a minimum fosters fun and creativity, and in the long runs keeps more people gardening. Isn't that the desirable outcome? Coming soon: what beginners REALLY need to know to be successful.
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