Backyard lazy ground straw

Le Potager du Laesseux by Didier Helmstetter (Did67), an effortless vegetable garden with hay

Le kitchen garden lazy by Didier Helmstetter. How to garden effortlessly with hay, a “4 in 1” super-material

Photos: Didier Helmstetter. Introductory photo: vegetables grown in soil that has never been worked - no spade, no pickaxe, no hoe, no grelinette ... And of course, without using a tiller!

The use of hay, instead of other materials (straw, compost, bark, dead leaves, etc.), is the key to the system. It plays 4 essential roles, which allows the gardener to laze around. First, like any opaque cover (if the thickness is sufficient), it blocks annual weeds, which no longer germinate. No need to hoe or draw. Then, it maintains an intense biological life in the soil, in particular with earthworms (particularly those of the group of "anecic worms", which dig vertical galleries). They will be numerous and very active because they are well fed. In reality, it is a whole armada of organisms which set to work to "work" and build the soil. This activity results in the secretion of glus. It sets in motion a process of “deterioration” of the soil (the opposite of “degradation”). So naturally, without any work, this leads, in a few months, to a soil “which looks like couscous”. No need to dig or pass the grelinette. “And above all, do not use a rototiller, which massacres the worms by shredding them! "

In addition, the cover provides protection for the soil and its organisms against attack: the “lumps” (aggregates) that form are not degraded by the impact of raindrops; even under violent thunderstorms, and despite the slope, it has no trace of erosion, no fine particles washed away; fertility remains. Protected from the wind and the sun, the soil is kept moist, which promotes the activity of organisms and the growth of plants. No need to weed to keep the soil loose and airy.

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The lazy garden: castings
The "castings" are the signs of an intense activity of a group of worms - the "anecic" worms, which are the gardener's true auxiliaries, those which dig vertical galleries ... Because there are "worms and worms"!

Finally, the decomposition of the hay provides the soil, and thus the plants, with all the nutrients essential for their growth. And not just the few “major” elements (the famous NPKs) that we add with the fertilizers. These elements were taken from the meadow, during the growth of the grass, which absorbed everything a plant needs. Hay is therefore also a "very complete organic fertilizer", slow release since it must first be broken down, which is done naturally according to the rate of plant growth (the soil organisms that take care of this follow. also the rhythm of the seasons). No need to fertilize! Even the manure, "which is only what remains of the hay when it has passed through the digestive tract of the animals, which have taken their nutrients there, mixed with straw, even poorer", is of no interest!

Lazy garden lettuce, home more than organic
Lettuce grown without tillage, without fertilization, without any treatment… chewable!

These, in a nutshell, are the “natural springs” on which this approach is based… And that explains why the results are so spectacular.

Read also:  Le Potager du Lazy, fruits and vegetables in August 2016

It should be noted that the straw (except when using "organic" straw) contains residues of the various treatments undergone by the cereal, including fungicides often sprayed only a few weeks before harvest, shorteners, herbicides, while the hay from natural meadows has generally not been treated. “All the more reason to favor hay instead of straw! "...

Lazy garden: worms and straw
By "scratching" a little, worms are everywhere, under the blanket that nourishes and protects them ...

Bonus: Didier video that presents the Sillon'net, small tool of its conception (with the help of members of forums of the Econology website) To cut hay on the ground

Last surprise: "It should also be noted that this way of doing things works much better and faster by installing your vegetable garden in a meadow or a lawn or even a wasteland". In a "classic" garden, the soil will have been clubbed and partly poisoned, the population of anecic worms will be low or even non-existent in the event of intensive use of the rototiller, mineral fertilizers and certain pesticides, even "organic" (copper , commonly used in "organic", is a poison for the soil, worms, fungi, mycorrhizae; it binds to it). In the case of such a soil, it will sometimes be necessary to persevere for half a dozen years before the natural mechanisms take over! In a meadow, 6 months or 1 year will be enough for everything to be “top”!

