WEEDLESS Gardening

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4. USE DRIP IRRIGATION whenever regular watering it needed. Drip irrigation pin points the water where it's needed instead of wastefully watering and encouraging weed growth in paths and unplanted areas.

In addition to fewer weeds, this system has nu merous benefits. The most obvious appeal is dispensing with the annual ritual of turning over soil - no more wrestling a rototiller up and down garden rows. Gone are the repeated thuds of your garden spade coming up against rocks. Forget about needing that "iron back, with a hinge in it," suggested as the ideal anatomy for a gardener by Charles Dudley Warner in 1870 in MySummer in a Garden. Dispensing with digging also means being able to get plants and seeds into the ground sooner: no need to hold off soil preparation because it's too wet to dig or till.

Leaving soil undisturbed even helps plants quench their thirst when the weather turns dry. Earthworms, roots and the action of freezing and thawing all work together to create interconnected large and small pores in undisturbed soil. Gravity quickly empties large pores of excess water by drawing air in, while smaller capillary sized pores hold water against the pull of gravity. As long as the soil is undisturbed and these pores stay intact, water can move within them down, sideways and even up to replace water nearby roots take.

The greatest benefit of not disturbing the soil is the conservation of organic materials, which gradually decompose into humus. Organic materials left on the surface provide a soft landing for raindrops, allowing moisture to soak in rather than run off. Kept on the surface, organic materials also lessen the effects of winter's cold and summer's heat and slow water evaporation. Mixing organic materials into the soil or burying them deeply does not let them do their job of protecting the soil surface.

Leaving the soil undisturbed also preserves humus. Digging, rototilling or plowing puts such a shot of oxygen into the soil that microbial activity is stimulated to burn up humus too rapidly. Precious organic matter literally disappears into thin air, most of it becoming carbon dioxide and water vapor.

What About Raised Beds?

Say "garden beds" and most gardeners quickly think: "raised beds." Except in poorly drained sites, I don't recommend them. In addition to the effort and soil disruption needed to create and maintain them, raised beds tend to dry out quickly; the higher and narrower they are, the quicker they dry. Then there is the other extreme: sunken beds. They have been used by traditional gardeners in arid regions to capture and conserve water. Soil excavated from beds creates a waffle pattern of walkways across lush, sunken patches of vegetation. In the beds, seedlings and other low-growing plants are spared the full force of drying winds, so they lose less moisture. Rainwater is also channeled into the low-lying beds and contained there until absorbed by the soil.

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