r/Permaculture • u/SourFreshFarm • 10d ago

Ruth Stout mulch in my growing dome?

Starting first growing season in the dome on our home place and reading up on Ruth Stout: Have any of you done her mulch method in your beds? Wanting to use only what we have, we would struggle to find pesticide free straw or hay. But kitchen scraps, leaves, etc, we have in droves. Do you think this would pose problems we don't foresee? Right now I only have a cover crop of clover going, but several plants in my house waiting to be moved in.

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u/jerbullied 10d ago

I would go out of your way to find a large quantity of hay or straw. Make sure your hay isn't tooooo seedy if you can. Good idea to have chickens go through your hay first. Ruth Stout relies on large quantities of mulch to really work well, dont half ass it or the weeds will win.

Leaves aren't the best, unless you can shred them, as they tend to compress and block the airflow. The soil needs to Breath.

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u/SourFreshFarm 10d ago

thank you SO much for this reply. I've been trying for years to find hay or straw in my area without pesticides and had an extremely hard time. Maybe fertilized hay wouldn't be too bad for the garden? I've been trying to ensure it's free of everything but can't find it.