Read also:  All about the Bee Wrap and its zero waste instructions

Monitoring work on the garden of Didier H. from 2014

Introduction to the Kitchen Garden Sloth

52 comments on “Le Potager du Paresseux by Didier Helmstetter (Did67), an effortless vegetable garden with hay”

    1. Once installed, bindweed is indeed a problem. In "classic gardening" as with my way of doing things. Even the famous highly controversial herbicide of the very controversial brand promises its eradication. You can try, but it will come back!
      The best, when you can: start from an unpolluted meadow, without bindweed, and not install it (by purchase or exchange of plants).
      For my part, half of the garden is virgin and the other half is an old garden, which has become meadow again, "moderately" contaminated. As I save myself a lot of work, I spend a few minutes a day pulling it out, as deeply as possible. In two or three years, he is exhausted, after having "bonzaized". As long as you never give it the slightest chance - as soon as there are leaves, the rhizome "recharges" with energy.
      The subject is approached several times in econolgie: https://www.econologie.com/forums/agriculture/jardiner-plus-que-bio-en-semis-direct-sans-fatigue-t13846.html [use "bindweed" in the site's internal search engine]
      The Lazy Gardener

      1. Hello
        When and how to water in permanent mulch?
        I am new and I find such information indicates that for most plants it is not advisable to wet the leaves
        Is there a video please on the subject?

    2. Mr. Didier,
      I have to collect hay for my garden, if I collect the cut (mown) grass along a departmental road (D606), will it be polluted or not?
      Thank you for your reply

      Paul G. (89)

    1. To my knowledge, it is not the region or the weather that matters.
      The method is effective only against annual weeds, which reseed each year. And this on two conditions: a) maintain a layer permanently, throughout the year; b) maintain a layer thick enough to "block" the light (I put about twenty cm of packed hay late in the fall or very early at the end of winter. It is not against "perennial" weeds. , which survive underground from one year to the next; in the spring, they produce rejections, from the reserves accumulated in an organ: rhizome, tuber, stump… These, I tear them up. loosens after a year of cover, we pull out the weed, its roots, its underground organ without difficulty (except the bindweed!). And the perennials then regress very quickly too.
      Finally, to be complete, you should not seek perfection: the first question to ask yourself is "is this harming my garden?" ". I always leave the weeds on the parts not occupied by vegetables: they produce biomass which feeds my worms; they maintain living organisms in the soil thanks to the secretion of the roots in the "biosphere". Why bother sowing green manure?
      The Lazy Gardener

  1. Hello, in the meadow how do you put in culture, just the hay will not be enough or you sow in the hay and not in the ground ???? I don't know much about it. thank you

    1. In the meadow, the first year, I do not sow. I mow, I cover with a thick layer of hay and I plant (seedlings raised in pots), even if the soil is "hard" ... And so I pull up some "perennials", which will pierce it. About 6 months later, there is no trace of the "herbs". In the fall or the following year, I can sow without any problem with my furrows ...
      But it is better always to sow in the ground, in furrows. Since the hay is also there to “block” the germination of annuals, it will block the germination of what you sow - it doesn't make a difference! So you have to open furrows, so that the light reaches the ground, and sow in there, from the second year on.
      You will understand that it was not possible for me to explain everything in an article. I invite you to follow on econology, where this is better explained on 140 pages!
      Didier, the Lazy Gardener.

  2. I practice a bit like that; a little tillage and a lot of mulch (hay, mowing…).
    I agree with Didier, but I have 2 problems:
    Blackbirds which systematically upset my mulch… and seedlings with it! (the more hay I put, the more blackbirds I have). How to hunt blackbirds?
    Moles who feast on earthworms and turn the terrain into a roller coaster ... by cutting a few plants in their path. (I trap a dozen each year, but it always comes).
    It becomes a big problem, to the point where I think temporarily stop mulching.
    I have also had an infestation of underground ants and root aphids in my greenhouse for 2 years, but I don't think this is related to mulching. How to get rid of it?
    … But who doesn't have his little worries!

    1. Sorry, I had skipped, at the time:
      - I have the same problem with blackbirds; they are attracted to "overhead" (surface) worms, a delicacy for them; I hang bird nets over the seedlings; for more developed plants, it no longer causes damage ...
      - I did not think that moles can reach such a development and become pests; they are in fact attracted by worms; they can cut roots in their path but do not do the same damage as terrestrial voles or mole rats, which I have in mass; and that I trap ...
      - I also had, this year, ants and aphids of the roots (I think that underground as they do on the plants, the ants "raise" and milk the aphids); I put that down to the imbalance created by the excess rainfall in early summer, the ground too cold and the lack of any helpers this year ... The greenhouse is a "complex system", more artificialized. I don't have one yet but I'm thinking about it ...

