Mother Earth Gardener

Garden Smarter, Not Harder

nearly 60 years ago, we tilled the soil, amended it with compost, planted, and irrigated with a sprinkler when necessary. At that time, we were more concerned with wind, I added heavy mulch and soon discovered that I didn’t need to weed, till, and water as much. At the time, I was adamantly against raised beds because, by golly, those plants needed their roots in the native , or so I thought. Chalk it up to youthful hubris — or perhaps simple naiveté. Either way, my mind was pried open by life, and now I look forward to each growing season as an opportunity to experiment.

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