Weedless Gardening

by: Lee Reich

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Book Description:

"There's no such thing," my ace-gardener mom said when I told her about Weedless Gardening. I think author Lee Reich would agree that the title is a bit misleading (there will always be some weeds). Also a bit misleading are the blurbs from the publisher, which stop short of calling the book "ground-breaking" only because Reich's system is based on the total eschewal of tilling or otherwise turning over the soil. The building blocks of his philosophy have been in use for decades in one way or another: from low-till commercial farming techniques (which sometimes also involve firebombing the soil with herbicide) to simple green composting with knocked-down cover crops. But in Weedless Gardening Reich takes it all the way, no tilling, no herbicide unless absolutely necessary--all while providing everything the home gardener needs to know about cover crops, composting, and drip irrigation. In every section Reich lists mail-order and Internet sources for supplies. The benefits of cover crops, composting, and planting in beds rather than rows are widely known, and they're dealt with in depth here. More controversial is Reich's injunction to rigorously preserve the natural layering of the soil--even when pulling up weeds, dead annuals, or old corn stalks. He makes a good case: tilling under weedy areas kills existing weeds in the short term, but turning over the dirt exposes more weed seeds to sunlight and air, and more of them will germinate; better to kill them first by mowing and self-composting or smothering them with mulch. In addition, Reich explains, water in broken-up, uniform soil tends to flow straight down; water in undisturbed soil travels more slowly, in different directions--down and sideways--thus more efficiently reaching roots. Installing a drip irrigation system further decreases water use (the book includes detailed instructions and formulas for calculating water-flow and timing) and, like many of Reich's recommendations, apparently works best when practiced in concert with his no-till, "top-down" method. What isn't clear is how effective his system can be in an area that has been worked over by indifferent landscapers or that has already been tilled over and over for years. How long will it take for that plot's soil to resettle into something resembling its pretilled state? If my mom starts "weedless gardening" now, will she be wading through a forest of weeds or, worse, buying tasteless corn at the supermarket come August? --Liana Fredley

From Publishers Weekly Weeds are every gardener's nemesis, so any book promising to eliminate them is certain to excite interest. Fortunately, Reich's approach is a credible one. A former agricultural researcher for Cornell University and the USDA, Reich (Uncommon Fruits Worthy of Attention: A Gardener's Guide) challenges conventional gardening or gardening from the bottom up, in which the soil is turned over every spring or fall. This method exposes to light and air all the weed seeds lying dormant in the soil and encourages weed growth. Reich maintains that instead, since soil health determines plant health, gardeners should essentially create new soil by gardening as nature does from the top down. This means placing layers of newspaper over the soil to smother weed growth, covering the area year after year with mulch (which can include compost, leaves, bark chips or peat moss), then planting in that rich medium. He outlines his method in detail, offering modifications for different soil types and adding irrigation, planting, harvesting and tidying tips. Numerous charts and illustrations accompany Reich's chatty, highly literate text. He also discusses cover crops, vegetables, various types of flower garden designs, groundcovers, trees (including fruit trees), shrubs and vines, all of which can flourish under the weedless gardening technique. Reich's is a revolutionary approach to gardening, engagingly and lucidly explained. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Garden Design "...the book has plenty of good information about drip irrigations, compost making, vegetable spacing and varieties, tree planting, and more." Chicago Tribune - HOME & GARDEN "Lee Reich says all that digging was a waste of time. Weeks of torturous toil lie behind you." Book Description Conventional wisdom says to garden from the bottom up, turning over the soil every spring until your back aches. Ironically, this does such a good job aerating that gardeners spend the rest of the season pulling weeds and replacing the suddenly energized (and easily used up) nutrients. Mother nature, on the other hand, gardens from the top down-layering undisturbed soil with leaves and other organic materials. In following this example and synthesizing the work of other perceptive gardeners, Lee Reich presents a compelling new system called weedless gardening. The Weedless Garden is good for plants and it's good for people. It protects the soil, contributes to plant health, reduces water needs, cuts down on a gardener's labor, encourages earthworms and, of course, mitigates weed problems by keeping the seeds dormant. Four basic tenets form the system's backbone-minimize soil disruption; protect soil surface; avoid soil compaction; use drip irrigation-and the way to get there is simple. For a new bed or established garden, layering is key, and the perfect material to use is also among the most common-newspaper. Add organic mulch and compost on top, and plants are growing in rich, self-generating humus. From vegetable gardening to flower gardens to planting trees, shrubs, and vines, The Weedless Garden works everywhere-allowing the gardener to work quite a bit less. From the Back Cover "If you love to knock yourself out digging beds, buy a better shovel. If you're looking for a no-nonsense alternative, buy this book!" (Ketzel Levine, National Public Radio's Doyenne of Dirt) "Thoroughly practical, easy-to-follow guide to good gardening Lee Reich make it sound simple, and if you follow his methods and philosophy, it is." (Dora Galitzki, Gardening Columnist, The New York Times, and Author of The Gardener's Essential Companion) "Finally, a book filled with science-based information that insures success and frees us from busywork in the garden." (Dr. H. March Cathey, President Emeritus, American Horticultural Society) Turning conventional wisdom on its head, Lee Reich shows how to garden for plants and good for people. Eschewing the traditional yearly digging up and working over of the soil, WEEDLESS GARDENING is an easy-to-follow, low-impact approach to planting and maintaining a flower garden, a vegetable garden, trees, and shrubs naturally. Say good-bye to backaches and week problems. About the Author LEE REICH, PH.D., is a garden writer and avid gardener who has worked in soil and plant research for the USDA and Cornell University. His books include Uncommon Fruits Worthy of Attention, A Northeast Gardener's Year, and The Pruning Book. His articles appear regularly in such publications as Fine Gardening, Organic Gardening, The New York Times, and Horticulture, and his gardening column for the Associated Press appears weekly in newspapers across the country.