    2. hello for the blackbirds I put transparent metal, no I'm kidding, I put netting with a mesh of 75 X 100 mm that I put on the ground. I transplanted between the stitches. if I have sown I pass from time to time and I direct the leaves if necessary. for the moles, take a bowl with a rounded edge, bury it so that this edge is flush with the ground, put 5cm of water in it so that the mole learns to swim, and above all water well around it. moisture attracts towards which attract moles. for aphids I use a lot of absinthe in infusion + black soap and also tomato manure (leaves or gourmets) I no longer make compost in a heap in a corner of the garden I put everything between plants or vegetables and nature do the rest what's the use of getting tired
      in 2016 I used 400l of water, sprays included

  3. It's been a few weeks since I started priming a sloth's vegetable garden, see: https://www.econologie.com/forums/agriculture/comment-commencer-un-potager-du-paresseux-les-etapes-et-conseils-t14895.html

    I think we can add a 5th effect (indirectly included in the term "protection" in the 3rd of Didier's list but I think it deserves a clarification): it is the thermal protection effect!

    Indeed; more than the straw used in permaculture, a beautiful hay blanket thermally protects the soil: I notice every time when I drop food composting in the evening under the layer of hay, there are a few degrees of temperature difference! So that said higher temperature said significant biological activity!

    I see a drawback: in the event of "contamination", the "parasites" (in the broad sense) may not be completely killed by frost in winter!
    Popular thought (perhaps wrong ???) claims that after a good cold winter, the soil is "decontaminated" ...

    1. Everything will depend on the duration of the cold episode… This “smooths out” the temperature variations. But after 15 days of - 10 °, that will not prevent a certain cleaning… On the other hand, a furtive - 15 ° one or two nights, will have much less effects…
      The insulation will slow down the rise in soil temperature in spring or at the end of winter. It will then be more of a defect. It will be necessary to cultivate patience, before sowing or planting. Biological cycles will be slow… My experience, except this year !, was that it tended to catch up with stronger growth afterwards… To be qualified of course depending on the crop… For the first radishes, we may have to wait…

      1. Hello Didier and thank you for sharing your experience. Currently, I am a market gardener practicing a rather "bio-intensive" system but I am not satisfied. I'm moving this winter, which gives me the chance to start over, and your system is very appealing to me. About spring, which was precisely one of my brakes. Do you think it would be possible and profitable to remove the mulch in February and March to warm the soil and avoid stunted growth? As a "pro", I can hardly afford a delay, and I do not want to cover my greenhouse garden to overcome this delay ...
        Or, use the black tarp over mulching, would it be effective to raise the temperature?
        We look forward to seeing you!
        Julien

    1. No no. We must "cultivate laziness", so do as little as possible. There, the grasses will come into sluggish life, the leaves will spoil, the stump remains. You go over it! Without light, it will not come back. If you put thick enough, it will not be able to pierce.
      Only perennials will break through (dandelion, wild sorrel, thistle, plantain, bindweed if there are any…). In the first year, you need to pull them out as delicately as possible, through the hay, trying to get the roots or rhizomes or bulbs (depending on the plant).
      cordially
      Did67

  4. Hi,
    I have an organic vegetable garden, so I work with the grelinette, I wanted to know if I should remove the weeds before putting in hay, I have already done the same thing, with straw.
    Merci de votre réponse
    Jeanne

    1. You drop the grelinette too ... At best, it's useless. At worst, it's a little harmful (less than the spade of course; much less than the tiller, of course) ...
      cordially
      Did67

  5. Didier Hello, thank you for sharing your knowledge, you only put light for free, or just you alone speak.
    For a year now, I have been thinking of changing my life, for personal reasons, and therefore of becoming a market gardener and also selling "derivatives" of my harvests. For a year I have been watching all the videos that have an interest in permaculture, and I have made a finding that is both sad and reassuring: sad because you are the only one in France (I only watch French-speaking videos) to exhibit scientifically (from part your profession of agronomist) the functioning of a basement, and reassuring because you dared to do it, and that we can finally learn. So I think I can say that in terms of permaculture (a word a little outdated in our context) you are undoubtedly the most perfect of teachers. While you may miss the experience of associated plantings or the like, but the elementary foundations of a perfect subsoil are only brought to light by yourself scientifically.
    All lovers of permaculture will see Damiens Dekarts and other beautiful people who
    a certain experience of permaculture which makes us (amateurs) dream. They make us want to try ... but you give us the scientific explanation of how to get there: become an earthworm breeder and develop the mycelium. No more grolinette or other absurdities so often seen among those who claim to be permaculture. Without going without the ointment, but to thank you, I would say only one thing: the notion of permaculture has existed since 1928 in Japan (if we are to believe the internet), but the real real director of this permaculture, the first who has highlighted the fundamentals to get there (earthworm breeder) he is called Didier67 in 2016, with his hay ... I can imagine you too humble to say it publicly, but after careful consideration, I tell myself that he is as long as you don the real costume you really deserve: Inventor of Econology. it is simply the most perfect form of permaculture revealed…. permaculture basis of econology.
    For all this Didier, I thank you, and in the name of humanity, I thank you doubly.
    Signed a man who finally has the answers to his questions.

  6. Hello didier. A follower of the garden more than natural. I am never treated anything. The weeding very little for me. I share my garden with the "weeds" suddenly I raise the passage of magnificent butterflies with the plantain and I am delighted to see them feed. chardonnerais on the few thistles that I leave them. the cleaning of my animals (goat rabbits) directly in the garden without going through the compost, and all the summer the grass clippings on top. I never turned my soil. ( anyway I would not have the strength) I pass on the remarks of my old neighbors, at 5am in the process of weeding a garden already nickel of soil to return to the jurasic and treat has to can almost all in case … I have often "beaten" them with more "beautiful" vegetables.
    And this summer I discovered your videos, a revelation for me. Finally scientific explanation on what was spanking in my garden without knowing it. So this year I'm doing it right. 20 good cm of hay everywhere in the garden. I still kept the animal manure for the artichokes and rhubarbs.
    Me remains the greenhouses? Even in services, I still eat tomatoes, peppers and lettuce.
    Hay too? I still have a good layer of summer sod left. Do you have to water to plaster the hay? In winter, the greenhouse empties. The land dries up and waits for spring….

    personal note, I my straw strawberry with fern of ground wood, a haven for earthworms.

    1. Sorry, I skipped this discussion a bit.
      I wouldn't water in a greenhouse. You might as well keep the hay dry. Do not wet the vegetables. I would water the plants only by drip, under the hay or at the foot of each plant of tomato, eggplant, etc ...
      But I use round balls, which I unroll. The hay is then compact and the rest if one unwinds carefully, without aeration.
      For loose hay, I would pack it as best as possible, tapping with a pitchfork, or walking on two planks on which I would walk ...
      But I don't have a greenhouse yet, so I can't "guarantee" - I use the conditional ...

  7. Hi,
    Thank you for all these comments… I find out and confirm what I was practicing more or less well, so this will help me.
    I look forward to the response to Stéphanie's comment of 16/11 for her greenhouse. I have one too and more tomatoes but it's true, the other years it remains empty and the earth dry.
    So I will get down to spreading hay everywhere. A little hope to smother the clover that has invaded my garden for 3 years.
    We look forward to seeing you!
    Fatima

  8. Hello,
    This year I am going to make "a lazy man's vegetable garden", I watch all your videos and I find this wonderful gardening. I have a question about slugs. My vegetable garden is infested with it. Despite the beer traps, and the slug harvest every night. How do you do it? Do you have a good idea?
    A big thank-you
    Véronique

  9. With what enthusiasm I find you I'm in Perpignan, I'll do.
    In this southern context, sun and dehydration, how to manage the necessary hygrometry. Thank you for your answer and your knowledge

