Master Gardeners-- Dig or don't dig?

Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in thesoil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking thetime to soak up a little peace and serenity. -- Lindley Karstens,noproblemgarden.com

Few of us can imagine gardening without the labor of digging. Itseems, after all, that this is what you should do, what everyonealways does and always has done to make a garden grow. The idea ofnot tilling the soil seems to go against some very deeply ingrainedideas of what horticulture is all about.

Maybe these ideas are linked to ancestral memories going back tothe remote reaches of time when generations of peasant forebearstilled the soil by the sweat of their brows. All in all, it is hardto imagine a crop that does not come from well-cultivated land andour aching backs (whether those aches come from manual or mechanicaldigging).

A new school of thought, however, based on extensive andintensive studies of soils and soil structures, is suggesting thatthere is a way to garden that does not involve tilling, thatactually improves the soil and increases yields: the "no-till"method.

We tend to take soils for granted. They may seem indestructibleto us, but they are in many ways quite delicate and extremelycomplex. Soil is composed of rock dust, humus, pores and a myriad oforganisms and microorganisms whose interdependent lives create theenvironment in which plants can grow. When we come along with ourrototillers, spades and garden forks stomping around in ourgardening boots, we disturb the natural balance of the soil. Tillingactually creates a compacted layer beneath the tilled area. The soilparticles are all squished together, creating an airless andimpermeable layer that roots do not penetrate.

Studies of prairie lands have shown a natural mulching patternthat protects and enhances the soil as each generation of prairiesod dies down and the next generation arises. Migrating herds addtheir manure and burrowing animals help open the soil for aeration.The first settlers had abundant crops in their first years, but thenthe crops started to dwindle. Farmers were compacting these soilswith their plows and depleting them of their nutrients.

No-till gardening, in many ways, imitates the natural cycle ofprairie lands by applying heavy mulches. The mulch is pulled awayfrom the rows for seed to be sown (or seedlings planted) and thenpulled back as the new plants grow up. During the growing season,the mulch shades the soil, discourages weeds and decreasesevaporation. It also slowly decomposes, thereby adding nutrients tothe soil and benefiting all the organisms and microorganisms thatcreate a favorable environment for plant growth. Not tilling alsoprevents soil compaction; roots grow deeper and the balance of soilorganisms is not disrupted. Gardening year after year in this way,with fresh mulch as needed and fertilizers (preferably organic)applied only as necessary, will improve your soil, and your cropsshould improve.

"What if my soil is already compacted?" you ask. There are twoanswers: double digging or raised beds.

Double digging is very hard work. You first remove the topsoil,then you dig, aerate and amend the subsoil. After this, you replaceand amend the topsoil. Then you can apply your mulch and proceedwith no-till gardening. (For complete instructions, search for"double-digging" on the Internet.)

Raised beds are a lot easier. This writer has created raised bedsdirectly on sod by first digging a trench around the new bed area,then putting several layers of wet newspaper directly on the sod inthe bed, being sure to bring the newspaper right over the edges ofthe grass. Layers of compost, grass clippings, shredded leaves --whatever was at hand -- were then added to about a foot depth.Ideally the bed should be prepared in the fall for a springplanting, but being impatient, potatoes were planted right away. Notonly was there a crop of delicious potatoes that season, but thefollowing spring not only had the mulch broken down but thenewspaper and the underlying sod also.

There are several books to get more information on this kind ofgardening, among them: "Lasagna Gardening" by Patricia Lanza,"Gardening Without Work" by Ruth Stout, and "Square Foot Gardening"by Mel Bartholomew. A search on the Internet will also give youinformation on both double-digging and no-till gardening.

May you have many happy hours sitting in your garden, sippinglemonade and thinking of all the work your little friends in thesoil are doing.

WSU Extension Master Gardener Program is an organization oftrained volunteers dedicated to horticulture and community service.For questions about gardening, landscaping or this program, contactthe Master Gardener Clinic at 509-574-1600 or visit us at the WSUExtension office, 104 N. First St. in Yakima. New volunteers arewelcome.

Spring Gardening Workshop Series under way

It's not too late to participate in the 2011 Yakima County MasterGardeners Spring Gardening Workshop Series. This year's theme is"The Environmentally Friendly Yakima Garden." These two workshopsremain:

Wednesday: "The Dirt Diva." Chelan County Master Gardener BonnieOrr will show how to transform yard and kitchen waste into "blackgold" compost.

March 30: "Plants for the Yakima Garden." Mark and JeannieStephen, owners of Cowiche Creek Nursery, will present informationon the selection and care of trees, shrubs, ornamental grasses,landscape roses, annuals and perennials proven to thrive in theYakima garden.

Both presentations will be at the Davis High School KIVA, Seventhand Walnut avenues in Yakima. Cost is $10 for each seminar. Check-in is at 6:30 p.m., seminars at 7 p.m. Class size is limited. Formore information, call 509-574-1600.

Arboretum schedules Beginning Mushroom Workshop series

The Beginning Mushroom Workshop series, presented by Dr. DenisBenjamin, will be held on the four Wednesdays in April. Topicsinclude the fundamentals of mushroom hunting, identification,collecting, biology, safety, human uses, mushrooming as a hobby andsymptoms of poisoning.

The workshop also will include an optional field trip, led by anexperienced mushroom hunter, on a weekend day following the series.

Benjamin grew up in South Africa and came to the PacificNorthwest in 1970, practicing pediatric pathology before recentlyretiring to Cle Elum. He has over 35 years of amateur mycologyexperience and has written two books: "Mushrooms: Poisons andPanaceas, A Handbook for Naturalists, Mycologists and Physicians,"(WH Freeman and Co., 1995) and "Musings of a Mushroom Hunter: ANatural History of Foraging" (Tembe Publishing, Cle Elum, 2010). Heis a past board member of the Puget Sound Mycological Society,consultant to the regional poison control center, and past chairmanof the Toxicology Committee of the North American MycologicalAssociation.

Class times are 7-9 p.m. Cost is $30 for YVMS members, $40 forArboretum members, and $50 for the general public. For moreinformation, call the Yakima Area Arboretum at 509-248-7337.