Reviews:

Crazy for Weedless Gardening: Mr. Reich's "bare bones of Weedless Gardening" are: 1. minimize soil disruption 2. protect soil surface 3. avoid soil compaction 4. use drip irrigation Sounds simple? It is! I implemented steps 1-3 (drip is not allowed in my community garden) in half of my garden, and months later, the results speak for themselves. The half in which I tried these techniques has tidy beds with the intended plants growing in them. The other half is a field of weeds. This book explains mulch, compost, cover crops, drip irrigation, layouts, the application of Weedless Gardening to specific vegetables (e.g., you don't have to dig a trench to grow asparagus), flower gardens, and planting trees and shrubs, all in clear, concise language and a very manageable size. As a relative beginner, I found it all easy to understand. As a student, I was pleased that I didn't have to buy expensive materials (did you know many landfills offer free compost?). This book, and perhaps a book tailored to your region, will provide all the basic gardening advice you need. All these pros make up for the fact that the other gardeners around think I'm crazy since they saw me newspaper-ing my garden.

Excellent Book. I give this 4.5 stars, rather than 5, because I think 5 stars should represent a nearly perfect book, and this book, like virtually every other book on earth, is not perfect. Though this book is outstanding, its FEW flaws arise from the author's OCCASIONAL failure to fully explain precisely what a novice would need to do to execute weedless gardening. I emphasize that such failings are few; and, overall, the book's concision actually aids its clarity. In fact, all things considered, I recommend this book over any other single gardening book I have seen. I do wish the author had specifically discussed one important issue. He advises the use of paper--and newspaper in particular--to kill weeds, with the paper then becoming part of the soil. I wonder, however (and I simply ask; I don't know the answer), whether all types of paper are safe for such use? Newspaper, for example, contains ink. Is it safe to grow produce in soils containing ink and other paper constituents? I wish the book had expressly addressed that. In any event, the book is excellent.

A system of gardening patterned after Mother Nature: In Weedless Gardening, horticultural expert Lee Reich clearly and concisely offers a system of gardening patterned after Mother Nature, and is good for both plants and people. Rather that the traditional approach to annually digging up and working over the soil, Weedless Gardening provides an easy-to-follow, low-impact, effective, and environment friendly approach to planting and maintaining a flower garden, a vegetable garden, trees, and shrubs. Gardeners seeking to protect the soil, eliminate heavy work, and reduce water needs should first begin planning their gardening activities with a thorough reading of Lee Reich's Weedless Gardening!