    1. I don't manage hygrometry - in the sense of humidity in the air. My vegetables are exposed to full sun, on this garden sloping to the west and facing south (I only have a hedge in the north). Even though in Perpignan the intensity can be a bit higher, I don't think that's a big problem, provided the ground stays wet.
      And there, permanent ground cover will play its role, keeping the soil moist and protecting the water reserves (within certain limits; in 2015, a year of drought in our region, I put drop ”; plants consume water and even with ground cover systems the reserve may eventually run out; as the fuel tank of the most economical car will end up being empty if you drive without ever doing the fuel. full; no “miracle” possible).
      Is added the presence of fungi (see video on Youtube the same): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69HMVyFelkI
      - mushrooms have a water extraction "force" about 6 times greater than that of our plants (our plants achieve a suction of around 15 bars; mushrooms at around 90; the world record fungus at more of 900!
      - they "store" water in their filaments
      - therefore the association "fungus - roots", called mycorrhizae, gives a remarkable capacity of extraction and retention of water, from which the plants benefit [on the internet, in relation to the truffle, do a research on "the burnt ", This area under a tree where the grass dries up because the truffle filaments" sting "the water].
      If it was necessary to provide shade, it is by alternating tall plants (shrubs), planted in rows facing north-south that I would do it. That way, the vegetables between these rows would be in the shade for 3/4 of the day.
      But never forget that the sun is the energy of plants! So don't make it an "enemy" - wrongly (except for a few rare shade plants). This is one of the many “bullshit” that a lot of gardeners do.

  10. I don't have a “big” slug problem, except last year, with the two wet months of May and June. I think the following are contributing to this:
    - I keep the grassy paths; they are refuges for the most important predators of slugs, ground beetles (these often shiny, brilliant green insects), but also staphylins (this is not the legendary hedgehog!) ...
    - no obstacles: no ledges, no planks or anything that can hinder the circulation of these auxiliaries.
    I usually have a few slugs at the end of winter: they are active faster than insects; then everything is back to normal which means that I still have a few slugs, which do limited damage, but suddenly, my auxiliaries also always have something to eat. Above all, do not aim to eradicate them ...
    My main principle is that in order not to have parasites, we must "breed" these parasites; it attracts auxiliaries ...
    I am therefore installing, a few meters from my garden, a "hedgehog garden" (in the hope that there is one that occupies it), with plants very attractive to slugs: hostas , marigolds, sunflower, blue thistle (Eryngium) ... I always try to combine two or three things: utility / beauty / biodiversity (the blue thistle is very pretty, it makes beautiful bouquets; the sunflower is pretty too and feeds birds, etc.).
    Now, one of the problems with slugs is that there are quite a few species, each with its “diet”. I found a large orange "sprawled" on a marigold in the middle of the day, but when I put marigolds between my carrot seedlings to attract slugs, the little whitish snails didn't care. and rushed over the carrots; I had to pick them up by hand, at nightfall ...
    I do not yet know everything about the ecology of slugs ... I do not necessarily have the solution ... Note also that "composts" (poorly managed) are often refuges, because some species like organic matter at the beginning of decomposition…

    1. Hi,

      For slugs, everything is said = the best way to manage them is in my opinion to have a little and the harmonious ecosystem of the garden ends up being balanced. I also think that the presence of hedges and shrubs allows birds to perch, they are formidable predators.
      But you also have to get to know the beast, for that I invite you to watch Hervé Coves' incredible video "holistic slug management" on youtube. You won't see slugs the same way anymore!

      1. Hello,
        Indeed, this video allows to have another look at the slugs, and therefore, on the vegetable garden ...
        Did67

    2. Hello Didier,

      I have been using the BRF successfully for a few years.
      For 2 years, I have been following your mulching method… with very good results if I could make jam from slugs.
      It works great for earthworms, surface furnishings and all those living species that go with it,…. including the various slugs and other plant nibblers. And there is the disaster. Anything that grows is immediately nibbled at night ... while I sleep.
      They will quietly digest in the hay day. Neither seen nor known !
      I've never seen that ; Clusters of slugs which zigzag the plants of potatoes, radishes, beans, zucchini, eggplant, Himalayan garlic,…. Everything goes there and no plant has time to grow.
      For 2 weeks, the lazy method (and the daily showers) have forced me to make limacicides with secateurs and snail throws from 22pm to late at night. The lazy man's garden prevents me from sleeping! A shame; -)
      The population has greatly diminished, but the leaves of the plants continue to be holed; I can not determine by what. Small white slugs impossible to secateuriser? Earwigs? Brown slugs that come out after my night time? I keep replanting.
      Another problem last year: The furnishing is done on the surface but leaves the basement very compact… which the rat rats love for their galleries. My method: Give a few strokes through the hay, to "shake" the basement and break the existing galleries, mainly around the vegetable garden. Wireworms do not like unstable soils.
      I confirm for sowing under a thin layer of straw; It does not grow.

