Six years, six corrections.
One: that you must dig
You do not. The beds I stopped digging four years ago drain better, dry out
slower, and grow better carrots than the beds I turned every autumn.
Two: that compost needs turning
- Turned heap: ready in four months, and a weekend of work
- Unturned heap: ready in eleven months, and no work at all
Both produce compost. Only one produces back pain.
Three: that watering daily is good for plants
A daily splash keeps the roots in the top two inches where the soil dries
first. A long soak twice a week sends them down. The plants that survived
last August were in the beds I neglected.
Four: that you should grow what you like eating
Better rule: grow what is expensive or bad in the shops.
- Salad leaves, which are both
- Broad beans, which are never sold fresh
- Herbs, which cost more per gram than most meat
- Not potatoes, ever, which are cheap and take a quarter of the plot
Five: that a plan survives April
It does not. The plan’s job is to be there in January when there is nothing
else to do.
Six: that the shed needs organising
The shed does not need organising. The shed needs less in it.
last updated: