© 2025 KVNF Public Radio
MOUNTAIN GROWN COMMUNITY RADIO
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Growing Home - Ruth Stout

Ruth Stout, the eccentric "No-Work" garden pioneer and author, lived to 96 and died in 1980. Ruth revolutionized organic gardening with her year-round mulch method. Her Connecticut garden looked chaotically messy but produced abundantly without tilling, weeding, or watering. Ruth Stout despised composting, preferring to mulch everything directly in the garden. Known for gardening naked and a sharp wit, this Quaker farmer's daughter advocated throwing away spades and hoes. Ruth Stout’s books became gardening bibles, and are still popular today.