      Arvi Haute-Savoie

  11. Good evening Didier

    I discovered your videos yesterday. Since then I devour them one after the other.

    My garden is an ancient coniferous forest on sand. It's been 13 years since I started with evergreen hardwoods or not. For about ten years, I have mowed about twice a year. For 2 years, I have noticed a clear development of fungi (well the visible part), which seems to me to be a good sign.

    The problem is that if I develop crops more hay on site. The nearby forest full of ferns, I will wish to know your opinion for its use in coverage.

    cordially

    Michel

    1. Hello,
      The idea of ​​using eagle ferns, which are often very abundant in the forest, is interesting. Did you get an answer from Didier? Thanks

  12. Hello Didier,
    I am passionate about your videos and I will, very soon, start my vegetable garden… Except that I am installed in Ile de LA REUNION where there are only 2 seasons, 6 months behind the metropolis, without fear of a hypothetical frost… On the other hand, pests and diseases….
    Here, I cannot find hay from natural meadows but only hay from grasses sown on the roughly horizontal lands of volcanic slag… But there is an invasive legume (desmodium intortum) which can go up to 1 m high : in association with hay, this should do the trick ... (it is nicknamed glue-glue for its love seeds ...)

    I have enormous problems finding certain seeds (nettles, consouds ...)

    I will report on my tests and send you photos and comments ...

    Soon for your next videos ..

    thanks again

    Gérard

  13. Hello Didier,
    It's been a few months since I learned about your videos and in November 2016, I decided to get into the lazy garden.
    I made 14 boards of 1 mx 5 m with 50 cm between for the passage, I covered the whole with 10 cm of oak leaves from my wood and 10 cm of hay. All my old vegetable garden was covered and I brought my tiller back into my barn. A I also made for tests 2 boards of 1.20 mx 4 m in convex of 30 cm in the middle. To start, I grew the garlic, shallots and onion bulbs in tubs and I just put them by spreading the hay on the boards. Two weeks ago I sowed beans by spreading the hay by pushing the beans 2 cm into the earth and putting potting soil on top, I would put the hay back against the feet when they have grown.
    Thank you for giving us all these details so kindly, for me, it begins to make me happy I put this tiller away.
    Pepito47

  14. For information, the bulbs of garlic, onion, shallot do not fear the cold. You can just as well put them directly in the ground, under the hay… They will "pierce" when it calls for them. Just like tulips, daffodils, daffodils ... Optimizing laziness is not so easy: too often, we remain "convinced" that it is absolutely necessary to do "manips", in short, to complicate the existence… A bit of a drug whose withdrawal is not so easy!
    cordially

  15. Hello, here are two weeks that I discovered your videos and thank you for your sharing ,,, I am a lady of 58 years until the I limited myself in garden in radish salads and a few feet of tomato and eggplant and squash… I have space but neither the health nor the motivation to have a garden as disciplined as my neighbors! ,, I have compost straw bedding and sheep hay ... suddenly I spread this over a part of the garden which was in grass but it is not maybe not the right time! ,,, what do you think? .. even if I do not grow at least the herbs will not grow back or less… .I was inspired by your experience and I will keep you informed. ... thank you to you because you have rekindled a motivation! ,, thank you

  16. Hello Didier

    What a pleasure to read you, now I will tackle the viewing of your videos. One question, our house and its small garden (120m2) is located at the top of a small 650m pass. We are often windy and I am afraid that the hay will brighten up in nature when it blows. I am planning to use a 50mm square mesh net to keep the hay on the ground. Is it a good idea? Thanks in advance for your reply

  17. Hello,
    I discover your videos with great interest, thank you very much for this precious information.
    Am I to understand that one can, without regret, abandon the idea of ​​composting since you suggest depositing food, weed and other waste directly on the ground?

