Here’s a look at my pumpkin patch. I use hay because of Ruth Stout, the woman who started the “no work” gardening method. If she weren’t dead already, I’d have a few choice words for her about her “no work” method, and how much work it really is. But what she did teach me is that straw is a great way of keeping weeds away. And it sure does look great! Once the pumpkins start coming in, they will sit on the straw without getting rotten by sitting on so much soil, and the bugs should have a hard time climbing across the straw to whittle their way into the melons. My plan is to plant not just pumpkins, but watermelon, cantaloupe, and maybe a gourd or two.
