No nakedness allowed – NO BARE SOIL! Soil is like the skin of the earth. It needs covering to preserve moisture and to keep out invaders. I like to use wheat/oat straw because it breaks down quickly and inhibits weeds. There is nothing I hate worse than uninhibited weeds!
2. NEVER mulch without topdressing! ALWAYS apply a little organic fertilizer on TOP of the ground BEFORE mulching. In the garden, soil microbes, fondly referred to as “bugs,” eat first—BEFORE your plants do. If you mulch without adding an organic nitrogen fertilizer, the bugs will pull the nitrogen they need out of the soil, depriving your plants of nutrients. Bugs are not REALLY selfish. They will EVENTUALLY give the nitrogen back, but it will probably be AFTER your plants have suffered.
3. NO stinginess allowed! Gardening is about abundance. Buyers walk into the produce section and wonder what they can afford. Gardeners look at their gardens and wonder who the hell is going to eat all this stuff! Plant extra everything, especially the things people like, such as tomatoes and herbs. Nothing shares the love like fresh tomatoes from a friend. And, for some reason, people think herbs are hard to grow, so don’t tell them otherwise. WOW them!
Remember that growing food is what humans have been doing ever since they left behind their hunter/gatherer methods for finding food. Today, we like to KNOW that we have a steady supply of food from our own fields. When you grow your own food you are taking personal responsibility for your own sustenance. You are yelling to the world that you can take care of you and yours, that you are a responsible human, working with nature to provide a bountiful feast from the humblest of substances – living soil. Humble though your soil may be, it is THE most precious substance on earth, and its care is the highest calling known to mankind. Because without good soil, humans will eventually perish, and the bugs WILL get the last laugh after all.
Good Food From Your Own Back Yard 