    Sincerely,

    Christian Haerlingen
    Experimenter permaculture past year in the region of Liège in Belgium.
    0032 492 20

  18. Hello, I am writing to you from Canada. I stumbled upon your videos. As I try to simplify my life as I get older, your methods have captured my interest!
    I have used straw on flower beds before for weed control, but to my dismay hay seeds started sprouting all over the place, and it took weeks to remove them!
    Then you will understand my fear of putting hay directly into my kitchen garden!
    So my question is: have you ever had this problem and how to pinpoint it?
    Thank you and good summer gardening and idleness!

  19. Hello didier,
    How to start? My garden is for the moment a meadow made up of tall grasses, nettles, brambles ...
    If I understood correctly, I must mow close and keep the hay thus created to cover my land. how long do i have to wait? three months, more?

  20. Hello Didier, I did not know the lazy vegetable garden a week ago and that interests me a lot. I would like to produce my vegetables (zucchini, obergines…), my fruits mainly on trees, my legumes (lentils, chickpeas, peas…), some oilseeds (sunflower, rapeseed…) and cereals (wheat, corn). And 4 hens for the eggs. Only milk and meat would be bought in stores, everything else produced at home. In your opinion, would 400 to 500 m2 of land be enough for me and how long I should spend there each day? I also thought of a greenhouse to extend the growing seasons and grow on vertical structures with compost made from crop and garden residues including straw mixed in. What do you think about parasites and productivity?

  21. Hello,
    I read some comments on the cultivation of bulbs: onions, shallots and garlic on hay,
    I really want to get started, y_a_t_il others back? and advice
    please
    fred

  22. Hello Didier
    Thank you for all your good advice
    You spoke to us one day (at Biobernai) about a John I believe, to provide organic hay.
    Where can I find it?
    Thank you

  23. Hello,
    Can straw be replaced by mowing grass?
    I did it last fall and this spring while lifting this grass I discovered 20 large cockchafer larvae (as big as a little finger) instead of worms !!!
    Living in the mountains, it is difficult for me to find straw.
    Thank you in advance for your answer

  24. Hello,
    Here is spring, the garden was covered at the end of October with hay, moreover very difficult to find hay since the harvest for the farmers was less this year given the weather (Limousin). I had supplemented with straw but I realize that the light passes more easily so the perennials show their noses !! Panic too, because as it is the first year, I tag to sow, transplant the first vegetables !! I have to transplant shallot onions, do I make a furrow, or do I transplant by making a hole each time for each plant ?? If I hardly rule out the hay, will the earth be warm enough for the plant to thrive ??? your answer will comfort me, thank you in advance
    Neophyte gardeners for this practice

  25. Hello, I discovered your very interesting book and your videos but which question everything I had undertaken in my garden… I like the strength of your arguments and their common sense. I will try because a vegetable garden is a wonderful field of experimentation.
    I have a question: there is a contribution that you do not mention in your book, the manure of dry toilets. It has a lot of sawdust that you don't say the most good about. I practice this method for obvious ecological reasons. I let stand a year before using (with 2 people this represents about 0,5 m3 of finished product, which is not negligible) and I mix it with conventional compost when spreading. What do you think ?

  26. Hello, this is the 3rd year that I have adopted fenology, I will not return to another form of culture!
    This fall I want to take a lazy step and spread the hay directly on the old plans rather than removing everything and putting it in the compost.
    I still have a little resistance, do I risk fixing diseases of aging plans in the ground?
    Thank you for your reply and all this sharing!

  27. Hello,
    I present an exhibition on the gardens from April 7, 2024 to January 5, 2025 at the Maison du Kochersberg. Could you give a presentation on the lazy garden on Sunday June 2 or Sunday November 3, 2024 at 15 p.m. in Truchtersheim? There is a room for 70 people adjoining the exhibition, overhead projector and microphone. You can sell your books at the end of your intervention. What are your terms?
    M-Claire Burger commissioner. familleburger@wanadoo.fr

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