Question
QUESTION: I actually have a couple of questions;
First of all, I've read that you should mow over your leaves in the fall and spread them on your garden to build good soil.  This I did.  Now I read that you should remove all debris from the garden in the spring, so that pests and weed seeds will be removed.  These two suggestions appear to contradict each other.  Also, plants in nature obviously grow with their "debris" on the ground next to them.  So what is the deal on this?
I think I have pretty good soil.  It is rich and dark.  But I still have plenty of weeds.  I read on this site that sugar will kill weeds.  If it kills weeds, why would it not also kill the good plants around it?  I would like to stop using Roundup, but don't have the inclination to go around pulling weeds all spring, and particularly in summer, when it is extremely hot here in Kentucky.
I also wonder about letting some ground cover-type weeds thrive and make a natural weed barrier.  What would be wrong with that?
Also, I have not been able to get composting to work for me.  I don't have a shredder, so I have made a big pile with garden scraps and kitchen scraps and soil, but it is incredibly heavy to turn, and seems to take forever (more than a year) to make any decent amount of compost.  Way to much time and effort spent for little return.  As I keep adding to the pile, the finished compost is not readily available, as it is mixed in with the new stuff.  Wouldn't the leaves make enough compost as I spread them on the garden in the fall?
One more:  Buying mulch at the store is very expensive.  How essential is it to mulch every year?
Thank you very very much for any advice you can give.
Dianne


ANSWER: Actually, in the spring you would want to turn the leaves into the soil.  Tilling it or turning the soil over will mix it all up and add to the tilth of the soil.  

For how to make simple and easy compost visit our website: http://www.avant-gardening.com and look under composting, and soil building.  We have bins that set about a year and then we just sift them through hardward cloth (1/2") over a wheelbarrow.  Works great. The large stuff is put down as the first layer on the bottom of the next bin.  If you add all your garden weeds, and alternate layers like we suggest on our website, you will have great compost.  If you are using a lot of kitchen waste, I would suggest that you get going with vermicomposting.

Weeds will not be a problem with 3 inches of mulch year around. It will keep the soil and plant roots cool in the summer and protect it in the winter. We mulch two times a year.  In the spring we till in the mulch that has set on the garden all winter, and water it well, mulch it with fresh mulch, let it set about two weeks and plant the garden.  (We also take the time to test the soil, so we can add any nutrients at this time.)  Then in the fall, we till in the mulch we used all summer, and water it well, and add new mulch again.  You could also just leave the spring mulch there all winter, and only till it once a year in the spring. If you do 4' beds and never ever step in them, you might be able to plant for a few years without ever removing the mulch.  It just depends on your particular conditions. But you will never have a weed problem if you mulch well.  Any weeds that do manage to come up come out really easy.

The best mulch, along with your compost is alfalfa hay. Hopefully you can find it a a feed store in your area. It has no weeds, is very rich in nitrogen, and if you can get some, just crumble it with your hands (use gloves) and spread it all over the garden, and pick out the stems as you go.  Do this until you have about 3 inches over the whole garden.  The stems will be a great first layer for the compost bin.

Worms love it, no weeds come up through it, and to plant the garden just move a space to make a row and you are ready to go.  When you water it, it stays put.  Simple!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks.  This is great information.  I take it that you would NOT allow weed ground covers to grow?
I do not have a tiller, and I do not plant in rows.  Can you till around roses, peonies, bushes?  Would this not disturb the roots?  
I rented a tiller once, and could not handle it.  It was much too big and fast.  Is there a reasonably priced small tiller that is really easy to handle?
What do you think about mulching with straw?  
Thanks again!
Dianne

Answer
In our experience weed ground covers take over what is planted, take up water and nutrients, and don't provide enough protection from the sun to keep plant roots cool.  Plants do best with cool roots, consistent moisture, and lots of mulch.  Mulch will bring worms, who will feed the plants.  You never want to disturb roots around the perimeter of a plant.

If you are growing roses, and shrubs, I would just mulch three or four inches around the base of the plant, as wide as the plant with straw, and just leave it there. You might want to make a little rock or stone circle around it to hold in the straw.  Straw will not provide any nutrients, but it will work.  

The very best tiller on the planet is the Mantis Tiller....so light and easy and fun to use.  Only one we ever recommend.

If you are growing vegetables you can mulch with straw, but you can never turn it into the soil, it is too chunky to break down very fast.  That is why alfalfa is so good, you can till it in and it feeds the soil.  But straw will work, just not the best solution.